Garden Memories

Ahh - gardening.  Is there anything more fun, more rewarding - and more work?  Growing up in the midwest, I helped my Grandmother plant row upon row of vegetable seeds and saw them sprout and grow.  I watched (wasn't much help) as she canned jar after jar of green beans, corn, pinto beans and tomatoes.  The smell of cooking strawberry jam drew me like a magnet - the foam that formed on top of the huge pot was my favorite spread.

Helping pick strawberries, blackberries and red raspberries, my own basket was usually empty as I ate them as fast as I found them - it was a family joke that fruit had no chance of getting to the house in my basket.  What I learned was that you plant a seed in the ground - and it grows.  How hard is that?

Living in the same area as a young adult, I did the same.  My garden wasn't as large as the one I played in as a child, but it produced some great vegetables for our table.  Organic gardening was the "rage" and I tried it.  Using no pesticides I grew beautiful broccoli...and cooked it.  Only on the plate did we notice I had also cooked the worms on it.  I stayed with organic gardening as much as possible - but never grew broccoli again.

Only when I moved to different parts of the country did I learn about soil.  Growing up with the rich dark loam of the Midwest, I had to do some serious research when dealing with Georgia red clay and Mississippi soil with high sand content.  What I've learned is that very few soils can be just planted.  Most must be amended with manure, peat, top soil, sand...adding whatever "growing" component is missing.  Once you realize the necessity of amending the soil and do the work required, gardening is fun again.