Let me begin by saying, I picked this beet out of my own veggie patch. I am 64 and this is the first beet I have ever grown. For some reason, beets just never made the cut when it came time to choose what I would grow each season. It would not have happened this year either but for the fact that the company I ordered my seeds from threw in a free packet of seeds that just happened to be this variety called Vulture Beets. I had never heard of them. An odd name, no? I had them, so I planted a few and lo and behold they grew and so far the deer have seemed uninterested in them. Unsure if they were ready to harvest, I could tell by the bit that was just above the surface that they might be, so I hauled this beauty out of the ground with a little tug and was still unsure if this is as big as they get or if I was a little too early. One thing I do know for sure is that I was proud of what I had grown. I held it up to examine it, shook off the clinging dirt and shouted out to Mick..."Check out this little beauty!". It was perfect. No bug bites, check, nice colour, check, a heady earthy aroma, check. This baby was heading to our dinner plate. Gardening is truly one of life's great joys (IMHO). My grandparents grew their own food, my parents always had a veggie patch and I followed suit from an early age as soon as I had a window sill to call my own. I once installed shelves horizontally across a rental apartment kitchen window and grew several varieties of herbs to use in my cooking. I thought it was genius and the decorator in me liked the way it looked as well. Hoping to pass my love of growing things along to my son, I used to take him on little educational walks through my yard and garden at a young age and teach him the names of various flowers and plants. With each successive stroll through, I would quiz him to see if he could remember them. He resisted these lessons, but I was determined he should be able to identify at least some of the flora that surrounds us. He does not remember how he used to wander into our small veggie garden in Vancouver when he was barely two years old, pick pea pods, bring them to me, demand me to "open Mommy" and then grin from ear to ear as the little row of peas inside were revealed. I wish he did remember this. But even more so, I wish that every child had an opportunity to connect with nature in this way. I still quiz him...just to see if he remembers. Just last weekend when he was visiting, we walked around here at Kyeema North and despite the fact that he does not seem much interested in gardening (yet), he knew the difference between a Snapdragon and a Marigold. He even asked me if there were any Forget-Me-Nots growing here as those were always a favourite of his as a child, but alas, it was too late in the season for those and I don't have any here. (note to self, add those to next years seed order). In a perfect world, I would want every child to embrace growing things. Sometimes, when I witness young people obsessing over meaningless pursuits or complaining they are bored or wasting countless hours scrolling on their phones, I want to shout "Go get your hands dirty! Plant something! Stick a seed in the ground! Create a living thing! Marvel at the miracle of it all!" I have never met a gardener who was bored or boring. I have never felt that gardening was a waste of time. I have never stopped learning about all things botanical. If food became scarce, I would not be fearful. Listen up young people. You may not realize it, but knowing how to grow something is really a basic life skill and the rewards are far beyond your latest Candy Crush score. If you have a window sill, you can grow something. Just as anyone can cook if they can read, so can anyone create life from a seed in a little pot of dirt in their window. Caring for a plant gives you something outside of yourself to nurture. I recall learning how to grow things from seeds in primary school (the avocado seed experiment). Do they even teach this anymore? As the world turns and we continue to see more supply chain issues and food prices increasing, we all need to rethink our approach to feeding ourselves. Let's get growing. Let's start with our own children and grandchildren. Teach them how to be self-sufficient. Encourage them to get their hands dirty. Give them the gift of pride in their accomplishment when they pick and eat a juicy ripe strawberry they grew themselves. Take them to a 'pick your own" farm. Involve them in a community garden. With any luck, they might enjoy it and come to realize that spending some time in a garden will actually help them understand how the beet does indeed go on. #gardening #nature
8 Comments
7/22/2022 07:39:38 am
Yay to you writing again! I love pickled beets and cooked beets with butter and salt. I attempted a veggie garden when Jack was tiny but the weeds won. Good on you/us to be at that beautiful age when we can say, "Listen up, young people!". Haha. xoxo
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Deb
7/23/2022 04:00:36 am
Pretty sure we had to walk for miles and miles to school every day too, in bare feet in a snow storm...LOL!
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Cuz
7/22/2022 08:31:46 am
It is sad that they don’t teach these simple lessons at school anymore. As they don’t teach them simple skills such as walking or riding on the correct side of the street. Elmer the Safety Elephant came to our school to teach us those simple safety lessons. Life skills needed but never taught anymore.
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Deb
7/23/2022 03:58:43 am
We loved visits from Elmer...remember them well!
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anonanon
7/22/2022 05:51:33 pm
Good to see you have picked up the "pen" again...
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Deb
7/23/2022 03:57:45 am
...thanks, the beet does go on!
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Nancy Cooper
7/23/2022 03:28:13 am
This is a great story, Deb. I liked it a lot!
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Deb
7/23/2022 04:03:01 am
Thanks Nancy - a light post to begin this new chapter of blogging.
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DEBunked.I see nature as a metaphor for life. Please join me on this journey down the garden path as I explore life through story - a shovel in one hand and a camera in the other. Archives
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