Thunderstorms during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..
Tonight
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Volunteers work to plant the Goodnow Interpretive Garden on June 6. From left, volunteers Marty and Carl Reed, Riley County Historical Museum Assistant Derrick Doty (kneeling), and volunteers Emmett Doty, Bob Atchison, and Harvey Doty.
Volunteers work to plant the Goodnow Interpretive Garden on June 6. From left, volunteers Marty and Carl Reed, Riley County Historical Museum Assistant Derrick Doty (kneeling), and volunteers Emmett Doty, Bob Atchison, and Harvey Doty.
The Goodnow Interpretive Kitchen Garden at the Riley County Historical Museum property, 2309 Claflin, was plowed and prepared by Extension Master Gardener Jim Crawford, through coordination by Gregg Eyestone. Blueville Nursery also provided further assistance in ground preparation. The garden was planted on June 6 by museum assistant Derrick Doty, museum director Katharine Hensler, and five additional volunteers coordinated by Doty.
Using Isaac Goodnow’s diary and period agricultural publications, the garden includes vegetables that were grown in Kansas from about 1855 to 1880. It will be a hands-on, interactive, educational exhibit to aid in the interpretation of the Goodnow and early Kansas emigrant stories.
“Isaac Goodnow kept pretty consistent diaries throughout his life,” Derrick Doty, RCHM assistant, said. “At the Riley County Museum, we have word docs of his diaries from 1855-1880. I’ve spent about the past three months going through those and compiling any agricultural information that Goodnow notes. We’ve ended up with about 100 pages of information. Some of his entries are pretty boring, like ‘Hoed in the garden.’ But once in a while, Goodnow gives us some substance.
“Early in his diaries, he mentions growing Kershaw squash. No doubt he means Cushaw, which is a squash native to North America and has been grown here for hundreds of years. It’s a winter squash, which means it develops a hard shell and stores well over the winter, an important feature for early settlers in Riley County. Goodnow describes the ‘Kershaw’ as prepared and tasting like sweet potatoes. This will be one of the vegetables grown in the museum garden.
“Goodnow mentioned a number of vegetables that we are going to try to grow, like egg beans, vegetable oysters, pie plant, etc. But where he’s not specific about variety, we’ll use period varieties that are available today and that were commonly used in the mid-19th century. For instance, Goodnow grew muskmelon but doesn’t state what variety, so we’ll grow Anne Arundel which has been popular in New England since the 1730s. We also have to depend on availability. While a number of the potatoes Goodnow mentions are still grown today, seed potato for those varieties was not available to purchase this year. So, we’ll be growing a good alternative — Rose Finn Apple potatoes — which were pretty common since the 1840s.”
Doty said besides growing historic vegetables, he and volunteer gardeners also will be following historic methods as much as possible.
“Of course, the ground was broken with a modern tiller because we couldn’t find anyone with a team and plow to do it the old-fashioned way,” he said. “But perhaps in the future … Volunteers helping with the garden this year will be introduced to historic planting methods and have an opportunity at hands-on learning. We’ll get to use some old tools like a hand corn planter.
Our references for historical culture will be my personal collection of agricultural publications dating from 1851 to 1880. Through the season, we’ll get to learn why Goodnow, a good upright Methodist who didn’t smoke, grew tobacco, or why he put wood ashes on his apple trees.”
Volunteers can expect to spend about 30 minutes to one hour each week weeding, hoeing, watering, planting, pruning, digging, shoveling, raking, etc. Depending upon levels of interest, volunteers may also have the opportunity to participate in workshops pertaining to the garden, such as making hickory rakes, or cooking and preserving produce from the garden.
For more information about volunteering, please contact the museum at 785-565-6490 or volunteers@rileychs.com.
Gloria Freeland is a professor emerita from Kansas State University’s A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication, and she is on the Riley County Historical Society board of directors.
