Every year, for many years now, we have grown a family vegetable garden. Usually the garden is put together by everyone in the family. Everyone puts in equal effort in hope of great and plentiful harvests in the late summer and early fall. For three to four months, we water the garden fervently to fight off drought and pray that when it does rain that it doesn’t flood out the seeds and seedlings that we so carefully place precise distances from each other. A lot of patience and hope is planted into the soil, hoping to be able to eat the fruits of our own labor and even share the surplus with others around us. The plants we plant by hand return to our hands on the dinner table, where we feast as a family, strengthening our family ties.
This past summer, though was not one of great harvest. The growing season was filled with too much rain with severe dry spells in between storms. Our corn didn’t turn out as large and edible as previous years (the year before we had over 6 dozen good ears, this year we had only 1). We lost most of our peppers, we lost several pumpkin and melon plants, and our potatoes were tiny. But, the growing season did grace us with some very plentiful carrots (one measuring about nine inches in circumference). Carrots grow best in black soil that is extremely quenched, and the rain over the summer made our dry soil more ideal for these root vegetables. We harvested many, though small, onions, which we probably will not completely use. Our pumpkin plant that did survive provided us with over twenty-five beautifully shaped pumpkins that, like the onions, were also small in size. We were also fortunate enough to receive some surprise late growing watermelon that sprung up in the weed-infested garden in the early fall, much after the rest of our watermelon had been picked. The questionable growing season, though not as good as seen in past years, provided us with a great amount of satisfaction in the long run and, as always, proved to be a good deal of entertainment as we watched our seeds grow and change, much like our lives do.
This past summer, though was not one of great harvest. The growing season was filled with too much rain with severe dry spells in between storms. Our corn didn’t turn out as large and edible as previous years (the year before we had over 6 dozen good ears, this year we had only 1). We lost most of our peppers, we lost several pumpkin and melon plants, and our potatoes were tiny. But, the growing season did grace us with some very plentiful carrots (one measuring about nine inches in circumference). Carrots grow best in black soil that is extremely quenched, and the rain over the summer made our dry soil more ideal for these root vegetables. We harvested many, though small, onions, which we probably will not completely use. Our pumpkin plant that did survive provided us with over twenty-five beautifully shaped pumpkins that, like the onions, were also small in size. We were also fortunate enough to receive some surprise late growing watermelon that sprung up in the weed-infested garden in the early fall, much after the rest of our watermelon had been picked. The questionable growing season, though not as good as seen in past years, provided us with a great amount of satisfaction in the long run and, as always, proved to be a good deal of entertainment as we watched our seeds grow and change, much like our lives do.
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