Corn and Broccoli

Last spring, Patrick built a Square Foot Garden in the side yard. The boys loved it. We tended our garden three times a week and had a crazy successful first harvest with delicious homegrown tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, beets, radishes, romaine, bell peppers, and a very small watermelon. We made lots of yummy things with our yield. We also planted brussel sprouts. Patrick was pleased when they were a total flop.

For 2011 we decided to start early with a winter crop. This afternoon we planted two kinds of spinach, Sugar Snap peas, and swiss chard. All should be ready to harvest before Easter.

While we were planting our seeds Vincent asked a question that I thought was pretty conceptually deep for a four year old.

He said, “Mom, if I were a seed what kind of a seed would I be?”

A good mother would probably have seized this window of opportunity and explained to him that he started off much like a seed...

I am NOT that mother, so I replied that I thought he was corn, because he has hair the color of corn silks, and he is tall, and very, very, very sweet. That was pretty quick of me, huh? He seemed to like this description.

In turn, I asked Vincent what kind of seed I would be. (Meanwhile, Frankie is happily squirting ants, and occasionally the dogs, with the spray bottle.) Vincent thought for a minute and said, “Broccoli,” because my “eyes are green like broccoli,” and because he “loves broccoli,” and it is his, “favorite, just like Mom is my favorite”.

Our next crops will include broccoli and corn. Patrick may have to build another box.