Gardener reflects on 8 decades of cultivation
Mill Creek – Just off Tallulah Road, you will find the home of James and Sara Crisp.
You don’t have to see their name on the mailbox to know you have arrived at their residence. One look at the beautiful yard, with lush green grass cut to the perfect length, plants in bloom all around the house and a garden in the backyard – where onions, cabbage, bell peppers, corn and potatoes thrive, and newly-sprouted seedlings show a promise of a fall harvest – is all it takes.
You will probably find the couple sitting on the front porch, resting from their gardening chores. The Crisp’s take great pride in their vegetable and flower gardens, often spending hours weeding, feeding and nurturing the tender plants.
James said he has been gardening since the ripe old age of two. Dr. Nettie Parette was helping tend to the family garden for his mama during the birth of one of his sisters. That March, decked out in his bibbed overalls and bare feet, he followed Doc Nettie through the garden as she planted a row of onions.
The story goes that when she reached the end of the row and turned to admire her efforts, two-year old James was standing behind her with a pocket full of onions. He had made every step behind her and picked up each onion she had planted, he recalled.
He can also remember his 90-year-old mother plowing the fields.
“She believed in her garden,” James shared, with a smile on his face.
As he grew, he continued to garden – learning to plant before harvesting the produce. His family raised an acre of tobacco, all kinds of corn and squash, cucumbers and peppers. He remembered his dad renting a 30-acre field of farmland. Crisp was given the chore of plowing with a turn plow and horse. It took the barefoot teenager two weeks to get the ground plowed.
Though he left home at the age of 13, Crisp later returned to the mountains and settled in his hometown of Robbinsville. He realized that farming was a wonderful way of life.
“The Lord has blessed me; still does,” said James, 87.
He and his wife enjoy the gardening experience – and it definitely shows. The roses are in bloom, the green tomatoes hang from the vines and the scent of green onions tickle the nose.
Of course, the Crisp’s are not the only ones to enjoy their garden. Last year, they gave neighbor Raymond Norton a 50-pound watermelon. They enjoy sharing their crops with friends and neighbors – and unfortunately, a few rabbits and a brave groundhog that has settled in the area. If you look closely at the back of the garden, you can see traps that have been set to safely catch the critters and relocate them. Their can house is filled with colorful jars of produce they will enjoy this winter with thankful hearts.
Just like everyone else who gardens, they have their share of obstacles, including the amount of rain we have received this year.
“We need a little dry weather to dry the ground out enough to weed it,” James said.
The Crisp’s take their gardening seriously and offer advice to anyone who would like to begin a garden.
“Be ready for some hard work and long hours. It takes a lot of work to raise a garden.”
There are no doubts about their advice. The proof is in the pudding (or the creamed corn).