I remember when I was 5 years old when our family was sitting down at the dinner table deciding what should be included in the garden. We had to plan the garden ahead of time for this will be the future, as we still have a similar garden to this day. We needed to remember that we couldn't plant everything we wanted—we don't have the room or the right weather. Some plants like a cooler environment and others like hotter environments. That day we started the tomato seeds, we put the seeds in a damp towel and waited for them to germinate. In a week, we gently plucked the sprouts delicately with our fingers and planted them in a cup of dirt. Also a week later, we started the cucumber seeds differently. We planted them into a cup filled with dirt and soaked them with water. We started the tomatoes earlier because they need the extra time to fruit compared to the cucumbers.
A few days later, the plants started to pop out of the ground. As the plant was popping its head out of the ground the seed was still attached to the stem, still clinging on to its mother. In a few more days they will be leaving their mother as they grow up. We continually moved them from place to place, trying to maximize the amount of sunlight they got. In the mornings we put them by the east facing windows; during the afternoon we faced them by the west facing window. They say the more you talk to the plants the better they thrive. Thriving at this stage is important because it sets the plants foundation--the healthier a plant is the healthier it will stay. We continued to watch them morph into beautiful plants, needing more and more tender loving care.
As the saplings matured into plants we started to treat them differently. We placed the cups with the plants into bins for easier transportation. We slowly started placing them on the patio for the day exposing them to the outside world. The patio allowed the plants to get enough light to succeed. At night we brought them inside for the night to protect them from the cold. With too much exposure to the sun light they will burn and won't be able to recover. Too little sunlight will cause them to be humble and not fully mature. It will take patience and balance to raise them, into adulthood. With the correct harmony--it will still take a while for the plants to get acclimatized to the environment. However, once they get used to the conditions they will grow up rapidly.
As the sun started to warm the ground we mended to the ground. We removed all the unwanted hazards--removing the neighbors kids baseballs and the seeds from the local trees. We spread out some compost on the bare-ground, increasing the nutrients for the plants. Since the ground was packed from the previous year and the winter, we had to grind the dirt into fine dust. To do this we used a special machine called a rotor-tiller. The red rotor-tiller was a two wheeled machine with eight inch oscillating knives in the rear. The two wheels are to support the engine as the knives drive the machine forward and backwards. The gardener should run over the soil several times to increase the depth of the ground up soil. The deeper the soil is ground up, the deeper the roots will grow. If you try plunging the rotor-tiller as deep as allowed, it WILL throw the owner around leaving them in turmoil. Rotor-tilling takes hard work and patience, just like raising a family.
A few weeks later, the ground finally warmed up enough to plant. The ground is rotor-tilled and prepped. The plants have grown to roughly a foot tall, and were flourishing. To maximize the space of the garden, you have to lay out where everything will go, making sure the plants have enough room to breath. This is accomplished by placing them systematical around the garden. Digging the holes for the root system required a large amount of fertilizer. This made sure they were well nourished. Saying good bye to the engraved routine of caring for them worries the gardener--will they make it? We still need to care for the plants but not with the same amount of effort. They needed to be watered and checked for diseases continually. They also needed to be protected from the chilly nights you put walls of water on them, ensuring them safety and protection.
As the dog days of summer approached you took down this protective layer, exposing them to the harmful elements. Sometimes the plants gets a cold from the extreme heat of the day and from the cold nights--something they're not used to. The plants have rapidly changed, now they have a few branches and are trying to escape this protective layer. Seeing the plants in this stage was very exciting, they were all thriving. Since they have been growing rapidly the gardener should put a cage around them in fear of them leaving you--growing wildly out of control. The cage is a two foot round by five feet tall chicken wired tube that allowed the plant to crawl upward.
From a month of watering has grown the plants tremendously. They are as tall as the cage and completely packed in. The plant was sprouting flowers everywhere, it was slowly turning it yellow. Seeing the new development was exciting, we looked forward to the upcoming harvest. Taking a closer look noticing insects crawling and buzzing around them. This was causing some of the flowers to turn into vegetables. Some of these insects are good for the plant killing the harmful ones. Some of the good ones are worms and bees. There are some that could present a problem like white eggs and aphids.
As the seasons start to change from the dog days into the cool days of fall, the vegetables have ripened. You start harvesting the vegetables when the tomatoes are so red that its comparable to your sunburn. The cucumbers are as large as sausages, and filled with thorns. Have you ever eaten a garden ripened tomato? Biting into the tomato explodes your taste buds, sending a jolt of flavor through your taste buds. The process of raising and harvesting the vegetables was enjoyable, just like raising a family.
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