THE PREGNANCY:
Week 1: Our journey began with our seeds’ names. Perusing the Rare Seeds catalogue (rareseeds.com), Derek and I were inspired as we giddily chose lettuces with names like Garnet Rose and Ragged Jack. We could see it all! Our baby bean would stand strong and show great resilience with a name like Blauhilde!
Weeks 2 and 3: Now that we had picked out the names of our offspring, we were riddled with anticipation. How many more days did we have to wait to sow the seeds in the ground? Would our timing show positively or was the ground too cold? We decided to go for it anyway, as we couldn’t wait any longer.
Week 4: The ground had been too cold. The little ones didn’t take. We needed to have another go.
THE BIRTH:
Week 5: We sensed hidden movement but could only wait, hydrate, and just keep breathing.
Week 6: Sprouts poked their heads from the earth! High fives and a champagne toast were in order.
THE WONDER YEARS:
Week 7: We wondered what was going on. Unpredictable conditions such as wind and lack of sun and heat had stunted the growth of our precious ones. We had nothing to do but coo coo to the babies in order to comfort them.
Week 8: The mystery of life continued to confound us. We wished our non-responsive newborns could just speak to us, and tell us what they needed. We were available to them day and night, but their discontent would not subside. Were they overcrowded or undernourished? I sought the advice of neighbors in our community who were more experienced, but they explained every
young one would mature on their own, individual timeline.
THAT AWKWARD PHASE:
Week 9: Whoa! We missed giving the buds a day of attention, and it appeared they suddenly had taken root and shot up as tall as teenagers. In turn, we picked and weeded away the areas in which they showed any weakness.
Week 10: Massive storms and clouds hit, so we had to reinforce our support system. We attempted to ground our offspring by building a complicated support system of spikes and twine.
Week 11: Uncontrollable environmental challenges stressed out our young ones, however there was evidence of new growth and fruition, so we stayed the course.
GRADUATION DAY:
Week 12: Mother Nature’s secretive plan induced us to shed some blood, sweat, and tears, but our dedication rewarded us. We did not have a grand harvest per se, but a lone eggplant bred amongst some sorry bug-eaten leaves. We had a tinge of bitter sweet love for our baby, as it was grown and ready to leave the nest, but we also had a feeling of triumph. Through our garden we realized that we are capable of handling the curveballs that nature throws at us, and that includes starting a family someday.
Lessons in Parenting~
A PSA for Urban Farming
by Jessica Tong