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Picture of the day -
May 2, 2006
Vegetable Plants Ready For Spring Planting
One of the things I remember most about my dad is how he always "put out" a
vegetable garden. Each and every spring he would have a plot of land plowed up
and disked, and when he thought we had had the last frost of the season he would
buy vegetable seeds and plants and we would all get to work planting our garden.
Tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, corn, bell peppers, onions, peas, beans
(both brown and green)...it seemed like we planted everything under the sun! I
would always look at that huge rectangular expanse of freshly-worked earth and
know in my heart that we would be planting for at least a week - and it sure
seemed that way while we were doing it. But after a few hours of work the
back-breaking task would be finished and we would stand at the edge of our newly
planted garden admiring our handiwork.
After everything was "in the ground" we could relax for a few days while the
seeds germinated and the starter plants began to grow. Then came the hard part -
pulling weeds and hoeing each and every row. I couldn't understand why dad
wanted this done during the hottest part of the day. He said it was because the
weeds would wilt and die more easily if they were uprooted and left to lay in
the hot sun, but that was exactly what I imagined happening to me as I
bent over and got to work.
The vegetable plants that we had spent so much time and effort planting and
caring for would eventually mature and the bounty would be ready to be harvested. Some
things - tomatoes and corn for example - were gathered in stages as they
ripened, but others were gathered all at once. Picking peas and beans were the
worst, with picking up potatoes not far behind. It was always a great relief
when the last of the harvest was done. That old garden spot always looked the
sweetest when there was nothing left in it to pick, pull or gather.
I used to ask dad why he insisted that we go to so much trouble to raise a
garden every year when others could grow our vegetables for us. To me, the best
garden in town was at Kroger. I didn't fully appreciate his answers to that
question until much later, but now they're crystal clear to me.
First of all, dad insisted on raising a garden because not raising one
wasn't really an option. He and mom had eight children to raise on a limited
amount of income, and growing our own vegetables was the only way to keep us all
fed - and we always had food on the table.
He also simply enjoyed watching things grow, which is why he continued growing
his own
vegetables even after he had reached the point where he no longer had to.
Although it didn't make sense to me, dad's gardening was a hobby with which he
could participate in and observe the entire growing process of many of God's
creations. He was fascinated by nature, marveling at things like how bean vines always twined
themselves around a stake or string in the same direction.
He also liked the taste of home-grown vegetables better than the ones you find
in a store. At the time, I thought it was just his imagination, but as I grew up
and began eating more store-bought vegetables the difference soon became
apparent. Dad had been right all along.
Today, I still have no desire to put out a garden, but I do have a deep
appreciation for the reasons he chose to do so. Every time I see someone working
in a vegetable garden, my mind drifts back to those not-so-sweet memories of my
childhood labors...but I also think of my wonderful dad. I hope I see a lot of
them this summer.
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