Sarah Wunderlich, her husband Kevin and their six children, ages 22 to 10, grow their own fruits and vegetables on their property within Seward city limits. Wunderlich said what her family doesn’t eat fresh is preserved and the only items they need to buy from the store are soy milk, cereal and breads.
After learning how to garden from her parents, one Seward resident is using her knowledge to feed her family year-round.
Sarah Wunderlich and her family grow their own fruits and vegetables on their property near Eighth and Moffitt streets in Seward. They grow so much, they are able to preserve what they don’t eat fresh to consume until the next season.
Wunderlich said she can be picky when it comes to food and hates to buy produce at the grocery store. She said she and her family only purchase soy milk, cereal and breads at the store.
“I value simplicity,” Wunderlich said. “There’s too much artificial everything.”
Wunderlich, her husband Kevin and her six kids (ages 22, 20, 18, 16, 12 and 10) are currently in a growing transition. As summer vegetables begin to turn dry and brown, they are pulling up the old plants to make room for winter vegetables like beets, rutabaga, broccoli, cauliflower and radishes.
Throughout the spring and summer, however, the Wunderlich family grows a variety of fruits and vegetables, including apples, peaches, pears, strawberries, currants, raspberries, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and a mix of herbs.
Wunderlich said fruits and vegetables often taste better straight out of the garden. She said grocery store produce is often picked months earlier and ripens in a box.
One of Wunderlich’s friends, for example, said she didn’t like peaches.
“You haven’t had the right peaches,” Wunderlich told her.
So Wunderlich had her friend pick a peach and eat it off one of her trees.
“She’s changed her mind,” Wunderlich said.
Wunderlich said she learned how to garden from her parents. She grew up in Washington state.
“We all loved it,” Wunderlich said of her and her four siblings. “We all helped.”
When Wunderlich and her husband were first married and living on rented property, they began gardening out of kids’ wading pools that they filled with dirt.
“We joke about it now,” Wunderlich said.
Now, Wunderlich, a stay-at-home mother, is passing on her gardening knowledge to her kids. She said they are learning by doing.
“I let them make mistakes,” Wunderlich said.
She added there are times her children may pull a potato vine, mistaking it for a weed.
“You have to let kids make mistakes, especially in the garden,” Wunderlich said. “I’ve made mistakes—that’s how I learned what works and what doesn’t.”
With her kids helping in the garden, Wunderlich said she doesn’t have any picky eaters. The one exception is a son who doesn’t like green beans.
“I have found kids get excited in the garden,” Wunderlich said. “Kids are more likely to eat it if they helped grow and nurture it. It gives them a sense of independence and control over their diet.”
Another benefit of growing and preserving her own food, Wunderlich said, is that her family knows exactly where their food comes from. This is especially important because Wunderlich’s youngest daughter has several severe allergies.
Commercial products risk cross-contamination—like potatoes getting contaminated with peanuts.
“I know what’s in my processing facility,” Wunderlich said.
Wunderlich and her family also preserve their produce together. She said this also gives them control over how much sugar and salt goes into their preserved foods.
She said, in addition to sharing produce with friends and neighbors, the Wunderliches can, dehydrate and freeze fruits and vegetables, pickle cucumbers and make spaghetti, tomato sauce, jams and jellies, adding that her family can eat what they store in a year.
“I like being independent. It’s a way to be self-reliant,” Wunderlich said. “I’ve always been kind of drawn to old-school living. It’s a lot of work at times.”
She added she and her family may work for 20 hours at a time preserving their food. Last year, her family canned 1,400 jars of produce.
Wunderlich said she and her family don’t use chemicals to help grow their produce. And by preserving what they don’t eat fresh, and composting other things, the Wunderlich family keeps their waste minimal.
“To me, it’s almost spiritual,” Wunderlich said. “To till the earth and be supplied by nature, the way our ancestors were.”
Wunderlich said those interested in canning and preserving produce should visit the website nchfp.uga.edu. It’s the University of Georgia and National Center for Home Food Preservation’s website that has up-to-date guidelines on safely canning food.
Wunderlich said some foods can make people sick or kill people if they are not canned correctly.
“It’s really important you follow current guidelines,” Wunderlich said.
Wunderlich said new gardeners can learn by getting in and trying it.
“Just experiment, see what works,” Wunderlich said.
She suggested starting small and growing a few things like eggplants, peppers or tomatoes in pots. She also said people should try new varieties. If they fail, they can try something new.
“People are afraid of trying and failing,” Wunderlich said. “We need to get beyond that mentality. Anything worth doing is worth failing at and learning from.”
