Magical Moments

There's nothing quite the same as seeing your little seedlings pop up through the soil. That first glimpse of green is like magic, for when you last saw the little seed it was tiny and round and easily mistaken for dead. Now (seemingly) suddenly, out of the darkness of the soil there's a living thing, growing and striving to reach it's potential. As if by magic it stretches and unfolds, revealing tiny leaves which help it start absorbing sunlight. It's because of this real life magic that my heart breaks when it's time to thin the crop, to get rid of the smaller plants, making way for the larger ones.

I may have been ambitious this year, starting with 54 total tomato seedlings (18 brandywine, 18 roma and 18 sweetie), when my main garden area is not ready to be planted. Additionally I started 30 tomatillo and 30 bell pepper seeds. At this point, the totals have been thinned as much as I can handle, and we're down to 6 tomato plants (2 of each type), 4 tomatillos and 4 bell peppers. There's also the pickling cucumber which is in the ground, and the perennials which were already planted (berries and fruit trees).

Next year the plan is to have a huge, diverse garden, but the yield will mostly be for us. Honeybees will also be introduced in year 2. By year 3, I'm planning to have enough harvest to be able to sell at a local farmer's market, in addition to the preserving we do for our family. There is comfort to be taken in knowing that I'll be able to witness the magic of planting a LOT over the coming years!