By Ryan Sparks
Nebraska has a long-standing gardening heritage. Seed catalogs from Lincoln dating back to the 1880s advertise radishes, peas and “early red perfection” tomatoes. Nebraska gardeners persevered through the Dust Bowl, famines and stock market crashes. During World War II, “Victory Gardens” grew bumper crops for the war effort, and gardeners from Omaha to Scottsbluff helped ease the food shortage. Today, many Nebraskans continue this tradition, planting the same varieties enjoyed throughout the state for more than a century. Across Nebraska, gardeners work to bring their harvest to the table. They prepare the soil, pluck stubborn weeds and nurture tender green shoots into delicious fruits and vegetables. While each gardener has their own reason for cultivating plant life – pleasure, nourishment, mental calm – the results are nearly the same: fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes, succulently ripe berries, crisp and tender asparagus.
In the southeastern corner of the state, Jane Sparks tends her garden under the hot summer sun. Protected by the shade of her wide straw hat, she plucks small, brilliantly red strawberries and drops them into her basket. A lifelong Nebraskan, Jane has been gardening for more than 70 years. Full disclosure, she is also my grandmother, and the strawberries she is picking are the taste of summer I grew up with. Back in her kitchen, she sprinkles a scant pinch of sugar over the just-picked berries and pours a generous amount of table cream over the top. Between bites, I ask how long she has been gardening and she smiles. “As long as I can remember,” she says with a laugh.
As you might have guessed, Jane is also an excellent cook, and the fruits and vegetables from her garden are used to their full potential. The things she and my grandfather can’t eat immediately are frozen or canned for use throughout the year. Opening a jar of her home-canned peaches in winter is a small reprieve from the cold and snow – she seems to can the essence of summer in each jar along with the peaches. Her cellar is a library of mason jars containing the tomatoes, sweet corn, beans, beets, pears, peaches, apples, rhubarb and a list of other produce too long to mention that she grows in her garden.
Jane and my grandfather, Stanley, moved to a farm near Cedar Creek in Cass County from Big Springs in 1953. Their new home had an orchard with 16 fruit trees, and it wasn’t long before they put in a large garden.
“I appreciated the longer growing season,” she says, recalling their first few seasons at the new home. “I remember flipping through seed catalogs and seeing all the new things I could plant.”
At its height, her garden comprised a quarter acre with an additional stand of sweet corn and a strawberry patch larger than the entire gardens of most people. One year, when an early snow fell before Thanksgiving, I drove her to the grocery store and was confused when she put only a few things in her cart. I thought she had forgotten her shopping list, but when I asked, she shrugged, “No, I think I have everything else I need.” Two days later, we sat down to a Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings, many of which came from her garden.
While my grandmother’s garden is one to aspire to, not everyone has the space, time or energy for such an undertaking. However, with Nebraska’s rich soil and ample sunshine it’s easy for new gardeners to find success. Gardening is a great way to spend time outside and the rewards are measured in smiles at the dinner table. Another option for aspiring green thumbs are community gardens. For a modest fee, you receive an allotment of land to plant whatever you like alongside other gardeners. It’s also a way for new gardeners to glean knowledge from their more experienced neighbors. If you are unsure of yourself or want to limit the investment of money and time to start a larger garden, community gardens are a great place to start.
Maybe you just don’t have time for gardening. If so, consider visiting one of Nebraska’s numerous farmers markets. The Omaha Farmers Market is the largest and oldest in the state with more than one hundred vendors. Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket Farmers Market offers produce, meats, plants, baked goods, fresh cheese, crafts and more. Kearney, Grand Island and North Platte also have excellent farmers markets that host activities and events in addition to letting you enjoy seasonal produce without the work of a garden. Additionally, think about subscribing to a Community Supported Agriculture program. Subscribers receive a weekly box of seasonal produce, and the amount of fruit and vegetables you get is usually worth much more than the CSA subscription. As a bonus, you will create relationships with local farmers and support Nebraska agriculture.
Whether you grow a personal garden or buy the ingredients at a farmers market, summer is the time to enjoy the best of what Nebraska has to offer. Growing something from seed to stalk or even talking with local growers changes your outlook on food. It creates a sense of ownership and pride in both yourself and the state. I hope you find that special connection in the following recipes.
FRESH STRAWBERRY PIE
Yield: 8-10 pieces
Ingredients
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 3 1/2 tbsp. powdered sugar
- 1 quart Nebraska strawberries, sliced
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp. cornstarch
- Whipped cream to cover
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cut the butter into the flour and powdered sugar. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake until slightly brown, about 20 minutes. Place half the strawberries in the crust. Add sugar and cornstarch to the remaining strawberries.
Simmer the mixture in a saucepan until it thickens and becomes clear. Let the mixture cool slightly and then pour it over the fresh strawberries in the crust. Place the pie in the refrigerator and allow it to cool completely. Once the pie has cooled, cover it with whipped cream and serve.
– Recipe by Jane Sparks, author’s grandmother
GREEN WALNUT LIQUEUR (NOCINO)
Yield: 1 liter
Ingredients
- 25 green walnuts, whole in-the-shell, quartered
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise pod
- zest of one lemon in 1/2 inch strips
- 1 liter vodka or Everclear
Wearing latex gloves to avoid semi-permanently staining your hands, quarter walnuts and pack them into a sterile 1 gallon glass jar with lid. Add sugar, spices, lemon zest and alcohol. Ensure jar’s lid is tight and shake to dissolve the sugar.
Allow liqueur to steep for 40 days in a dark cabinet, periodically shaking the jar to disperse any sugar that has settled. Strain liquid, disposing of solids, and decant into a clean jar. Nocino is drinkable immediately but does mellow with a couple more months of aging. Use as an ingredient in cocktails, by itself as a digestif or, my favorite, drizzled over vanilla ice cream.
– Abigael Birrell