A veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war from Lanivtsi in the Ternopil region, Taras Popенко grows fruit. Among them, apples are the most numerous. Seventy trees are already bearing fruit. The man said that he started gardening ten years ago. This helps him in rehabilitation.
First steps and the garden’s impact on rehabilitation
“I was the commander of the anti-tank platoon of missile systems. Everyone remembers such names as “Stugna”, “Javelin”. That was our weapon and we fought with it. On May 29, 2024, I retired. This garden helps me draw strength for life, for energy, to recover from what I’ve endured – emotionally and physically”
– Taras Popenko
The garden’s answers: what gardening means to him
“What does gardening mean to me? It is, first and foremost, working with beauty. When you work with an apple tree, a pear tree, a plum tree, with a fruit tree, you derive pleasure. You converse with it, help it, guide it, shape the crown. The tree will always repay you, give you wonderful fruits”
– Taras Popenko
In a season Taras Popенко collects from 3 to 5 tons of fruit. He sells them and gives them away for free to acquaintances.
The Fruits’ Music: Apple Varieties and Flavor Characteristics
“I am more of a gardener than a businessman. I am not much concerned with how much I earn from this. I am more interested in what result I will get, what apple I will have. This helps me relax and understand that life is not only war, but also something beautiful, wonderful. You should draw inspiration and pleasure from it”
– Taras Popenko
There are 15 varieties of apples. They bloom and ripen at different times: there is the Ukrainian apple variety “Champion”. I like them the most. This is an autumn-winter variety. It has a good, juicy flavor and a pleasant aroma. They store well.
Taras Popенко’s apples are not canned; he prefers to eat them fresh. “I am not fond of jams or compotes. God gave the apple everything needed for health. It contains iodine and vitamins. This fruit is so self-sufficient that it doesn’t need to be canned. There are certain varieties of apples, for example, “Antonovka”, and there are people who like them pickled. And I would advise others to eat other apples fresh.”
Caring for the trees requires year-round attention. He says the work in the garden is constant: in winter, in February, you need to start pruning, shaping the crown so that it isn’t too dense. After all, the denser the crown, the smaller the fruits will be. And as one gardener said: “We grow apples, not timber.” A gardener must constantly develop.
You need to learn all the time. Now the air temperature is rising, with it come new diseases, new pests, and they must be fought. He also wants the garden’s produce to be ecologically clean. He uses only organic mineral fertilizers, employs mulching and natural manure, though it doesn’t yield large harvests, it makes the soil alive.
“It’s not so much work that exhausts you, but something that inspires. The tree has its own soul. It grows, you can talk to it, you can pour out your soul to it. They will always listen and won’t argue with you”
– Taras Popенко
The trees in the garden inspire him, he says. He believes: the garden is not only labor, but a place where you feel harmony with nature, gain strength for everyday life, and recover after the difficult years of war.
For Taras Popенко, the garden has become a path to recovery and a source of inspiration: he proves that after trauma you can find a new purpose that brings joy, calm, and a sense of fullness even despite what the past held.
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