Ruth Hill’s Heritage Garden

TIMES PHOTO SUBMITTED BY TABER COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM

Submitted by Communities in Bloom

This week in our presentation of gardeners in Taber over the age of 90, we are featuring Ruth Hill who is turning 93 this month. She has been a widow for 32 years. Ruth is still gardening strong and shares her produce with family and friends.

When we first met Ruth, she was digging carrots to share with her granddaughter and she was willing to share her heritage and her love of the earth, and the knowledge she has gained.

Ruth’s father taught her the basic elements of raising a crop on the farm in the Kipp area. Her dad stated ‘you need to find a good piece of land with sunshine and good moisture and till the earth either by hand or machine.’

In order to have straight rows, Ruth marked it off with a string and pulled a row marker so the rows are evenly spaced.

Ruth grew to love working on the farm and enjoyed the satisfaction of eating vibrant healthy vegetables and fruits. This April to start her area, she decided to dig up the garden plot by hand and sow the seeds. Early morning is the only time to labour in the garden, and then go for a walk.

The garden has flourished with four and a half inches of rain and the result was a bounteous crop of spinach. The garden is perfect therapy to combat the COVID-19 virus of 2020.

One half of her plot consisted of purple potatoes, corn and spring onions. The other half contains rhubarb nestled in the corner, with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Ruth planted cucumbers, and when they didn’t appear she replanted again and now has two crops of cucumbers.

Peas are still climbing up their trellis and been harvested three times. The beans, red beets and white potatoes are some of the staples in her garden.

Mother’s day flowers in containers added a finishing touch for this avid gardener.

At the conclusion of our visit Ruth dug up some purple potatoes and green onions with the energy of a much younger woman.

Thank you for being an exemplary gardener and sharing your heritage knowledge with our community.