ACTIVE AGE | Retirement gives man chance to indulge his green thumb

Lavelle Foshee at his produce stand at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Arkansas Boulevard in Texarkana, Arkansas.
Lavelle Foshee at his produce stand at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Arkansas Boulevard in Texarkana, Arkansas.

Juicy tomatoes, okra and yellow squash overflow baskets at Lavelle Foshee's vegetable stand in Texarkana, Arkansas.

"I've always had a knack for growing things," Foshee said. "But I never had a lot of time until I retired."

Foshee calls his stand "Home Grown Vegetables," and every year he has customers returning for his fresh, locally grown produce.

Foshee grows his vegetables on land he has off of Tennessee Road.

"I have 12 acres on Tennessee Road and I raise 80% of the produce I sell here," he said.

The only exceptions to his own produce are watermelons and cantaloupes he buys from a farmer in Dixie, Louisiana.

The melons are huge this year, and are selling like hotcakes.

"Everything else I raise myself. One of my best sellers are home grown tomatoes. You can't beat them this year," Foshee said.

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AP

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Foshee said tomatoes can be hit and miss because of heat, too much rain or not enough rain.

"An old farmer never know how he is going to do from one year to the next," he said.

This year's sales are going pretty well.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say it's an 8," he said.

He had three customers in about a 20-minute stretch on a recent muggy afternoon.

For past several years, he has operated his farm stand near the corner of Arkansas Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue, so he gets a number of repeat customers.

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AP

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Foshee started selling produce after retiring as a commercial roof contractor.

Foshee's grandson Ryan Foshee helps him at the stand one day a week.

"I really didn't have time to do it until after I retired," he said. "It takes a lot of work. I get up about 6 a.m. to get everything washed and ready. It's a full time job."

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