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.
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