Community Corner
How Are Your Tomatoes?
Swampscott's Mercedes Longfellow loves the beauty of her backyard garden, and how it in turn makes her life beautiful.
Everything in Mercedes Longfellow’s on Muriel Road is organic, and that’s exactly the way she likes it.
“What you put into the ground, comes out of the ground, and you put that into you, so it’s important to be organic, to make everything as healthy as you can make it,” Longfellow said recently while sitting on her back porch.
Mercedes came from Guatemala in 1966 to take English classes at Boston State College, and met her husband Ruel when they both were working part-time overnight at the Prudential Building.
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Ruel was attending Bentley College when he met his future wife at the Pru.
The couple moved to their home on Muriel Road in 1972, and Mercedes has “always been growing something” since they moved in. The couple has a daughter, Melissa, who graduated from Swampscott High School in 1986.
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“I love my garden, I love being in my garden,” Mercedes said. “When your environment is beautiful, you feel beautiful.”
Mercedes spends a little time every day in her backyard, working on her herbs, peach tree, rosemary, cucumbers, tomatoes, kale, cauliflower, peas, eggplant, basil and cilantro from April through September.
“When you take care to use natural things on the soil, there is no contamination, there is no danger to the plants, to the insects, to the ground or to us,” Longfellow said.
“We need to have a green Earth, my garden is a small step, but an important step to be keep the ground safe that produces the fruits and vegetables we eat,” Mercedes said.
“My main goal is to be healthy and to keep the earth healthy,” Longfellow said. “You don’t need to negatively impact the environment with chemicals.”
Mercedes said the perennials and vegetables, such as tomatoes and cucumbers are easier to grow than her geraniums that require a lot of TLC.
Longfellow shares the bounty from her backyard with family and friends when the fruits and vegetables are ready to pick.
“I like to share,” Longfellow said. “We eat what I grow and sharing what I’ve grown brings me a lot of pleasure.”
“It’s just amazing that in January when it’s cold, everything’s gone, and then a few months later everything returns, it’s wonderful,” Longfellow said.
