#1 Patience: The plants will grow. Let them. Water them. Visit them, but not too often. Don’t harvest too soon, even though it is so tempting to pull up carrots to check if they’re ready yet.
#2 Carpe Diem: Harvest before the rodents serve themselves, because the rodents can sense our thoughts: “I’ll harvest this tomorrow when it’s just that much more ripe.” (rebuttal to Lesson #1)
#3 Timing: Plant too soon, and the frost will claim the seedlings. Plant too late and there won’t be enough time for the fruits to ripen.
#4 Defense: This year, I worried far too much about infiltration from footed animals, and not enough from those with wings.
#5 Space: Don’t underestimate the space plants will need. (See also: volunteer yellow-pear tomato that currently is taking up half the walkway in addition to 3/4 of the pea / bean bed.)
#6 Plant More Flowers: You can’t have enough, and the phrase “too many” does not apply to flowers. Plant flowers that remind you of others (i.e., delphinium and sweet peas for Gram, roses and cosmos for Arden, and daffodils for Madeleine) because you will, indeed, feel their presence among the blooms.
#7 Wonder: Be amazed that those tiny seeds know exactly what to do, and when, and how.
#8 Contemplate: Wish that certain aspects of human life were as clearly defined as the roles of seeds. Rejoice that most of them aren’t.
#6 is absolutely the bottom line! Spread the word!
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