Plotting out the Garden
The five older boys each asked to have their own garden plot this spring. I was thrilled to hear this as a couple years ago I wanted to assign them each a plot so they could experience some hands-on learning. I decided not to knowing it would work so much better if they wanted to have a plot instead of me telling them they had to.
After a few years
of watching me work the garden and helping with it too, two of the boys
approached me in the winter to ask if they could have their own plot in the
spring. We don’t have a very large garden but I happily agreed to let them have
a section. By the end of the day I had turned the entire garden over to the
five older boys so they could each have their own area.
We haven’t quite
made it to that last average frost date for Centra Texas so nothing has been
planted, however they’ve already started preparing their plots. I had let the
garden go at the end of fall and it was a mess of weeds and dead plants. As we
worked to clear it up I could see a couple of the boys quickly losing interest
in the once brilliant idea of having their own garden section.
This was one of
the things I was most looking forward to with this little experiment. Not
seeing the crushing blows of reality setting in but getting to learn about the
ways they would each handle the work, setbacks, and rewards of tending a
garden.
It’s easy for kids
(adults too) to visualize a blooming early summer garden full of their favorite
fruits or vegetables. It’s another thing to hand pull weeds, work in the sun,
and get bitten by 87 ants.
The 13-year-old
grasped what he was getting into soonest. He started asking questions about
what plants had grown well in the space in the past and zeroed in on a plant he
thought wouldn’t require much maintenance. Basically, he wanted the easiest
plant to grow.
The 12-year-old on
the other hand has weeded his unplanted plot nearly every day since the ground
was cleared. The work is part of the fun, or at least part of the process, and
he’s eagerly taken to it.
The 6-year-old
loves tomatoes and that drives all aspects of his participation. Thus far, the
glorious thought of a large tomato plant laden with fruit is enough to drive
him to work in the garden.
These three
approaches in general -- the minimal effort, the maximum care, and the focus on
the end product -- are recognizable in the adult population too. And not just
in gardening.
Like I mentioned,
they haven’t even planted yet so we’ll see if their approaches hold through the
growing season. Drought, pests, hail, and their youngest siblings (who have a
history of picking green fruit) are sure to provide discouraging setbacks and I
highly doubt all plots will get a harvest.