It's been a long time coming.
The hard frost in early January
killed our just ready to ripen tomatoes. I've been pointing out the frozen remains to everyone who wonders where the snacks are hiding. Frozen too were our basil, both the purple and the sweet; the lemon grass we were used to sucking on; and the bell pepper which was slowly moving from flower to fruit.
But today, after what seemed like forever, all of this happened.
This scholar was very precise in her planting, adhering to the depth and distance recommendations. That is a serious carrot. That radish is not misshapen. She was rightfully proud.
Those who were less persnickety about seed placement created this messy root system and laughably unhappy carrots.
Intertwined was not the only physical difference which was (quite excitedly) brought to my attention. These three carrots,
from three different hanging buckets, led to inquiries about location, access to sunlight, competition from other seedlings in the same bucket, and precision in following the sowing directions.
Those were their questions, not mine. They looked to one another for answers before they asked me what I thought.
They shared their produce, taking a taste even though they knew they didn't like it, but relishing the challenge I posed: Have you ever tasted a radish you grew yourself, from seed?
It was a wonderful day to be a big kid in Grandma's Garden..... especially to be a 70-something big kid.
It does amaze me -- how much more flavor in a fresh picked vegetable. It's too easy to forget even things like lettuce can have such a pleasing taste if you only know grocery store lettuce.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful result. Not the produce, although that's fine too, but the learning the kids conducted themselves!!!
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