As a young man growing up during the 1940s and 1950s, there was always plenty to do on the farm. So supper time was very important. I remember a supper when mother said everything is off the farm. The milk, beef, butter, and vegetables. The carrots, radishes, and lettuce on the table we grew in our garden. Mother’s garden was always weed free. Every evening she would be in the garden with her hoe.
One day at supper, Dad asked about any ripe tomatoes in the garden? Mom said one is close but not quite. As time passed, the ripe tomatoes seemed to disappear. Another tomato getting close to being ripe and the same thing would happen. It would disappear. One evening Dad went to check the tomatoes and heard a sound. The family dog Lucky was eating a ripe tomato. So that is why the tomatoes were always green.
Our garden fed us for a year with good food. My mother would have the pressure cooker on the stove from July to November with something in it. Dad grew seed potatoes that gave us plenty of potatoes. The barn gave us dairy and the garden vegetables. We lived very well. Plus we had deer meat in the fall and fish from the lake. We had good soil for plant growth. People who moved here from the Dakota’s said they found the land of milk and honey.