GARDENING 101

You could probably say I've been a gardener all my life.  That's not to say I've been a good gardener all my life, or even a willing gardener all my life, but I that I have gardening memories back as far back as I can remember anything - that much is true.

I remember helping mom plant the garden - I wonder whose idea that was?  Having been a mom myself I know that there are some jobs that are easier done without the help of a small child and planting tiny seeds would be one of them.  All the same, I recall feeling that I was helping to do an important job - and believe me, with a family of seven kids, growing a big garden is very important. 

I remember her explaining how to make the rows, how to take into consideration the size of the seed when covering them with dirt, how to deal with weightless seeds on a windy day, and how all seeds had to be pressed into the soil so they could be securely in where they could access moisture for germination.  It always seemed mean to me that I should pack them so hard and still expect them to make it back out of the earth, but of course she was right and I was wrong.  She was a fountain of gardening knowledge and thankfully I had enough brains to listen and learn.

I got the basics from mom, and judging from the rest of the family's interest in growing things, I would say that I came by my desire to garden through my very DNA.  That's not to say that I haven't had some painfully embarrassing failures over the years, but every season has taught me something and my gardening knowledge continues to expand.  It's not only that though; gardening ties me to the earth ,and the time I spend working with the plants and in the soil is a time of meditation and memories of the people who have shared both their knowledge and their plants with me.  The veggies might be good for my body, but the experience is good for my soul.

I don't know where the time has gone but I find myself in my sixth decade and have lived in the same place now for 35 years.  That kind of time lapse and permanence has given me what it takes to build a park-like yard with substantial gardens - both vegetable and flower.  I will never be 'done' because as time goes by I am inspired by others' ideas or my own imagination.  Just this past year we have begun to establish an orchard as well, and maybe a bit of a market garden.  Heaven knows we will never be able to eat all the asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, and saskatoons we have growing out there ourselves.  We will decide what to do at a later date - meanwhile it's just fun to watch it all grow.

It's funny how a person is unaware of just how much they know on any given subject until they are asked to pass their knowledge on.  I got a call from my baby sister (she's ten years younger than me - you do the math, but she'll always be the 'baby' sister); she had some gardening questions.

While we do have the same parents, our growing up experience was different: my entire childhood was on the farm with the big garden but hers only started there, she grew up a town kid.  And then she married a guy whose job took them to a city where yard space was more important than garden space.  Until their son bought an acreage the idea of a garden wasn't even a thing ... but with this opportunity those gardening genetics had awakened - ground has been tilled, rows have been planted.

She had a list of things she needed to know ... were gardening gloves a good idea?  (YES!)  And what was 'hilling' potatoes?  Why did one do it, and how was it done?  On the one hand how could anyone not know this?  On the other hand, I guess potato hilling doesn't come up in casual conversation all that much. 

A subsequent phone call thanked me for the tip on garden gloves and while we were talking she marvelled about how the carrot seeds must have blown or washed all over the garden because she had carrots everywhere.  I told her to rub the leaves of one of her wayward carrots together to see if they didn't smell a lot like dill - another mystery solved.  It came in handy as they had wanted to make pickles and had forgotten to plant any themselves.

It was a few nights later that we talked again and I smiled at what she said.  I have written from time to time about my musings while I garden - how my time weeding flower beds or picking peas and beans is often spent in the happy, comfortable company of people important in my life even though I am all alone.  It was obvious from her comments that she had planted vegetable seeds true enough, and wanted to harvest good things to eat, but she had also been hoping for her own private crop of memories too ... and her first garden was already bearing this kind of fruit.