Six on board: Jacob's garden

Jacob has been collecting vegetable seeds for the past several months. I'm not sure what the attraction for him is, because although he gets enormous satisfaction from growing vegetables from seed, he will not ever actually eat a vegetable. He is dismissive of flowers, as he has no patience for their purely ornamental qualities. However, vegetables seem to fill a need in him somehow - perhaps they satisfy his desire to nurture others. He is quite tickled when we enjoy his garden's harvest and I am quite happy to give him free reign. If he grows up to be a guerilla gardener, can I really complain?

Last Thursday, we set to work clearing weeds and (ugh!) horsetail out of Jacob's garden plot. He diligently uprooted all the visible weeds and raked fertilizer into the soil.

Then he planted his seeds. First a row of sunflowers. Then 2 rows of corn.

While our backs were turned, Malia tore open the bean packet and poured the contents into the dirt behind us. Jacob was not happy. These same seeds had been lovingly hidden for the past 2 months in his sock drawer and he wasn't going to take their abuse lightly. In frustration, he quickly scooped up as many of them as he could and planted 3 rows. Malia, unflustered by his anger, calmly tore open the pea box and poured them out as well. Jacob leaped up in frustration and begged me to remove Malia from the scene. I knew that short of tying Malia to a tree, I would not be able to keep her away for any length of time and suggested that he find a way to involve Malia in the planting process.

The last 3 rows Jacob planted were carrots. We used seed tape - and what a clever invention it is! We used a bamboo pole to drag a groove in the dirt, laid the seed tape in the groove and covered it with dirt. Voila! Three tidy rows of carrots.

After Jacob was finished planting, he washed his hands at the tap outside. He said, "Mom, I think I have an allergy. Whenever I wash my hands, I have to go pee right away. I had the same thing last year." *snicker*