He Has A Feel For Gardening

2010 - Volume #34, Issue #3, Page #21

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When Oklahoma days are at their hottest, Dave Hite prefers to garden at night. That's easy for him because darkness doesn't bother him. He's been blind since a chemical accident took his sight eight years ago.

    The 57-year-old knows every inch of his 40 by 72-ft. garden because he mitered and assembled the 4 by 4-in. treated timbers to create 4 by 24-ft. beds himself. He leveled the 4-ft. wide paths between the beds using 10-ft. long square tubing and boards as guides and covered the pathways with 6 mil black plastic to prevent weeds from growing. He carved Hallelujah on the beam over the bridge and flagstone paver walkway he built that leads from his house to the garden. Eventually he'll put flagstone on all of the pathways to make the entire garden accessible to people in wheelchairs.

    Hite bought a 20-acre place near Stillwater, Okla., three years ago that he calls Hallelujah Acres. "My goal for this property is to turn it into a learning center for people who want to learn how to garden and fend for themselves," Hite explains. "Most centers are not equipped to teach like this."

    Hite, formerly an industrial welder, has gardened since he was a child. After his accident, it became a bigger part of his life.

    "The first problem I had was that I had no sense of direction at all. Overcoming that was a big issue," Hite says. He eventually recalled a Bonanza episode where a blind girl ran a rope from the house to the well so she could find her way there and back.

    Nylon cord now guides him throughout Hallelujah Acres. The nylon cords that run north and south are bigger than the lines going east and west so he knows which direction he's going.

    He praises the local Veterans Administration for getting him tools that have helped build the beds, bridge and path - an audible level and a measuring tape that clicks and has ridges he can feel, for example.

    "My most useful tool is the Pythagorean theory," Hite says. He used combinations of multiples of 3, 4 and 5 to square the entire garden area off his house. From there he measured off the perimeter to set up his beds and pathways. He uses cords with rings on the end that slip over rebar stakes when he marks out lines.

    "Everything is accurate to within 1/4-in. That is the thing I'm proudest of," Hite says.

    To mark garden rows he stretches nylon cord between 3/8-in. rebar. Hite finds the center of his beds and measures 6-in. on each side to mark two rows. To plant, he spaces rubber bands on a mop handle, places it on the ground and buries a seed next to each rubber band. If he needs to turn away for more seeds, he places a stick where he planted the last seed to mark his place. Hite recycled a spice container with holes to sprinkle lettuce and other small seeds, which are then raked over lightly.

    "Kneepads are my best friend," Hite laughs. He sometimes spends up to 10 hours a day on his knees weeding.

    He waits until the plants get a few inches tall before weeding close to them. He's learned to differentiate by feel between weeds and vegetables.

    "One of the hard lessons I learned is don't weed corn until it gets three leaves," Hite says. "Corn and crabgrass feel identical. I once pulled a whole row of corn."

    He can tell by feel when vegetables are ready to harvest. The only thing that makes him nervous about gardening is getting too close to poisonous copperhead snakes common in the area. His son killed three by his pecan trees.

    "The squash bed is the most dangerous for snakes," Hite says. "What I do is move slowly enough so they can leave. I raise up leaves slowly and keep back far enough that if they have it in mind to strike, I get bit on the arm or hand."

    So far he hasn't been bitten.

    Midnight gardening also has its dangers, as it's the same time wild animals are on the prowl. There are bobcats and even a mountain lion in the area. Hite plays a radio to dissuade them from coming too close, and he's fencing the entire garden area. He also recently found a Cocker Spaniel to adopt from a pound. When he found out the dog had impaired vision, he agreed to take it in. He felt that the dog deserved a second chance at life.

"I care more about what he hears and smells. He'll hang close to me," Hite says, adding he renamed it Gabe - short for Gabriel, the guardian angel.

This year, Hite plans to expand from 5 beds to 2 beds during the March-October season.

Hite sent FARM SHOW photos that he took himself, and he says he would love to hear from others seeking advice on how they can set up a garden of their own.

"Losing your eyesight is not the end of the world. To me, to put seeds in the ground and then watch the miracle that God works with them...I'm amazed at the way he works," Hite says.

Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Hite, 5604 Prairie Rd., Glencoe, Okla. 74032 (ph 405 377-4325).

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He Has A Feel For Gardening AG WORLD Ag World When Oklahoma days are at their hottest Dave Hite prefers to garden at night That s easy for him because darkness doesn t bother him He s been blind since a chemical accident took his sight eight years ago
    The 57-year-old knows every inch of his 40 by 72-ft garden because he mitered and assembled the 4 by 4-in treated timbers to create 4 by 24-ft beds himself He leveled the 4-ft wide paths between the beds using 10-ft long square tubing and boards as guides and covered the pathways with 6 mil black plastic to prevent weeds from growing He carved Hallelujah on the beam over the bridge and flagstone paver walkway he built that leads from his house to the garden Eventually he ll put flagstone on all of the pathways to make the entire garden accessible to people in wheelchairs
    Hite bought a 20-acre place near Stillwater Okla three years ago that he calls Hallelujah Acres My goal for this property is to turn it into a learning center for people who want to learn how to garden and fend for themselves Hite explains Most centers are not equipped to teach like this
    Hite formerly an industrial welder has gardened since he was a child After his accident it became a bigger part of his life
     The first problem I had was that I had no sense of direction at all Overcoming that was a big issue Hite says He eventually recalled a Bonanza episode where a blind girl ran a rope from the house to the well so she could find her way there and back
    Nylon cord now guides him throughout Hallelujah Acres The nylon cords that run north and south are bigger than the lines going east and west so he knows which direction he s going
    He praises the local Veterans Administration for getting him tools that have helped build the beds bridge and path - an audible level and a measuring tape that clicks and has ridges he can feel for example
     My most useful tool is the Pythagorean theory Hite says He used combinations of multiples of 3 4 and 5 to square the entire garden area off his house From there he measured off the perimeter to set up his beds and pathways He uses cords with rings on the end that slip over rebar stakes when he marks out lines
     Everything is accurate to within 1/4-in That is the thing I m proudest of Hite says
    To mark garden rows he stretches nylon cord between 3/8-in rebar Hite finds the center of his beds and measures 6-in on each side to mark two rows To plant he spaces rubber bands on a mop handle places it on the ground and buries a seed next to each rubber band If he needs to turn away for more seeds he places a stick where he planted the last seed to mark his place Hite recycled a spice container with holes to sprinkle lettuce and other small seeds which are then raked over lightly
     Kneepads are my best friend Hite laughs He sometimes spends up to 10 hours a day on his knees weeding
    He waits until the plants get a few inches tall before weeding close to them He s learned to differentiate by feel between weeds and vegetables
     One of the hard lessons I learned is don t weed corn until it gets three leaves Hite says Corn and crabgrass feel identical I once pulled a whole row of corn
    He can tell by feel when vegetables are ready to harvest The only thing that makes him nervous about gardening is getting too close to poisonous copperhead snakes common in the area His son killed three by his pecan trees
     The squash bed is the most dangerous for snakes Hite says What I do is move slowly enough so they can leave I raise up leaves slowly and keep back far enough that if they have it in mind to strike I get bit on the arm or hand
    So far he hasn t been bitten
    Midnight gardening also has its dangers as it s the same time wild animals are on the prowl There are bobcats and even a mountain lion in the area Hite plays a radio to dissuade them from coming too close and he s fencing the entire garden area He also recently found a Cocker Spaniel to adopt from a pound When he found out the dog had impaired vision he agreed to take it in He felt that the dog deserved a second chance at life
I care more about what he hears and smells He ll hang close to me Hite says adding he renamed it Gabe - short for Gabriel the guardian angel
This year Hite plans to expand from 5 beds to 2 beds during the March-October season
Hite sent FARM SHOW photos that he took himself and he says he would love to hear from others seeking advice on how they can set up a garden of their own
Losing your eyesight is not the end of the world To me to put seeds in the ground and then watch the miracle that God works with them I m amazed at the way he works Hite says
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dave Hite 5604 Prairie Rd Glencoe Okla 74032 ph 405 377-4325

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