Garden Opus^®  Helps Troops Plant Seeds of Hope
In a Field of Uncertainty

By Robert F. Gabella March 6, 2007

No matter where any of us stand politically, and no matter how we may each feel about our country's place in the current conflict, there is no doubt that as a nation, we are a people unified in our support for the dedication and sacrifice of our military troops and their families. 

Inspired by the interest of good friends, Captain (Chaplain) Douglas S. Brown, US Army - currently of Iraq; his wife Barbi, of Ft. Riley, KS; his mother Toni, of Downers Grove, IL; and his brother Christopher, of Villa Park, IL; troops deployed to the Baghdad area (and possibly beyond), while far from home and those they love most - will have the opportunity to connect to a greener version of planet Earth.  Even that smallest connection could help ease the passage of time spent in a dusty, unfamiliar, sometimes lonely, and not to mention hostile, land.

Growing garden flowers (at least as we know them here in the midwest) in south-central Iraq is not the easiest task, and access there to familiar plant material of any kind is limited.  Stories have circulated of soldiers receiving squares of sod or turf grass from home, hoping to maintain the connection to to their life and families half a world away.

So I took some time to think about what might grow best there, and thought not only about what would help dress up the chapel, but what might be of interest to other men and women among the troops.  Surely, though their duties come first, a few might have an interest in doing the same as Captain Brown.  Some might even like to try their hand at growing a few vegetables, too.

Some simple criteria kept the choices of seed varieties focused:

•  Tolerance of heat and drought
• Tolerance of poor soil
• Ease of growth from seed - whether sown direct or started indoors
• Quick turnaround - meaning, a reasonably short time between sowing to color, or sowing to edible crop.
• Enough variety so everyone's tastes in flowers and vegetables can be satisfied

So I came up with several choices of flowers - Sunflowers (Helianthus); plus closely related Cosmos , Marigolds (Tagetes) and Zinnia; are all native to the North American Southwest, and are ideal plants to grow in sun, heat and lean soil. All  have large, easy-to handle seeds which germinate quickly even when direct-sown outdoors. Four-O'clock (Mirabilis), Morning Glory (Ipomoea) and Rose-moss (Portulaca) are native of drier zones further South in the Americas; each is famous for its ability to grow in hostile land and scorching sun. Though the seeds of the latter are small and will need to be handled a bit more carefully, I would be remiss to leave them off the list.

Obviously off point, I also chose seeds of mixed Coleus (Solenostemon) in case any of the troops would like to have some color indoors, or wanted to give them a try in a sheltered, semi-shady spot outside. No need to be completely rigid here - there is plenty of room to have fun, and it will be interesting to see how these do!

And rather than ship live sod, I thought, why not send a few bags of Kentucky Bluegrass seed.

Next were the vegetables.  Those tough Native American Tomatoes and Peppers, which thrive (with care) in hot weather, were an easy first choice, as were bush snap beans and Zucchini Squash.  The latter two should be harvestable in less than two months from seeding.  Cucumbers and Cantaloupe are also heat-lovers and produce quickly, and I was able to find two varieties of bush -type cukes, which save space.  A little more iffy were Spinach, Radishes and Lettuce - so I chose varieties which were known for their heat tolerance.  Since all three crops spend only 1-2 months in the ground before harvest, and can be succession planted as well, this would give the opportunity for more than one crop turn of fresh salad fixings.

As I developed my thoughts further, I telephoned Captain Brown's wife, Barbi Brown, in Fort Riley, KS.  She helps coordinate many activities for the Family Readiness Group in regard to support of their unit, and I wanted to get her thoughts on what I had envisioned and at the same time, make sure everything I had in mind was shippable to an APO address.

Then, I began purchasing seeds and seed starting supplies (Jiffy 7^® peat pellet kits, plastic labels, Sharpie^® markers, soluble fertilizer) - some at a big box home center, and some my neighborhood garden center here Villa Park, Pioneer Garden and Feed.  In addition to the seeds I purchased, Pioneer (owned by Ron and Sue Leston) was kind enough to donate about $60 worth of backdated (packaged for 2006) seed to the project - and  I was very grateful for their assistance.

So now the question remained, once the seeds and supplies were delivered,  how would Captain Brown, with my help, get the project started?  I thought about different ways to enable the greatest number of troops to have a hand in starting plants indoors as well as out.  For the outdoor sowings, they are only limited by available space and time, as well as their level of interest.  For indoor sowings, I purchased 10 each of 12-cell Jiffy 7^® peat pellet kits, complete with plastic watering tray and clear plastic dome.  I figured these would give residents of a number of different barracks the opportunity to "adopt" a tray of like or assorted seedlings - and specifically had Tomatoes, Peppers, Coleus and Basil in mind for the indoor part of the project.  Though all of the seeds selected could be sown directly outside, that small group would benefit from the extra nurturing provided by indoor starting.

So I envisioned a meeting, or meetings - maybe with the word spread to chapel attendees in advance - where the seeds of hope are spread among their caretakers.

Fortunately, (and somewhat to my relief as I was afraid I had spun his intentions out of control), Captain Brown was on the same page.

He wrote:

"Bob the magnitude of what you have started has just hit me...

"I am so grateful. I can direct that some [on-base] Iraqi workers build us some boxes to house the plants, or do you think they can be directly planted in the sandy soil? I am not sure, but I will get tons of pictures and the Giant Sunflowers will be a huge hit - as well as the vegetables. Soldiers really love this type of thing and it will connect them to home and to memories of working in the garden.

"I also liked your comment concerning the war:  War.  It is not popular, it never was and never will be but the Men and Women of America will not cower behind talk show pundits or negative pressure from the left or right. They will do their job to the best of their ability and this gift of the Seeds of Hope will refresh them and make their stay her in Iraq more bearable. I also think the Iraqis who work her will get in on it too. The overwhelming vast majority of the Iraqis like the people of America."

Of course, Captain Brown is more than gracious and I can hardly take full credit, as without his initial question about the chapel there would be no inspiration.  So I am merely the vector, and the Seeds of Hope are, of course,  the answer.