HOT PURSUIT
Within the past few weeks, Lloyd Kaplan harvested the remaining carrots in his garden on the south end of Owatonna. He shares the fruits of his labor with neighbors in his townhome association. Staff photo by Rick Bussler
Who needs Mister Rogers’ neighborhood, which became the iconic famed TV program for children, when you have Mr. Kaplan’s neighborhood right in your own back yard?
About two dozen neighbors in the Emerald Acres Development— a townhome association on the south end of Owatonna— have found out that Lloyd Kaplan may rival Fred Rogers when it comes to generosity.
It started 11 years ago when Kaplan and his wife Jackie moved off their Ellendale area farm to Owatonna. Most everything stayed on the farm except for one important part of Kaplan’s life—his garden.
He convinced the townhome association where he now lives to allow him to plant a garden. Developer Greg Horecka, who is now deceased, told Kaplan at the time he could have whatever size he wanted. Kaplan settled on maintaining a 20-foot by 24-foot garden in his back yard.
Granted he once had three much larger gardens on the farm and now is down to just one smaller plot. But it suits the 86-year-old retired farmer and local history buff just fine.
“I brought the garden with me,” said Kaplan. “You can take the farmer off the farm, but you can’t take gardening away.”
Kaplan grows a little bit of everything in his garden, including radishes, carrots, green beans, onions, spinach, lettuce, chives, tomatoes and the list goes on. During one growing season, he is so meticulous and efficient in his gardening that he is able to harvest three crops of vegetables. Once the early crops are grown, he plants another crop and repeats the cycle yet a third time before Mother Nature shuts him down for the winter.
“It used to be called a victory garden,” Kaplan said. In wartime, governments encouraged people to plant victory gardens not only to supplement their rations but also to boost morale. These gardens were considered a civil morale booster in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown.
And that’s where Kaplan’s neighborhood comes into play.
Beginning in early May, he makes his rounds throughout the neighborhood giving away the fruits of his labor by showing up on their door step.
“I supply the whole neighborhood,” Kaplan said. “I have something every day for the neighbors.”
He didn’t have a shortage of veggies to hand out this year. Kaplan said everything grew extremely well this year.
It may surprise you how Kaplan achieves such a bountiful harvest.
“Horse manure,” he said. “It doesn’t stink and it doesn’t have weeds in it.”
Kaplan’s only casualty this year was the beets, which the birds came in to devour.
His personal favorite was the Burpless cucumbers.
“Everyone in the neighborhood likes them and told me they were the best they had ever had,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan said he had at least 100 tomatoes from each of five tomato plants this year.
And Kaplan has another secret in regards to growing tomatoes.
“Egg shells,” he said. “I put them around the tomato plants. It adds calcium for fertility and it helps prevent disease.”
Asked how long he’s been gardening, Kaplan smiled and held his hand up about three feet off the ground indicating he’s been doing it since he was a youngster.
“It has been a part of our lifestyle,” he says. “I inherited this from my parents.”
He’s even passed it on to his children. His son, Dean, raised apples, oranges and lemons as a “relief to his job.” Sadly, Dean died a few years ago at the age of 46 after battling colon cancer.
Kaplan’s daughter, Gail, also enjoys gardening. She lives in Dent, Minn. where she retired after spending 31 years in the National Guard.
Over the years, Kaplan has been encouraged to enter vegetables at the fair. But he’s not into winning prizes.
“I don’t do it for that,” he said. “I like to grow them and eat them and supply the neighborhood.”
With gardening pretty much wrapped up for the season, Kaplan will have a little break for a few months. But he will be hitting it hard in January when he studies gardening catalogs and creates a map of his garden for the next season.
“It is just part of what I do,” Kaplan said. “I’m a heart patient, and I need exercise. The garden gives me exercise.”
And perhaps most importantly, he’s going in hot pursuit of supplying the neighborhood with fresh veggies to lift the spirits of others in what can be a dark world at times.