Baby Steps!

[frustratedearthmother]

Had the best thing EVER happen today! My son called me for help. Not something new in most families maybe - but in my family it is usually me calling him for help. He has recently bought a home with some acreage. I tried to convince him that he has the perfect place for some 'critters' but he's not having it.

HOWEVER - he wants to plant a garden! He came and borrowed the tiller and after a couple of hours he calls asking if I can come over. Why, I ask? He says, a little sheepishly, that he needs help. I ask what kind of help and he says.... with the new garden.

I couldn't get there fast enough, lol. The house he bought has a beautiful raised garden about 30 x 30 roughly. The soil is beautiful! It tilled up fine and dark and loose and just awesome. But, after the tilling he didn't really know where to start. He told me that he's watched me for so many years that he thought he could just do it - but he wanted some guidance. I swear I thought my heart was gonna swell up and burst right there!

We rowed it up - even though I thought beds instead of rows might be better, it's his first garden and he wanted it to look like a 'regular' garden. So, it does. He had bought a bunch of seeds and was ready to stick them all in the ground. I persuaded him to wait on a few things like corn and purple hull peas. I told him that they need warm soil to germinate and even more heat to thrive. So, he planted cabbage. From seed... directly in the ground. No reason why it won't work - I've done it before but I did think that for his very first garden that he might want to start with plants. I just couldn't bring myself to try to dissuade him from anything. I'm tempted to sneak over there one day while he's at work and stick some plants in the ground, lol.

Ya'll keep your fingers crossed that his very first garden will be a success!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ahhh, Sumi - hang in there! Your time (and the perfect place) is coming, I feel strongly about that.

Deb - how do you do your garden?

And so tonight he calls and asks what kind of fruit trees he can plant! Is this MY son?!?!!

He wants citrus trees and peach trees and told me I can plant a plum tree there. I have a really hard time with fruit trees here. My ground stays soggy longer than it should after a rain and if it's not that it's the goats sneaking in and eating them, or the pigs uprooting them... So maybe I can plant my orchard at his house! If work schedules allow we'll be heading off to the nursery this weekend. Yippee!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Isn't it though!? All those years when you didn't think they were listening or even caring about what's important to you - it all finally comes full circle.

Dang it...I'm about to get all misty eyed...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It does make you feel validated as a parent, friend and a mentor for sure! He said something last night that made me think he 'gets it'. He asked what kind of things he could plant that would give him food 'forever'. If that's not a spark of SS - I don't know what is!

And, yes - that soil is beautiful and it has sat fallow for several years. The only problem that I really foresee for him is that there is a 'critter' (or 12)that has a den under his garden. As we were working up the rows I stepped a couple of places where the soil collapsed into an underground tunnel of sorts. Me thinks perhaps there is a nice rabbit warren right under that perfect garden soil. He did confirm that they see bunnies in the yard all the time.

Anybody have suggestions for asking the bunnies to give up that space? Wish I still had the Westies - they'd love to go to ground and root out those bunnies.

 

[sumi]

I had the biggest smile on my face, reading your post! I hope those seeds and all his future seeds planted will grow for him and he'll get to enjoy gardening as much as we do.

 

[Beekissed]

Wonderful story!!!! I can relate...I've been waiting for just such a moment from my own sons. Finally had a similar experience but not on such a grand scale...my son lives in town on a postage stamp. I had suggested that they turn the entire front yard into a Back to Eden garden so they wouldn't have to worry about mowing that little space. At first he acted like I was crazy, then said they "might" think about it. One day he called me up and said they'd need my help because they had decided to do the "garden thing".

Since then we have placed a load of old wood chips on his yard to let them compost further all winter and are currently forming a low fence around it to contain the greenery, have planned trellising for tomatoes, beans, cukes and peas, and he even said he'd like to espalier a dwarf apple tree alongside his house, right next to a grapevine.

Then he started talking about a green house in the back yard.....

FEM, that soil is to die for!!!! He oughta be able to plant dimes and grow dollars in that kind of soil! Especially if it's been fallow for awhile...should do really well. I'm betting his stuff will grow from seed just fine. What a huge blessing, both for the quality of the land and for his asking for your help and following in your footsteps in wanting to be a good steward to his land. Congratulations! You have not taught in vain.

 

[baymule]

I ordered some concord seedless. My grand daughter won't eat grapes, but loves Welches grape juice. She was impressed when I told her I could grow Welches grape juice!

 

[Denim Deb]

I remember an episode of Green Acres where they had some kids visiting them. I don't remember all of it, but I think the kids had planted stuff, and the wife snuck full grown plants in so the kids would be able to harvest what they planted.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Got a pic...nothing but dirt at this point, lol. OH - and my husband says I'm off on my guesstimate of size... He says it's more of a rectangle.....

Whatever, lol!

Still a few clumps of grass in the pic - we removed most of those after the pic was taken.

 

[baymule]

I would be bragging too if that were my son! WOW! That is just plumb down-right finer than split frog hairs!