Page 2 — SUSQUEHANNA BULLETIN

MAXICROP can be of
benefit to almost every
growing plant at every
stage of development. It
increases resistance to in-
sects, disease, frost.

Use MAXICROP when you
plant your seeds, use it on
growing plants. Use it on
house plants, lawns, fruit
farm crops. Crop yields
are increased greatly - The
results are amazing!
to farmers.
HAVE YOU NOTICED THIS IS THE LAST MONTH
#1
STATE INSPECTIONS?
MILLER’S
Mobil’ SERVICE
271 WEST MARKET STREET, MARIETTA
426-3430
MAXICROP
and shade trees, gardens,-
MAXICROP is entirely organic and non-polluting.
A marvelous aid to all gardeners - from housewives
See WEAVER'S for seeds, Maxicrop and Erth-Rite.
WEAVER'S
Natural Foods, Inc.
37 Market Square, Manheim, Pa. 17545
——" PHONE 665-6871

ij

A

EMERGENCY
MEDICAL CALLS
SATURDAY
AFTERNOON
and
SUNDAY
Dr. Newton Kendig
(Mount Joy Area Only)

Susquehanna Times
Advertising Mgr.
News Editor
Circulation Mgr.

EMERGENCY
MEDICAL SERVICES
Available Day & Night
COLUMBIA HOSPITAL"
7th & Poplar
(Emergency Entrance)

"Helper

Mrs. Norman H. Sprecher
of 120 Columbia Avenue,
Mount Joy, is an “organic
gardener. This means that
she uses only natural ferti-
lizers like manure and de-
composed leaves and grass
to make her garden grow.
Asked how long she had
been an organic gardener,

(Continued from page 1)

gress” each year, so to
speak? Usually, this pro-
blem can be traced to poor
soil maintenance. If a bed
is properly prepared at
planting time with correct
amounts of humus, man-
ures, fertilizers, and if addi-
tional soil nutrients are add-
ed at frequent intervals,
your roses will bloom pro-
fusely. I am looking for-
ward to this year’s results
in my own garden; because,

SUSQUEHANNA BULLETIN
& The Mount Joy Bulletin
Box 75A, R. D. 1, Marietta, Pa. 17547
Published weekly on Wednesday except 4th of July and
Christmas week (50 issues per year)
Publisher - Nancy H. Bromer, 426-2212 or 426-1707
Nancy Bromer, 426-2212
Hazel Baker, 426-3643
Judy Swab, 426-3159
Advertising Rates Upon Request
Entered at the post office in Marietta, Pa., as second class
mail under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription Rate: $4 per year
April 16, 1975 - Vol. 75 No. 15

to my knowledge, elephant
manure has never been add-
ed to the soil. After the
| circus vacated the Borough
Park last fall, I transported
the feces to my compost
pile. After thoroughly de-
' composing, the mulch was
applied to the bed. If there
is any size correlation here,
I look forward to some
: mammoth blooms!
Keep in mind that roses
»also need weekly spraying
, from the time the leaves
form, until the plants are
dormant in the fall. Roses
are basically thirsty, so do
not overlook them with ex-
, tra water in periods of dry
| weather.

and Mrs. Norman H. Sprecher
(Studying "Organic Gardening")
she replied, “Always.” Mrs.
Sprecher, whose maiden
name was Landis, grew up
on a farm east of Lancaster
and said she learned organic
farming from her father.
Every farmer used to be
“organic.”
In growing her splendid
vegetables, Mrs. Sprecher
Lastly, I would be happy
to share all information with
anyone interested in pursu-
ing this rewarding hobby.
Feel free to stop by any-
has a “helper” as he calls
himself, her husband, Nor-
man H. Sprecher. Mr.
Sprecher emphasizes that it
is Mrs. Sprecher “who has
the green thumb,” and that
all he does is ‘“‘assist’’ her.
It is a fact, however, that
Mr. Sprecher does have his
own private patch of red
raspberries.
Last week he “assisted”
her by putting up a mesh
wire fence around their gar-
den to keep the rabbits out.
The fence is buried in the
ground this year, because
last year the rabbits burrow-
ed under the fence and had
a feast. The fence will also
provide support for sugar
peas the Sprechers planted,
and the posts for the fence
will support tomato plants.
Mrs. Sprecher raises a lot
of her own seed. Seeds for
. beets this year were grown
from a beet she raised in
the summer of 1973, saved
over the winter of 1973-74,
and planted and let go to
seed last summer.
She doesn’t have to do
any hoeing or weeding. In-
stead, she spreads rich mulch
from her compost heap a-
cross her garden. It keeps
the weeds from growing
and also provides nutrients
for her vegetables.
Mrs. Sprecher has an as-
paragus bed that is 18 years
old. Each year it produces
a bumper crop. The only
care it requires is cutting
the delicious stalks and cov-
ering them with her organic
mulch.
She preserves the produce
of her garden by almost
every method: canning,
freezing, and drying. Some
How to grow roses
time and enjoy the garden
at your leisure. Hopefully,
my enthusiasm for this pas-
time will be very contagious!

April 16, 1975
‘Mrs. Sprecher, organic gardener, has helper
vegetables taste better pre-
served one way, some an-
other way.
All winter long the Spre-
chers continue to enjoy the
produce of their garden at
their table. They have so
many good things to eat,
they invited all their nieces
and nephews in for a grand
“organic” banquet last win-
ter. -
Neighbors and friends
contribute to Mrs. Sprech-
er’s compost heap by donat-
ing their leaves and grass
clippings. Cindy Waltz, who
had a pony and a horse
gave them manure, but now
Cindy has sold her animals.
Dr. J. R. Kensel lets them
use some of his land.
Mrs. Sprecher is a deep
student of the Bible and
teaches a Bible Class at St.
Mark’s United Methodist
Church in Mount Joy. She
finds organic gardening pro-
vides the perfect relaxation
from her studies.
Zerph ey’s
paradise
(Continued from page 16)
how many years ago.”
Mr. Zerphey tends his
one-acre garden with the
help of a roto-tiller. He has
just traded in his old tiller
that used to ‘shake his
liver,” for a new one.
He grows every conceiv-
able vegetable in his garden
and maintains beds of straw-
berries and asparagus beside
the garden. He can’t remem:
ber exactly when he started
the asparagus bed, but he
does remember exactly how
he started it, using the same
method he had been taught
by his grandfather. He dug
a ditch 20 inches deep, lined
the bottom of it with horse
manure and a little straw,
placed the asparagus roots
on top of the manure and
straw, and covered them
with a couple inches of
soil. Then he added more
soil as the asparagus grew,
until the ditch was filled.
Also next to his garden,
Mr. Zerphey has a small
vineyard and an orchard of
different varieties of peach-
es, pears, apples, and even
nectarines.
Raspberries grow at the
corners of his garden.
Obviously, Arthur G.
Zerphey likes to see things
grow. He also like to hear
them grow.
His tiny grove of bamboo
trees is right beside the
paved alley between Bar-
bara and High Streets.
Those bamboo trees are so
hardy they even come up
through the asphalt. On a
hot summer night with his
window wide open, Mr. Zer-
phey can lie in bed and hear
an indescribably snapping
sound made by those bam-
boo trees, the sound of their
growing in the night.
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