Gardener Profile
Gardener Profile:
Ernest Rodgers
Swope Park Community Garden
Ernest Rodgers (known as "Ernie" around KCCG) remembers his first gardening experience when he was seven years old in Waterproof, Louisiana. His grandmother gave him some black-eyed peas, dried beans and popcorn from their pantry. He planted them and they grew! Encouraged by that success, he remembers saving seeds out of watermelons and other fruits and vegetables to plant in his garden. He next started growing greens which became one of his favorite crops.
His grandmother taught him how to garden and gave him important advice for his future gardening endeavors. She said, “if you are going to have a garden, you have to keep it clean.” He still follows that advice 60 years later as he meticulously weeds his garden, pulling out weeds when they are small before they have a chance to get big.
Ernest also remembers making a scrapbook of leaves from the plants in the vegetable garden. He labeled these leaves so that he could learn to identify the leaves and learn the names of the different plants.
After growing up, Ernest always tried to have a garden wherever he lived. He was gardening on his own when he heard about KCCG from a friend. He was looking for a better place to garden and when he saw the Swope Park Community Garden, he signed up right away. He has been gardening at the Swope Garden since it opened.
Ernest loves "eating fresh out of the garden" and he loves watching things grow. “I could just sit and watch it grow every day." He loves sharing produce with other people (especially those who don’t have access to a garden or are unable to garden.) He also enjoys helping other people with their gardens, while volunteering at the Swope garden.
Ernest especially enjoys the Swope Garden because of the presence of all the other gardeners. Gardening at a community garden gives him the chance to exchange ideas with other gardeners, which Ernest has found is the best way to learn about gardening. He appreciates that his garden saves him a lot of money with his food budget. He also says that being a member of the KCCG saves him money on gardening costs.
During the gardening season from early March to late November, Ernest comes to the community garden almost every single day (sometimes twice a day). In the heat of the summer, of course, he likes to garden in the early morning hours and the early evening time.
When asked about advice he would give to beginning gardeners, Ernest recommends trying a fall garden. Ernest has witnessed new gardeners give up in late summer when it gets hot and you don’t necessarily feel like planting new seeds and plants. Planting in late July and early August will give you crops that will grow and thrive with the cool fall temperatures.
It was hard for Ernest to name his favorite crops because he likes to grow everything. He did admit to being especially fond of growing green beans, onions, sweet potatoes and greens. Mustard greens are his favorite and likes to mix them with turnip greens or kale. He does freeze a lot of produce from his garden and he also did some canning of pickled hot peppers (jalapenos are his favorite).
Even with all his gardening activities, Ernest manages to find a little time for other hobbies including, fishing, softball and cooking. He says that he loves to cook a big Sunday dinner (with produce from the garden). So what does a gardener do this time of year when it’s too cold to garden? Right now Ernest is waiting. He is waiting for January, when he will again start volunteering his time (along with other gardeners) to help package seeds at the KCCG office. For him, that is the beginning of the garden season.
