I have gallantly returned from spring break on Paradise Island, forgive all the vacation pictures here. Okay, so it wasn't actually named Paradise Island (it was named Little Gasparilla Island), but it was a wonderful and relaxing week in the sun with Jessica and Joe. My mind was still back in Chicago, at least a little bit, fretting over the fate of my newly planted seeds. Mom was put in charge of the watering and general care of the baby seedlings. Overall, kudos to you, Mom. Without your care and attention, they for sure would have died. However, we will share publicly how you confused the labeling system and a couple trays of tomatoes got a slight bit confused when you moved trays without their numbers. I think we're back on track, but we'll just have to see as the weeks go on.
The plants are looking healthy. I'm slightly concerned at how tall they are and that perhaps they've gotten a bit leggy, but I think that every year and everything tends to turn out alright. Many of the tomato varieties (10 in all) are starting to form their first set of "true leaves". What this means is that when the seeds initially sprout, their leaves look nothing like what you would think of as a tomato leaf. These initial leaves are meant simply to help them sprout and then gather enough sunlight (or fluorescent light, as the plants in my basement are forced to gather) to properly create their first set of real leaves. So many of my tomato plants are showing signs of the teeny tiny leaves that finally look like what tomato plants are supposed to look like. The broccoli looks great, as do the onions and leaks. The peppers are going strong and I can't wait to see what takes off and really begins to grow strong.
In other news, I have had a lot of lovely press recently with the whole Beekman Boys gardener thing. It's been enabling me to connect more with my community and with an even larger surrounding community. The school where I work has been talking a little bit about starting a garden on the grounds to help feed the students. I hope that they do end up going in that direction and that I can be of help in getting better, healthier food to these kids who I truly adore. Two of my students have been given permission to start a community garden, which is way cool and way exciting! I'm doing my best to help guide them to a successful season. It's going to be hard, as they are incredibly ambitious kids who are trying to go at 1000% their first time out, but I trust in their enthusiasm and drive and their love for the community. They'll do well, even if it isn't quite what they expected. My other cool news is that I have been hired to grow seedlings for some people. It'll be the first money I'll ever make in my career as a farmer. I may need to frame the first dollar! Life is getting super busy, the rototiller is ready and waiting to break ground in Harvard at the first sign of decent weather. The church garden is still being worked on. We need to build some portable raised beds that look beautiful so that they compliment the program and get the community interested in what we're doing. For now, this is all. More seed starting in the days ahead, more searching for an affordable pickup truck. Lots of stress, but finally today I got my hands dirty. Like, had to scrub my fingernails dirty! It's been far too long since that happened, and I was giddy with excitement when I noticed it was happening this afternoon. Here's to far more dirty days ahead than not!