Retired farmer showing gardeners his private park on conservation acreage
Aug. 18—Master Gardener Harvey Hesse recently decided to offer limited tours of his flower beds, vegetable patches and a private park he's created on acres enrolled in a conservation program.
"It's sort of my swan song. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do this," Hesse said.
The 83-year-old cannot trust his legs to carry him through the oak and walnut forest on his property. He knows he can rely on neighbor Ron Winter for ATV rides through the woods and across prairieland to survey the "little Eden" the two men share.
When Hesse and his wife, Beverly, retired from dairy farming two decades ago, they made an agreement with the government to set aside some of their ag land through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, known as CREP.
"We wanted to leave a legacy; it was really Beverly's idea," said Hesse, whose wife has since died.
Tilling that rich loam along the Le Sueur River would have meant erosion to the river's bank. The Hesses instead begin to plant native species with roots that hold the soil and improve the environmental health and quality of the surrounding area.
"These 26 acres have to stay this way forever," Hesse said while pointing at his CREP section.
Winter has installed cameras throughout the park as well as solar-powered electric fences around garden plots; however, the property resembles the Big Woods that once dominated the region's landscape.
In recent years, Winter and Hesse have developed several DIY projects to help Mother Nature maintain health in their watershed's land. Hesse's most proud of the pond they created with sweat equity and by replacing drainage tile.
With the exception of days with very heavy rains, park visitors can see through the water to the bottom of the pond.
"It stays as clear as a bell," Hesse said.
Another of their projects helped drain a soggy section of a third neighbor's property. The Keith Sherwood family now uses the space for recreation and to display giant wood carvings.
Several members of Hesse's Master Gardeners club have been invited to see his transformed former cropland as well as his giant tomato plants and dahlias.
Winter will be treating his tour participants to hourlong rides. Along the way, they are sure to spot native grasses such as bluestem, along with bergamot and coneflowers, huge dragonflies and an occasional migrating monarch butterfly. A fairly rare Minnesota species, the compass plant, is growing close to the mowed path the ATV will move along.
"Its leaves, not its flowers, point to north and south," Hesse said. "It's also called a resin plant. Long ago schoolkids would chew it like gum."
Members of the public who would like to tour his CREP acres must make arrangements in advance with Hesse by emailing requests to: haz7374@gmail.com.
For those who want to find out more his gardens and projects, Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine published a story in its July-August edition.
The article describes the results of direct seeding trees by Hesse and Winter about 20 years ago. The method of planting creates a more natural-looking stand that allows more than enough trees to survive and feed a forest's deer.
"Earlier this year, they came to write about the process used to plant my oak and walnut trees, and they ended up taking a tour of the whole place," Hesse said.
"I was impressed with how many trees they've grown; there's a solid wall of trees," said Keith Goetzman, deputy editor of the magazine.
"I could tell Harvey and Ron are quite happy with the place and that they use the land."
