THE SEED IS HOPE; THE FLOWER IS JOY
My daughters and I have been keeping a secret. We started an ORGANIC container garden! Back in March, we decided to order heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are seeds that have not been generically modified (non GMO) or hybridized in a lab (think SEEDLESS watermelon- NOT a natural occurrence, not from an heirloom seed). These heirloom seeds are organic and have been passed down unaltered (less natural open-pollination) for generations. We bought our heirloom seeds from Seed Savers Exchange. Seed Savers is a non-profit committed to protecting heirloom varieties of garden and crop varieties. I highly recommend donating to this 501(c)3 if you are passionate about preserving the biodiversity of U.S. food crops.
So why did we choose to plant heirloom seeds?
We want to protect what nature intended us to ingest and what we know our bodies can digest. U.S. food crop modification has become the topic du jour and for our family eating genetically modified foods has had negative consequences for our physical health. Im talking about things like: leaky gut, digestive discomforts, skin rashes, hives. We actually FEEL BETTER when we eat organic produce- or produce that is grown without pesticides or chemical additives. Or as we remind each other, the foods our grandparents ate every day.
Have you ever eaten an organic heirloom tomato? The taste is INCREDIBLE. And the nutrient density is unmatched. This is the second reason we choose heirloom seeds. Heirloom produce is nutrient dense and provides us with exceptional quality and taste which is really all we can ask for in our food. We eat to nourish our bodies, recalling that our body is the only place we have to live and we should care for it in every way we can.
Once our seeds arrived in the mail, we ordered organic peat moss starter planters and organic starter soil and got to work. Planting our seeds in the starter planters was my daughters’ favorite part of this. They were able to get their hands dirty and sow a seed with hopeful feelings that it might grow into something.
After about a week most of the seeds sprouted into seedlings. At this point, we ordered fabric containers, bamboo stakes to act as trellises, and one large self watering raised container for our in-ground crops that needed to be directly planted. We monitored our plants indoors and waited for the last frost to pass in order to transfer our seedlings into their permanent homes on our deck. With sunlight, water, and love our plants spent all of April and May growing and growing. Now that June has rolled around, our plants are beginning to bear fruits and we are SO excited about all the delicious vegetables we will soon eat! Joy!
This “project” was so meaningful for us as a family. My husband and I were able to show our girls what a little hard work and kindness can grow. Upon reflection, the girls realized YOU can grow the food you want to eat, YOU can be in charge of what you put into your body, if YOU take care of a tiny seed, YOU will see tremendous growth. Speaking of growth, our project taught me a lesson in patience. If you plant the seed, show kindness, there will be growth.
