Fresh food is Thorson’s passion
At times, Janice Thorson could use a little help in the garden. But she doesn’t want to hire anyone.
“Nobody would love it like I do,” says the retired elementary school teacher and gardener. “This isn’t just a job for me.”
Indeed, what started as a hobby 37 years ago has blossomed into Glenrose Gardens, an almost-too-much-for-one-person endeavor. Fortunately, her husband takes responsibility for some of the crops.
Thorson grows a little bit of everything, from early season greens such as spinach and arugula to herbs, peas, eggplant, peppers, raspberries, squash, radishes, potatoes and some 25 varieties of tomatoes – all organically.
“I love getting good quality food to people,” she says.
Thorson sets up shop at the Moran Prairie Farmers’ Market on Sundays. She starts the season by selling a variety of plants for customers to grow in their gardens and adds her own produce, as it is ready for picking.
At first, Thorson and her husband grew fruits and vegetables for their own use. Then they started sharing some with family. Then, local chef/caterer Char Zyskowski learned of Thorson’s organic endeavors and asked if she would grow products specifically for the Apple Charlotte Cooking and Catering.
Zyskowski gushes with praise for Thorson’s fruits and vegetables. “She’s been great about growing things that look beautiful,” Zyskowski said.
For Thorson, the joy of gardening and selling at the market is the chance to “share the flavor of what real food takes like.”
To get better pollination among her plants this year, she and her husband purchased a colony of bees to take up residence in the garden. Helping the bees move into their new home was more challenging than Thorson expected. She hadn’t bought a bee protection suit and during the initial bee transfer phase found a swarm of angry bees in her hair, stinging her head. “I bought a bee suit the next day.”
Two years ago, Thorson completed her training to become a master gardener, and she’s more than willing to share her knowledge on how to grow “happy” plants. On a recent market day, Thorson explained the differences among the tomato plants she had for sale, urging a novice gardener to try an early variety that will grow fruit even if the temperatures stay cool. For another customer, she explained how to clip the leaves and bury the plant at least halfway up the stem to promote a better, sturdier root development.
Thorson talks about her plants as if they were her kids. She knows their temperament as well as any mom knows her children. At the market on May 23, Thorson said she had only a few pepper plants for sale, explaining she couldn’t bring the hot pepper varieties because they are “so picky.”
“They don’t like the cold. They don’t like being blown around.” She left them home, in the house, well protected from the environment. Likewise, she thought about bringing her eggplants that day but decided they would “pout” about the blowing wind and cool temperature.
Being in the garden, tending to her plants is wonderful, Thorson says. She likes everything about it, even weeding. “I like weeding. Oh, I do. It’s so peaceful.”
The only downside, she says, is “the rush to get stuff harvested for the market.” To her, it’s all about freshness. She wakes “very” early on market days in order to have everything picked, washed and ready before the market opens. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I always like to have the freshest produce I can,” she says.