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Quote of the Day: Sarah “Sally” Broadhead

January 8th, 2012

“People were running here and there screaming that the town would be shelled, no one knew where to go or what to do. My husband went out to the garden and picked a mess of beans, for he declared the rebels shall have not one.”

-Sarah “Sally” Broadhead (from her journal, she lived in Gettysburg, PA during the Civil War).

Mr Chiots and I love watching documentaries and shows about historical events. We were watching The Civil War – A PBS special by Ken Burns. It’s very similar to the National Parks one, only it’s much older. It’s a fantastic documentary, I would highly recommend watching it. If you have Netflix you can watch in On Demand through them.

This quote jumped out at me when I heard it, it’s interesting that during such a difficult time, her husband picked food from the garden. Likely he knows what many of us do, that gardening is one of the greatest stress relievers and one of the best ways to feel like you’re in control of your future!

I also love that the picked the beans so that the rebels wouldn’t get them. Isn’t this how we can be sometimes with our homegrown vegetables. I am at time very greedy with them, not wanting to share them unless I know the person will truly enjoy them. Although I actually do love sharing it because nothing will encourage someone to grow their own more than tasting how much better homegrown vegetables can be and there’s nothing I like more than encouraging someone to grow their own!

Do you ever feel like you’re greedy with your homegrown food, or do you always share freely with others?  If you had to save something from you garden from the enemy what would it be? 

16 Comments to “Quote of the Day: Sarah “Sally” Broadhead”
  1. Andrea Duke on January 8, 2012 at 7:50 am

    I share with others pretty easily, especially when people say “I wish I could do that” or “I want to learn how to do those things”. I have several friends who always say they want to get together and make stuff, but if I waited for them, I would have anything either!

    I am always surprised and enjoy seeing reactions at how amazed people seem to be with canned goods or when I have local meat in the freezer. Do you notice that with visitors or friends as well?

    My Grandparents were farmers and gardeners, so I like to think I “take” after them :)

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  2. Allison on January 8, 2012 at 9:10 am

    I love watching history documentaries too! Last week at work I had the History Channel on and it was one of the Vietnam War – sad, but the footage was fascinating!

    And I know what you mean about the goods from the garden. I feel like I take so much time and care to choose special heirlooms to grow and some people wouldn’t even take the time to realize the difference between it and a GMO from the grocery store :/ But as you say, I hope I can make them see, err taste, the light ;)

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  3. Misti on January 8, 2012 at 10:02 am

    Ah, The Civil War. I spent a summer between high school and college sailing on a ship throughout the south Pacific and Gulf of Mexico on a summer school at sea boat with my college. We took two classes, helped keep the boat clean with particular duties and thought we’d have nice free time in the evenings—then our history professor made us watch this series every evening! I think I had the Battle Hymn of the Republic stuck in my head for years! It is a great documentary but when you are 18 it is not high up on your list of things to watch—even moreso when you are at sea!

    I definitely have a problem sharing our food from the garden, sometimes we share but most of the time I just want it filling up my freezer for later on in the year.

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  4. Songbirdtiff on January 8, 2012 at 10:29 am

    I’m generous with my homegrown items to people I know and love but I certainly don’t give them to just anyone. Like you said, just the people who I know will appreciate them. One of my goals is to be that lady who always shows up at a friends house with a basket full of my homegrown items. It’s a labor of love. I’m not wealthy (and some of my friends are) but it’s what I have to offer and share and they have always been grateful and gracious.

    On a slightly related note, my husband always said he didn’t like tomatoes. That is until this year when we had a huge crop and he would go out there and snack while he works. Now he mentions at least once a week how he’s ready for garden tomatoes. :)

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  5. goatpod2 on January 8, 2012 at 11:13 am

    We don’t usually have enough to share.

    Amy

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  6. KimH on January 8, 2012 at 2:09 pm

    I’ve always been generous with my garden goods but about 8 years ago, that generosity almost came to an end.

    I had a neighbor turn their nose up at me & my offerings and basically slam me hard with their words.. ouch.. it hurt. I refused to offer that person one more thing from my life including neighborly friendship for quite a few years. Terrible, isnt it.. I havent forgotten it but I have forgiven it. It wasnt hurting anyone but me to hold a grudge, and its not really my style or spirit anyways. ;)

    I think these days, the only thing I wouldnt share unless I had more than plenty is squash.. any kind. I could eat squash every day of my life & be satisfied with my food.
    No rebel soldiers gonna eat my squashes, unless it was one of my family members…. haha. ;)

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  7. Daedre Craig on January 8, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    I do get greedy about some of my homegrown stuff. Anything that I don’t have very much of does not get shared. For example, I made dilly beans for the first time this summer. They are amazing and I can’t bring myself to give away any more jars because I want them all for myself!

    Then again, I did bring several huge crates of heirloom tomatoes in to work last summer. I had such a glut, that I desperately needed to find homes for some of them.

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  8. Liz J on January 8, 2012 at 2:49 pm

    For the past couple of years I have grown an abundance in the garden, more than we can use, just so we can pass it along to other people. I guess where I hesitate sharing is with canned items. People who have gardens and can their food appreciate that jars get reused. I am hesitant giving something canned to someone who may toss the jar. I always say, “if you can use the jar, keep it…if you give it back to me, I’ll return it with a filled one…but please don’t toss it. It doesn’t always work, and I still buy more jars every year.

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  9. Lynda on January 8, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    I share my garden, but sometimes I find it difficult…I don’t think I’m greedy I just want the food to be appreciated and that’s not always the case. I can hundreds and hundreds of jars of produce and other food stuffs and always ask for my jars back…I’d guess I get my jars back less than 1/2 of the time. I do have a hard time giving meat. We raise our own or have it raised and we know each of the animals personally. Our meat has a *face*…therefore we don’t eat lots of meat. I think if you are a meat eater you should have to raise and slaughter at least one meat animal…it changes your whole idea of meat in your diet. Oh and the one thing I wouldn’t let the enemy have from my garden would be the Waltham Butternut Squash…man, you could live forever on that stuff: YUMMY!

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    • Susy on January 8, 2012 at 8:37 pm

      Waltham is one of my favorites too!

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  10. roxanne shea on January 8, 2012 at 9:39 pm

    I share my garden with close friends and family. The people who are really going to use it and not waste it. I grow to have it year round, I can and freeze,I get just a little upset when I ask how was it and they say it went bad before they could use it, so why did you take it,Repeat offenders are cut off. They just don’t get the Idea of planning to eat what I grow year round,Such as apple sauce, if you use one jar a week , you need 52 jars to last you till next apple season, But now with food prices sky high they are starting to get it.If the enemy wanted my watermellons , we would really have to get into it, only the 2 dogs and I eat them, and we don’t share. Best Wishes , Roxy

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  11. Jay Miller on January 8, 2012 at 10:34 pm

    Honey from my bee’s! It’s like liquid gold, we have almost completely replaced white sugar with our own honey! I almost cried when my dad told me he gave away all his!

    Reply to Jay Miller's comment

    • Susy on January 9, 2012 at 9:02 am

      Hopefully whoever he gave it to enjoyed it (I’m sure they did). Growing/producing your own really does make you realize how much work goes into it and how valuable it really is. I’m convinced if more people grew even just a bit of their own food and took the time to cook a few meals from scratch there would be far less food waste in this country!

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  12. itchbay on January 8, 2012 at 11:21 pm

    I have to admit I’m pretty stingy with my garden produce, except for chard, which I have so much of I can afford to give it away by the bundles. It’s mainly because I have such a small supply in my little garden.

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  13. Sarah on January 9, 2012 at 10:56 pm

    I am greedy! Because I hate to think it goes to waste or unloved. If I give a basket and I hear back great feedback and it shows they really appreciated the veg, then I’m eager to take note and share more the next year. Black plum tomatoes were the biggest hit this year!

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  14. karen gimson on January 12, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    Here in the uk, I am just enjoying some pears from a @fruit_share scheme. You can register you details to exchange surplus fruit. I have a very small orchard which produces more apples than I can cope with. But now I have made a friend to swop produce- and we are both happy! This autumn, I am hoping to obtain some crab apples to make jelly and jam. In exchange, I will offer some plums. I was brought up on a farm and dislike waste of any kind. I’ve enjoyed your blog. It’s good to see how others live on the other side of the world. We all have a common interest in living well, feeding our families and making friends.

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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