The spring season does not start for me on March 20 but long before with the planning of my gardens. I plan the way they will be laid out. What will go where and how many tomatoes, peppers, and squash I will plant for my family. Then I ask my Mother and Father what they would like me to grow for them? It is always something new and different for them and I try but, it is not always possible and sometimes I just do not have a clue what it is or where to find the seeds.
For me it is more fun to grow everything from seeds and letting it grow leaf by leaf and stem-by-stem, then putting it in bigger and bigger pots until it is that magical time of the year. The time when you churn the ground and make the rows and plant gentle nurtured seedlings in the rich dark cool soil. It takes more time, but in the end the plants produce more and you have more plants to from which to get your harvest.
The children love to have a garden too, it teaches them to nurture and love That there is a pay off in the end when they take the time to love something, when they take that first bite of that tomato that they planted as a seed back in February. It is the best tasting tomato ever and to bring that cucumber to the table, to slice and share with your family is the most joyful feeling that there can be for a child. So much of the world they grow and learn in has such harsh reality, giving them this joy is the least we as parents can do. It will stay with some of them through life as a way to provide and give to their selves and family. There is a bigger bonus for the kids they get to get dirty and play in the dirt without being yelled at to stay clean.
