First Harvest

For a few weeks now, we've had ripe strawberries in our garden, but the birds seem to be getting to them quicker than we do, at least until now. The garden has filled in so much in the past week that the bright red berries are hidden and don't seem to be catching the eye of the birds as much. So this morning my son and I went out to see what we could gather for our first harvest of the year and we found a half dozen strawberries and 3 heads of broccoli ready for picking with several more of both that will be ready any day. I am surprised my children haven't turned into berries with the amount of them that they eat so his excitement over the strawberries was not very surprising. However, usually when I mention the word broccoli his immediate response is "I don't like broccoli. It's too yucky for me." But today I heard, "I'm going to just try the broccoli." It's amazing how much more connected we become to our food no matter what our age when we plant it, nurture it and pick it ourselves at just the right time.

If you've been thinking about planting a vegetable or herb garden, but just haven't found the time, or you want to get your children to eat more fruits an d vegetable, it's not too late. You can even plant in pots, and a lot of garden centers have herb gardens already planted in pots that you can buy ready to go. Whether you do one tomato plant or a full scale garden, you will not be sorry. My garden is looking better than ever this year so I think it's going to be a good year. Our first harvest may have been small, but I know there is lots more to come. Happy planting!