Productive gardens

f you want plants to grow, feed them. They need manure: chicken, goat, horse, cow, rabbit, whatever. Grandpa Emil Carl Wiederaenders was a "truck farmer." He planted his 22 acres in vegetables. His sons, one of them my father, sold the produce in Clifton to the food store and on the street side. They knew how to make a garden produce. They were as proud of their vegetables as they were of their manuring techniques.

If you want umpires in your chapter to mature, feed them. Instead of only focusing on the rulebook's clinical words, whip out the Case Book and the tests. Then stress mechanics. But that's still not enough. Talk about game conduct. Talk about the latest chicanery and dirty tricks. Give advice on what to do, for instance, when one team attempts to interfere verbally or verbally intimidate the other team's pitcher. Teach in specifics.

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