BUSY CORNER &045; Summer vegetable gardening is a way of life for many in rural America, and some fine gardens are raised each year in southwest Mississippi.

But if you are a beginner looking for tips, veteran Amite County gardener W.R. &uot;Bill&uot; Rushing says there are no big secrets.

&uot;It just takes a lot of work. That’s the key. You have to be willing to keep it clean,&uot; Rushing said.

The 72-year-old has been hoeing the rows in one-acre garden spots on his farm near the community of Busy Corner for 35 years, specializing in field peas and watermelons.

&uot;Peas and melons usually grow a little faster … But this year it was too dry early on. I’ve had to plant watermelons three times this year,&uot; said Rushing, who refuses to bother with irrigating his garden.

&uot;If I have to buy the water, I’d just as soon buy the watermelons,&uot; he said. Instead, Rushing keeps working the dirt with his hoe during droughts to allow the ground to &uot;sweat&uot; at night and hold moisture better.

But lately, almost daily afternoon thunderstorms have reversed the weather problem. &uot;Now, we’re getting too much rain,&uot; he said.

Watermelon vines in Rushing’s garden sprawl along eight rows, each six feet wide and 60 yards long. Rushing planted three varieties of melons from seeds he ordered from Texas.

&uot;The biggest one I ever raised was a Black Diamond melon that weighed 82 pounds. If you want to grow a big one, you just keep pruning the hill,&uot; Rushing said.

Another 16 rows of field peas stand knee-high, their vines loaded with purple hulls and new blooms.

&uot;I pick about six bushels of peas

every three days. They’ll keep making like that for about a month,&uot; said Rushing, who grows both pink-eye and Mississippi purple hull peas.

&uot;The Mississippi purple hulls make a darker roux,&uot; he said.

Since retiring in 1997 after 41 years with Kaiser Aluminum in Baton Rouge, Rushing has busied himself on his 27-acre farm, gardening and tending a small herd of cattle. The father of three and grandfather of five also enjoys deer hunting and traveling with his family each year.

In addition to the peas and melons &045; some of which he sells at roadside locations in Gloster and Centreville &045; Rushing also raises smaller crops of tomatoes, squash, okra and cucumbers.