Harvest joy from the garden
Yarmouth County couple in their 90s don’t let age stand in the way
YARMOUTH — Robert Cottreau climbs on his bright red lawn tractor and sets off for the garden, a few hundred feet away.
“These are my legs now,” he said with a laugh.
And why not? At the age of 92, Robert's earned the ride. He's saving his energy for the 25-foot by 75-foot garden that he and his 90-year-old bride Ethel planted this spring.
Earlier this year, their daughter Becky wrestled a giant diesel tractor into submission (using chains on the tires when stuck) to plow and harrow a piece of ground for herself and her parents to grow crops. It was the first time her mom and dad had gardened in several years. Before that they had planted vegetables annually for decades.
Years ago, her father used to put in a gigantic garden that fed their family and half the community.
The Cottreaus were quite surprised at the scarcity of seeds this year when the soil was ready to plant.
“Young people grew more this year than they ever have. We couldn't (hardly) even buy seeds,” said Robert Cottreau. “Everyone's planting this year.”
With regard to planting times, the couple agree that beans, squash and cucumbers prefer warm weather and if you plant them before June you might get a frost. Some
people prefer to plant by the waxing and waning of the moon.
“A lot of it is by guess and by God,” said Ethel Cottreau.
Once the potatoes, beans, peas, beet greens, onions, cucumbers and squash were planted there was another challenge — one they'd coped with many times before.
From experience, they say, when it comes to damage from deer, a fence is the best prevention.
“We planted squash because they say that deer don't like squash. But what they do is go and take a bite out of it and if they don't like it they'll move onto the next and say, ‘I'll try this one,” said Ethel.
“They don't eat it, they ruin it,” said Robert.
This time of year the couple is starting to reap the benefits of their many hours weeding and hoeing.
“We've had three or four messes already of new potatoes. Oh, they're good,” said Ethel.
With potatoes you have to pick off the potato bugs on the leaves, she advises.
“We used to have a little can of kerosene and put the bugs in that and squish the eggs between our fingers.”
“Don't forget to hill the potatoes up with a hoe so they don't get sunburned,” adds Robert.
When the tops of the plants die down in the fall and dry up, it's then time to dig the rest of the potatoes.
An older country home like theirs has the perfect place for storing the potato crop: a dirt basement.
“The old folks had dirt basements with dirt floors and then wooden bins off the floor,” said Ethel.
Parsnips don't have to be stored inside. They can stay in the ground all winter.
“It sweetens them up,” said Ethel.
Their daughter is delighted to see them be able to enjoy the pastime (and an earlier necessity) that's been part of their life for close to 150 years in combined time.
“It was obvious that they were missing their garden and the (COVID-19) pandemic gave us more time to focus on tackling bigger projects at home, so it was the perfect opportunity.
“I love to see them out in the garden! It's like a bridge between our family's past and the present, with them as the common thread running through the years."
She adds that both her parents are thriving from all of the healthy benefits that gardening brings.
Ethel says gardening makes her feel like she's doing something important.
“And there's something in it for us at the end of the season,” she said.
“As long as I can do it, it's a good thing to do. It makes you feel good,” adds Robert.