Gardening in Cherokee
According to Tim Stewart, green plants like cabbage, kale, mustard,
collards and turnip greens grow well in the soil of Cherokee County,
but are better suited to be grown during the winter months.
Local farmer offers up valuable advice for growing one’s own plants
Story and photography by Donald Campbell
For generations, it was necessary for people to grow their own
crops in order to survive. While this may no longer be the case,
farming is still a thriving occupation. At the same time, with the
explosion of the modern organic movement, people growing their
own vegetables in a backyard garden has become highly popular.
For those interested in getting their own garden started, or for
those who may be looking for ways to improve upon what they have
already been growing, one local farmer offered up plenty of valuable
advice on the subject.
Tim Stewart with Rockin’ S Farm, located on Claude Scott Road
in the Free Home community, has been growing vegetables and
other plants on his property for more than 10 years. Not only has
he been successful in growing crops he and his family can enjoy, he
also operates a small stand near his home, selling the vegetables he
has grown, along with other products he has produced, to members
of the community. With his experience in growing plants of all
kinds, Stewart shared some of his wealth of knowledge to help others
interested in home gardening.
14 CHEROKEE LIFE | MARCH - APRIL 2020
Arguably the biggest factor when growing any kind of plant is the
weather, according to Stewart. The amount of sunshine each day plays
an important role in plant growth, as sunlight is key in the process of
photosynthesis, allowing plants to produce much of the food it needs
to keep growing. Air flow is another important factor to consider, as
plants excel at producing the oxygen needed to sustain life.
Along with good weather, Stewart said spending a regular amount
of time working in the garden, rooting out weeds that could choke
off plants and taking good care of what has been planted is virtually
essential. One old saying that Stewart said is excellent advice is, “the
best thing for a garden is footprints.” Having flowers in the garden or
near a home vegetable patch not only makes the area more beautiful
and eye-catching, but can be very useful, as they attract bees and can
thus help with pollenating nearby plants as well, Stewart said.
Providing plants with enough water to grow is naturally one of the
first things many people think to do when growing anything. While
this is true, Stewart said overwatering a plant can be just as bad for it
as not giving it enough water.