Washington Twp. boy, 8, grows own crops
WASHINGTON TWP. – In the early hours of the morning, farmers around the world head outside to tend to their crops.
Among them is 8-year-old Owen Reinsel.
The Washington Elementary thirdgrader uses a push cultivator to mix the soil on the half-acre property between his house and his neighbor’s, where he grows ambrosia sweet corn, along with a variety of other vegetables.
Family roots
Farming has been an interest of Owen’s for years. His grandparents own a farm, and his mother, Jessica Reinsel, said he enjoys helping them whenever he can.
“They do a lot of crop farming, and he’s kind of involved there. He loves the tractors, he loves the field work, all of that,” she said.
In the past, Reinsel has tried growing vegetable gardens, but she’s never dedicated the time necessary to keep them going. A couple of years ago, Owen decided to take charge of the garden. He’s planted a variety of vegetables, including tomatoes, zucchini, squash, green beans and peppers.
He loves the different aspects of gardening, but the part he enjoys the most is picking and eating the vegetables.
“The cucumbers are my favorite,” he said.
Reinsel said her son is an early-riser, usually waking up around 6:30 or 7 a.m. to start working in his garden.
“As soon as the sun’s up, he’s outside doing something,” she said.
A deal
Owen wanted to try something new this year. In the spring, he went to his neighbor, Kyle Yoder, and asked if he could use a portion of his property to
grow sweet corn. In exchange, he offered to help Yoder plant pumpkins and give him several dozen ears of corn.
Yoder said Owen’s work ethic and level of interest in gardening are impressive.
“He’s a good kid. Always has been. Whenever I’m doing any type of farm work, he comes over to watch or ride or something like that. It’s nice having him around. It’s nice to see somebody who doesn’t just sit in the house and play video games,” Yoder said.
Owen did most of the planting himself. He rototilled the garden, prepared the area for planting and placed stakes in
the ground to create rows of corn. He also had some assistance from his parents and his younger brother, Chase, who is a kindergartener at Washington Elementary.
“He was definitely the drive behind getting everything done and wanting to do it,” Reinsel said. “Mom and Dad were just kind of the helpers. He was the one for sure in charge.”
Cultivating his corn requires Owen to pay close attention to detail.
“You have to make sure you don’t hit the plants. You have to make sure you’re not too close to the roots,” he said.
Owen’s mother said it’s “amazing” to see Owen show this type of dedication and drive at such a young age. She said she can see by watching him how much he loves taking care of his garden.
Yoder said it’s interesting that Owen has the initiative to grow vegetables himself. He said the corn tastes great, adding that he still has some leftover ears he plans to cook and freeze.
“I’ll probably do the same thing again next year,” Owen said.
Reach Paige at 330-580-8577 or pmbennett@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @paigembenn.