This Imperfect Plot

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March 12th, 2013

The little one says the bok-boks are in the garney. And she’s right. They are. She says she’s going to dig for worms in the garney, too. And she does.

My daughters will never remember a time when there wasn’t a garden in their lives.

I mean, think about it. What are your earliest memories? How old were you?

Summer of ‘76. I was three and a half and it was Forth of July when my family hitched up the pop-up camper to the old brown station wagon and dragged it down to Virginia where we set up camp for a week and spent the bicentennial in Colonial Williamsburg.

I was just a little kid, practically a toddler. A little older than my youngest is now and a little younger than my oldest.

These girls will simply grow up with a garden in their hearts and dirt under their fingernails.

They’ll know how and when to start their seeds, when to harden off and put the seedlings in the ground, what to do with kitchen scraps, when to harvest, how to can tomatoes, how to make sauerkraut and pickles. They’ll be steeped in the idea that we can grow their own food. All it takes is patience and love—and hard work.

What’s my contribution to this world?

I’m doing my part for world peace.

I’m raising my daughters in the garden.

Tags: gardening with kids, seeds, starting seeds, world peace

March 4th, 2013

My second official act of gardening of the season occurred Saturday when I dragged the chicken tractor to the garden, rerouted the fence, and let the three hens have free access to the garden.

Three very happy hens.

We acquired these birds at the tail end of summer, so this is our first spring with chickens. Seems like the perfect time to incorporate the birds into the seasonal machinery of the garden.  With their continual scratching, hunting, and pecking, they will eat the bugs and prepare the ground for planting.

My first official act of garden happened two weeks ago when my daughters and I started our onion seeds in the basement under lights. I love the way these perennial rituals act as a yardstick. My youngest (almost 2) stands on the milk crate that my oldest (4) has stood on for the past 2 years to see the top of the seed-starting table but now no longer needs.

Soon we’ll be planting peas.

Tags: chicken tractor, chickens, gardening with kids, onions, spring