22 Mar 2016 The old bent tree
by Vivian Lawson Hogue
It will soon be time to plant seeds and plants in our raised beds and containers. My husband’s grandfather, “Papa” Grable, would be amazed at how easy it can be now. He was known in Naylor for his large garden, which included a bounty of various flowers. His and “Mama’s” three daughters also worked the farm, the oldest pushing the mule-driven plow despite her diminutive size. When nature did not bestow moisture for gardening, which was most of the time, Papa would carry buckets of water from his well.
The approximate area of 75-by-250 feet had a lush production of vegetables, but he and Mama could not possibly consume or preserve all of it. In fact, it was his congenial and generous habit to gladly give it to anyone who came for a visit. The possibility is great that their visits were forthcoming when they knew the corn was ripe.
My dad would also be amazed, as his own experience was to till our backyard of clay, then plant and pray for rain. His method mirrored his parents’ methods except somehow my grandparents magically produced corn from out of rocks. After tilling and a good rain, it also unearthed hundreds of Indian arrowheads.
The secret to any successful garden of the past was probably due to planting by the moon signs as most subsistence farmers did and many still do. If the drug store calendar, plant lore or the Old Farmer’s Almanac said not to plant, they didn’t plant. It didn’t matter that the sun was shining, the temperature was comfortable, the time was available and the farmer’s lumbago was at ease.
By this ancient agricultural astrology system, plants that produce below the ground, such as beets and turnips, are planted during the waning (decreasing in size) moon, from the day after it is full, to the day before it is new again. Likewise, those that produce above the ground such as flowers and beans, go in during the waxing (increasing in size) of the moon. Proponents of the system also follow moon phases for trimming nails and hair, killing weeds, getting married, pruning plants and going fishing.
Some say this system is nonsense, that it hasn’t been proven by “modern science,” regardless of the experiences of historical use. The Bible states in Psalm 104:19 , “He made the moon for the seasons.” Native Americans would argue with any doubter of the system, as they conducted and preserved their very lives around seasonal phases of the moon. The “corn moon” or “harvest moon” prompted the gathering of their corn, pumpkins, squash, beans and wild rice. At its peak, farmers can still work into the night by its light.
Until a few years ago there stood an ancient, oddly-shaped oak tree on the property of our ancestral cabin in the hills. It reminded most of us of a deer head with antlers. It had begun its growth vertically, but at some point, it was bent over then began an upward path again. At the point of the new upward direction, there seemed to be a pointed “nose.”
I have recently learned that there are trees like this all over the country. They are called “Indian Trees” because where the Indians traveled or camped, they would bend and tie down young saplings in this manner. The Indians never did such things without reason, for they respected their environment. It is said they would cause them to grow in certain directions with a “nose” or point that pointed to good land, plentiful food or water, or a good campground. It so happens that this tree pointed to our creek, which still runs cold and magnesium-sweet today. The grandparents’ garden with its abundance of arrowheads surely indicated a once-present tribe that followed this “living billboard.”
A native of Conway, Vivian Lawson Hogue graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a degree in art education. A retired teacher, she worked in the Conway School District for 23 years. She is editor of the Faulkner County Historical Society’s semi-annual publication, “Faulkner Facts and Fiddlings.” She can be reached at [email protected].
