Garden as Playground and Classroom

My family started gardening before I was born, and I have often said, half jokingly, that I held a trowel before I held a crayon. My earliest memories of gardening involve hiding among the vast tomato plants, sneaking handfuls of sweet cherry tomatoes outside my parents’ view; pulling on long leafy greens, revealing large, orange carrots that were hidden below ground; and digging into the garden beds to plant seedlings, hoping to spot earthworms crawling in the soil. Looking back, the garden felt like a playground. My siblings and chased each other up and down the rows. We handled wheelbarrows. We spread thick layers of straw. We used our own hand rakes and trowels to dig in the soil. We sprayed water on seedlings, and each other. The plants and vegetables and flowers came in all kinds of colors and shapes, and each day offered a new adventure.

Looking back, the garden also served as an early classroom. Most simply, I learned that food did not magically appear in grocery stores; it was grown. The garden also provided the opportunity to count, measure, and sort, to learn scientific principles like photosynthesis and genetics, and to appreciate the beauty of nature as art. But I also learned more complex lessons that required observation and real problem solving. That seeds had to be planted at the right time and in the right conditions. That plants were vulnerable to pests and disease that called for creative solutions, especially in organic gardens. That there is no substitute for putting in the time and effort that plants require. That no two seasons are alike and that there is always something new to learn. It’s these lessons — the importance of hard work and working through hard problems — that continue to have the greatest impact on me. Oh, and with hard work comes reward - in my case, sweet cherry tomatoes, which I still sneak by the handful.