Oldest DG Gardener?

It was fun reading about our young gardeners, now it would be fun to see who has been digging in the dirt the longest! I am 62 but I have to admit I was in my 50s before I really got interested. I played around a little but but never had time. Guess I'm a late bloomer!!! So how long ya all been lovin this hobby.
Meem

I was showing vegetables at the county fair as a youngster. Had a sample of oats go to the state fair for FFA as a junior in HS.
Growing up on a diversfied farm, you just kind of flowed into it.
Bernie

I was born in 1936 on a farm in Nebraska. Never thought that farming was a good way to make a living but did always enjoy growing things. Now I cannot use a spade or get on my hands and knees so my gardening is all in pots on tables on my porches.

Not me! My Birth Certificate says I'm almost 60, but in my head I'm 16 :).

Paul

I'm 64, finally had time to learn to garden when I was 58. There are a few here a bit older in years but many older in experience!

Just turned (slid? descended?) 69, but I'll bet I'm not the oldest. How did I get here? Where did the time go? How come the inside hasn't matured as much as the outside? Why is my Birthday Suit all wrinkled?

meezersfive, anything that has been washed and dried that many times and worn on a daily basis is bound to get a little stretched here there.(;>)

meezers, remember that great scene in "Golden Pond" where Fonda is looking in the mirror, wondering who that old man is? I feel like that a LOT!

I loved this remark:

meezersfive and sugarweed, Your are too funny, and I agree.

I think I am one of the really old wrinkled gardners. I was 78 on my my birthday this year.I have been gardening forever, grew up with gardening parents. All three of my children like to garden but all three married non-gardners. Sometimes arthiritis makes me slow but I do practically all my gardening, have a helper when i can afford it and he has time to do the building and really heavy work. Donna

Donna, I hope I'm still gardening when I'm 78. Good for you!!

Oh but the wisdom I gleen from all of you (and my mother, aunt, and grandmother, all tending gardens in heaven now) IS PRICELESS!

I'm 57, and I started gardening when I first got married and had a place to put in a plot...barely 20. However, my first husband liked to move around, so I had to stick in a few annuals here and there. I was never around long enough to see my perennials mature.

It seems my gardening interests were thwarted for many years. I used to have dreams about gardening. I'd dream we moved into a big house and I discovered a huge greenhouse in the back! I'd always awake disappointed.

I've had a good place to garden for the last 12 years or so, and I take full advantage of it. My current hubby has built me two greenhouses and many, many raised flower and vegetable beds. I'm living those dreams I had so many years ago... do the dream years count, too?

For some reason I am thinking it is Roadrunner? If not I remember seeing something in another post quite awhile back that there was someone older. Don't smack me Jo. LOL

I was born in England 1926, that makes me 78, always enjoyed gardening but for the first time I am HOOKED on different plants, top of the list are BRUG'S

Just turned 55 here............days I feel 18 inside, but the old mirror kicks me back into reality.

"eyes"

I'm 74, but didn't discover that I could actually grow anything until I was 72! Do you think I should post on the youngest gardners forum since I am a 2 year old gardner? LOL
Pati

Badseed!! I am a YOUNG 70! Now I think Sparks42 is older than us...early 80's??? (besides....I don't garden...I just read about it...LOL) Jo

I am 62, Been into plants since I can remember. But not like I am now that I am retired. just piddled before, now I have so many hoyas ,cactus and succulents that my DH is saying he is turning into a plant. hehehe Binky

"I'm as young as my mouth, but older than my teeth!"

:>)

I am 79. Ilearned to work in the garden when i was around 8 or 9. My farther
could raise more on a plot 40by 60 thanI have ever been able to do. He also could plant so he never did not have something new coming,as soon as he took the first corp up, or my mother had put it all up was ready to can the next corp. I also learn how to can about any thing that was growin the 30es and 40es, as wewll as how to cook it,by the way I am a male who can sew and keep house. My wife and I share the cooking and cleaning thou it its getting hardder to keep up now.

There's still someone older yet...Watch for him. :)

Well, now I feel like a young pup LOL.....I'm 54

I'm 46, but I've been interested in plants and gardening since I was in Kindergarten (age 5). I come from a gardening family.

My kindergarten teacher had everyone in our class plant a bean seed in a cup of plain sand. I was very diligent caring for my bean plant and the plant produced flowers and was put on the teacher's desk. I received so much attention for that bean plant (and what 5-year-old doesn't like attention?) that plants became one of the passions in my life. I've been a plant-geek ever since.

I have two plaques hanging on the walls in my kitchen that have these sayings on them:

"A Garden Is A Friend you can visit anytime."

and

"In a garden, you are in both heaven and earth."

I think these two quotes sum up gardening pretty succinctly.
Mike

Gee, I am not as old as I thought at 70, but have been gardening since I was 9.
Mind says goes for it, and body says YOU FOOL, you know better.
As long as I can crawl around in my flower beds I will be content. I hope that GOD has a place in his gardens for me.

Maxine

Hi, I am 45. I was raised on a farm that had two large gardens. Flowers in abundance. Both my parents enjoyed growing things. They still do at ages 78 and 83. I have always grown a variety of things. I only hope that in time that my children will enjoy gardening as much as I do.
I teach Sunday School and VBS. I always try to add seed sowing or plants in somewhere. It is just fun.

Somewhere on here I have seen posts by someone still gardening in their mid-to-late 80's... just cannot remember who it was. Not a frequent poster.

I talked about a lady who was 89 & still growing and selling at our farmers market. She died suddenly during the summer. She died in her sleep.
Another family has the father who is close to 90. He still runs the multivator & other machines for them.
Bernie

I think many people who die in their sleep have apnea and do not know it. A relative died that way last year, he was healthy and about 60, didn't know he had apnea.

You just reminded me to clean my CPAP machine's tubing for the day, Darius! :X

I'll be turning 57 next month. My first experience with gardening was when I was 9 and it was horrible! My parents bought their first house in the suburbs (actually it was still pretty much the boonies then). We had always lived in the city before. The japanese beetles were horrible that year and it was my job to catch them. When I was in high school and I did a hydroponics project for biology, I realized there was more to growing stuff than just japanese beetles. I gardened off and own after that but it didn't become a real passion until I moved to Texas 8 years ago. Soil I can actually dig and a 12 month growing season, house plants and tropicals that I can plant in the ground, picking fresh tomatoes in December.......Oh my.....some body stop me before I swoon!

You guys and gals are way to funny. You had me in stiches. Only 45 here Hope I can get another 45 in and still be able to garden. Grandma quit at 82. She died early last Fall; Grandpa followed about 6 months later of a broken heart. He cried this last Spring when her tulips came up. That's when he gave up. He called me and asked me what Antiques I wanted from their house. He died the next day. Guess he knew it was coming. I'll bet they both are Gardening in Heaven. I Hope and Pray we all can garden here and in the after life. Jody

Jody...that's a beautiful story...Jo (was called Jody in my younger days)

I am 57, grew veggies back in the 70's and planted a few annuals each year. About 3 years ago began a shade garden in the side yard and have been adding to it every year. I now consider gardening a full time summer hobby. My husbands grandpa gardened all of his years until he died at the young age of 104. I hope I can garden till I die too. It kept him young.

Anybody that says gardening isn't good exercize is not a gardener. Tote those bags, lift those bales, easily as good a work out as in a weight room. And after a couple of hours of digging in the 100 degree heat with 100% humidity.....don't tell me I don't do my aerobids....LOL

I just turned 67 a few days ago, I feel more like 50 since the Dr patched me up a bit and I think the new pills are helping to bring back my pep. PvillePlanter, I agree with you that "Real Gardeners" don't need to worry about getting enough exercise. I was too poor as a kid and moved around too much to have any pets - but I always managed to have a few houseplants that someone gave me. Didn't have a real garden area til I quit work about 6 years ago. Hope I can keep it up a long time.

Happy Belated Birthday Azalea. My DH is 68 and he does the mowing and edging and a little of the gardening. He also has a 56 Chevy that he putters with most days.....and that is some pretty good exercise too!

I've been gardening all my life...and I am 51 years young. I grew up on a farm with 4 other siblings. Not only did we raise our own meat..we also canned and froze most of our vegetables. It was not unusual for us to can 200 quarts of green beans and the same for tomatoes and tomato juice. We almost always froze the corn. Around the garden edges and the outside of the house we would plant flowers. Most of the best memories of my childhood revolve around working outside with the rest of my family preparing for survival of the winter months by gardening and storing produce. Gardening is a major part of my life...and has also turned into a big part of my daughters life. When she has children I hope she will pass it on to her children as well.

I'm 61 was raised on a farm(still live in the same house) so have gardening most of my life.

Ruth

i am 48 and only been gardening for 5 years now. but the influence and love of gardening i was surrounded with from a child. my grandparents had a tobacco farm in deerfield, massachusetts, my father had a vegetable plot that he supplied our family with vegetables for the whole winter, and my mother had flowers and helped with the canning.
my great grandfather came from scotland where he was a gardener and worked for a welathy family in new hampshire and then in greenfield, massachusetts. he passed it onto my grama, who unfortunately didn't have a plot in the earth to tend, but she always had her table covered with plants, with room enough for her to put her plate to eat.
i didn't know how lucky i was as a child to grow up with such good food until i went away to college. what a culinary shock that was! i never knew that vegetables could actually taste like a metal can until then. ;-)
so to all you parents and grandparents who supply your children with these wonderful nutritious meals, cudo's to you, and someday they'll realize just how much love you showered on them with those stewed tomatoes and such..

Sorry Jo! LOL I knew I would get into trouble. :)
Where is Marclay? I can't remember if she is older or had the most kids or something like that. Maybe I am thinking of someone that is not here anymore
I better duck. I may get killed soon.