Page 22 • Country Acres - Friday, July 17, 2020
In Gilda’s
Garden Compiled by Diane Leukam
SAUK CENTRE – Gilda Gieske has been gardening north of Sauk Centre for nearly 30 years, where she and her husband, Dan, work together and have raised their three children. Gilda grows a wide variety of vegetables and berries, and attends farmers’ markets in Long Prairie, Melrose and Sauk Centre. In addition, the couple has a number of sheep and laying chickens, along with some cats, which Gilda says, “just show up.” Having grown up in a large city, Gieske has a unique perspective on her life in the country. We hope you enjoy these photos, accompanied by quotes from Gieske that were gleaned from a visit with her July 9 at the farm.
“I grew up in Cincinnati. I went to Macalester College for a few years for urban planning and then I discovered I really hated urban planning. So, I stayed in St. Paul and met Dan. It’s kind of silly stupid, but I remember sitting in my big high school class doodling and what I really wanted was this farm with these animals, two of these and two of those. I think three species is plenty; I am enjoying this.”
“The se are my hollyhocks. A lot of the se things I grow for e ye candy. Sunflowe rs come up e ve ry ye ar. I le ave the m whe re I want the m and whe re I don’t want the m the y be come a we e d. The de finition of a weed is a plant out of place.”
“These are our winter squash and pumpkins. Back where Dan is mowing is an 1875 log building that we moved from Dan’s home farm. It was originally a granary.”
“A bee lawn is a new thing. Ours started 29 ye ars ago. Some is inte ntional and some just happe ns. We maybe take it a little bit e xtre me with the be e lawn to e ncourage pollinators, but we have all our cherry bushes and plums loaded so we can’t complain.”
“These are garlic scapes and they don’t do anything. Right now, it’s ve ry ‘foodie ’ to have garlic scape s on the me nu. You can pickle or chop the m, or use the m in scramble d eggs, hotdishes and soups.”
“The south e nd is potatoe s that be long to a young frie nd in St. Paul whose maste rs program got close d down be cause of COVID. Instead of doing nothing, he was working with potato farmers in Mexico and Peru. So, he bought 100 pounds of se e d potatoes. I asked him, ‘what are you going to do with 800 pounds of potatoe s?’ Ide alistic young pe ople don’t plan that far ahe ad. The y are e nthusiastic, the y are wonde rful. I love young people. He is 34.”
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