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May 2005
Great Gardens
"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture compares to that of the garden."
~Thomas Jefferson
Dear Friends,
It’s hard to say it any better than Jefferson did. There are folks walking among us who are masters of the garden culture – not only because they probably love to partake of that bounty, but also because they find peace in gardening. Simply put, they love it.
But in our plastic-packaged, hyper-convenience minded, 24/7 world, new generations might not value the garden as much as we do. In fact, many have forgotten how to grow their own food, as well as how to preserve it and even cook it for their family.
Growing up, my parents and grandparents shared a big garden on the farm. I spent many hours tilling rows of tomatoes, hoeing between fresh lettuce, digging potatoes and snapping beans. In those days, I didn’t really like vegetables that much, but growing them was fun.
This past Sunday, as cold as it was, as a family we ventured out on our modest little garden plot and our daughters took turns planting seeds in rows that probably wouldn’t follow a chalk line all that well.
But they were happy to be digging in the dirt. And they were learning a valuable lesson about the miracle of seeds and food production. It’s an important lesson, especially in today’s society, for children to comprehend. In my opinion, they need to appreciate where food comes from and it’s good for them to take part, even at a very early age, in work that will someday provide food for their table and peace for their soul.
Gardening is a gift we can pass on to our children. And who knows? If kids help out in growing spinach and lettuce and beans and peas and carrots in the garden, they might be more likely in adulthood to enjoy those vegetables that we know are good for our health. Speaking from experience, I now look forward to the produce from our little garden, so my parents’ strategy paid off. Now pass the radishes…
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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