Seeds of Wisdom: Martha Ballard’s 19th Century Garden Journal

May 16, 1809

On this day, Martha Ballard, the remarkable herbalist and midwife of Hallowell, Maine, recorded her work in her meticulously kept journal. Oh, my dear gardeners, I know how much you love a good garden journal, and Martha's garden notes are truly the OG!

For over two decades, Martha documented her life with a dedication that would make any modern blogger envious. Her journal provides a fascinating glimpse into her roles as an herbalist, midwife, and the town's primary healthcare provider. But it's her gardening notes that truly capture our imagination today.

Martha was not just a gardener; she was a master of her domain. Her garden was a well-managed space that provided both food and medicine, a true apothecary's dream. From her own plot and the surrounding wilderness, she sourced ingredients for her herbal remedies, serving as both cultivator and healer to her community.

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a renowned historian who has studied Ballard's journal extensively, paints a vivid picture of Martha's May gardening activities. Picture, if you will, our Martha in the spring of 1809:

In May of 1809, she "sowed," "sett," "planted,' and "transplanted" in at least half dozen places, digging ground "west of the hous" on May 15 and starting squash, cucumbers, muskmelons and watermelons on "East side house" the same day.

Can't you just see her, trowel in hand, carefully tending to her raised beds "rich with manure"? Her garden was a patchwork of productivity, with plots defined by the points of the compass and each plant strategically placed.

But Martha's garden was more than just a "factory for food and medicine". It was her sanctuary, her personal kingdom in a world where women owned little. As Ulrich notes:

"I have workt in my gardin," she wrote on May 17, the possessive pronoun the only hint of the sense of ownership she felt in her work. The garden was hers, though her husband or son or the Hallowell and Augusta Bank owned the land.

In her garden, Martha found not just sustenance, but sovereignty. Here, she could cultivate her own knowledge and skills, free from the constraints of a world that often undervalued women's work.

And oh, the joy she found in her garden! On May 22, she wrote with palpable excitement:

"I have squash & cucumbers come up in the bed East side the house."

In these simple words, we can feel Martha's deep connection to the land and her appreciation for the natural world. Her entries often express a sense of wonder and gratitude as she witnesses the cycle of life unfolding in her garden.

Martha Ballard's legacy endures through her remarkable journal, offering us a window into the lives of women in the early 19th century. But more than that, it reminds us of the timeless joy of gardening, the power of herbal medicine, and the enduring connection between humans and the natural world.

So the next time you're out in your garden, dear readers, take a moment to think of Martha. As you sow your seeds and tend your plants, you're not just gardening - you're participating in a tradition as old as humanity itself, recording in your own way "the recurring miracle of spring".