Yesterday afternoon, with my son on my back, the girls and I potted up the first of our tomato seedlings – all 51 of them. (The one above is a “Black Krim”, a favorite of ours for salads.) Another 26 little tomato-lets (started a week later) will be potted up this weekend, time allowing.
(Above: Our eclectic collection of potted-up tomatoes – in sour cream and tapioca containers, large paper cups, milk jugs, juice bottles, hand-me-down pots.)
It felt wonderful to spend the afternoon in the warm sunshine, kneeling with my children on the front steps, tenderly moving each little seedling from a starting tray into its own pot.  It felt wonderful to be growing food with my children, and I am grateful for the many, many days of gardening with them that are spread out in front of us.
I love the Wendell Berry quote. This weekend my family–all seven of us–worked out in the yard together. And, it did feel so good to be out in the sunshine, bending our backs to collect and bundle sticks that had fallen from winter trees, and using our arms to rake and bag up leaves. We were such a happy work party. Our bodies felt useful, and we had a sense of collective purpose…it was, “a way of rejoining the human race.”
Pingback: Lark Song Knits » Blog Archive » Early May Garden Update