Willie’s garden

 Boedeker operates garden for Today’s Assisted Living residents

  • WIllie Boedeker displays a freshly uprooted white onion.
    WIllie Boedeker displays a freshly uprooted white onion.
  • Will Boedeker has grown Today’s Assisted Living’s garden from one unused bed to a garden with over two dozen varieties of fruits and vegetables.
    Will Boedeker has grown Today’s Assisted Living’s garden from one unused bed to a garden with over two dozen varieties of fruits and vegetables.
  • Willie Boedeker inspects the tomato plants growing behind Today’s Assisted Living in Yoakum.
    Willie Boedeker inspects the tomato plants growing behind Today’s Assisted Living in Yoakum.

    At 82-years-old, Shiner native Willie Boedeker frequently tends to more than two dozen varieties of plants and vegetables that make up his garden used to feed the residents at Today’s Assisted Living in Yoakum.

     

    Since moving into the facility about three years ago, Boedeker transformed one unused raised bed into a thriving garden with many vegetables found at the local grocery stores. In addition to being the primary caretaker of his plants, Bodeker also pickles vegetables and prepares salsa for his fellow residents.

     

    “To me, it’s just to keep busy, keep myself from going crazy kind of thing…,” said Boedeker. “It gives me something to do that I enjoy doing. I don’t have a car; I can’t just get in the car and go somewhere. This is my thing.”

     

    He emphasized the value of staying occupied with a satisfying hobby and encouraged others to try gardening no matter their experience level.

     

    “I believe too many (young people) think it’s too hard of a job, too much work to grow your own (food). It really isn’t, just read a book,” Bodeker said. “A lot of people think that it costs just as much or more to cook and raise it at home than it does to buy it at a store or a restaurant. That’s just not true. … If you can read, you can do it.”