While running errands today I stopped by Mr. Grier's garden -- fortunately he was open so I got some corn, banana peppers, and two kinds of eggplant. Wanted to get more but I'm a little cautious about his use of chemicals -- though it's minimal. Following are some pictures:
The man, the legend -- James Grier. Does he not look like a good gardener?
In his John Deere Gator. I want a Gator. Actually, I want a reason to need a Gator (a farm, a market garden, an estate -- I'm not picky):
Flowers, yellow squash, and tomatoes:
His tomato plants just drip with fruit:
I was encouraged to see the tiny holes in his eggplant leaves that are caused by leafhoppers -- looks like an organic approach. I note, however, that only this one leaf shows signs of leafhopper damage. It looks like a large, original leaf -- probably attacked before he dusted the plants:
A wall of sunflowers:
On these next two pictures I'm standing in the same place on the back edge of the garden, first looking left, then right -- just to show the size of the garden. He even has other sections, along with huge mulch piles, etc., down behind his house. This is only a part:
Mr. Grier's son-in-law works with him on the garden -- but when I first started visiting a few years ago he managed all this himself. He's an amazing man. I think I mentioned in one of the earlier posts about his garden that it operates on the honor system. Either he or his son-in-law are usually around, but if they're not you just get your veggies (prices are posted) and put the money in a (locked, nailed-down) box with a slot in the top. I wonder if Harris Teeter has ever tried that?
The man, the legend -- James Grier. Does he not look like a good gardener?
In his John Deere Gator. I want a Gator. Actually, I want a reason to need a Gator (a farm, a market garden, an estate -- I'm not picky):
Flowers, yellow squash, and tomatoes:
His tomato plants just drip with fruit:
I was encouraged to see the tiny holes in his eggplant leaves that are caused by leafhoppers -- looks like an organic approach. I note, however, that only this one leaf shows signs of leafhopper damage. It looks like a large, original leaf -- probably attacked before he dusted the plants:
A wall of sunflowers:
On these next two pictures I'm standing in the same place on the back edge of the garden, first looking left, then right -- just to show the size of the garden. He even has other sections, along with huge mulch piles, etc., down behind his house. This is only a part:
Mr. Grier's son-in-law works with him on the garden -- but when I first started visiting a few years ago he managed all this himself. He's an amazing man. I think I mentioned in one of the earlier posts about his garden that it operates on the honor system. Either he or his son-in-law are usually around, but if they're not you just get your veggies (prices are posted) and put the money in a (locked, nailed-down) box with a slot in the top. I wonder if Harris Teeter has ever tried that?
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Thanks for this dad. His garden is indeed inspiring.
ReplyDeletedaniel