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Show a- I Castle Valley Comments .. . J -lll"'"- 1 B? JoAnna Ehlers- j Spring has officially arrived, according to our calendar. So out here at the homestead we have been making preparations prepara-tions for the busy activities of spring. We have about 100 bare root fruit trees to plant, an assortment of rose bushes to berries that will be arriving any day and a garden of almost an acre to cultivate and plant. Excitement runs high in our family as we look over the seeds we have purchased for our garden. Each of the girls has her own little plot to plant and take care of. besides helping with the main garden. 1 hope many of you readers are planning to do some gardening this year. Besides yielding delicious, nutritious food, gardening is excellent exercise. If you complain that your kids don't like to eat vegetables, give them a place to grow a couple of vegetables. You'll hear a change of tune. Nothing, but nothing can ' match the excitement of putting a small seed in the ground, watering it. tending it. and watching it grow! Mothers, you may have a Future Farmer of America sitting at your kitchen table. Dig up some ground and get him started! Now I don't want to hear that you don't have any space for a garden. Any little patch of dirt can be transformed into a mini garden. Radishes are great for children to plant because they grow so fast. Green beans grow up poles. Make a teepee out of 4 or 5 poles. Tie the poles securely at the top and plant the beans around the bottom of each pole. The beans will wind up around each pole and the result will be a green bean teepee. The kids will love it. The only trouble is that your children will probably discover how great green beans taste raw. You'll have to be on your toes to get the beans picked for dinner before the kids eat them off the vines for snacks. Tomatoes are so easy to grow. Nothing can match the taste of a garden-fresh tomato. toma-to. Take an egg carton and let your children plant some tomato seeds in each individual indivi-dual section. Keep the dirt moist and place in a sunny window. In about 2 weeks your plants will be a couple of inches tall. Let them grow a little longer until 2 true leaves form. Then set the carton outside in the sun for a few - hours for two or three days. This is called "hardening off" your plant. Now you're ready to transplant. Cut up your egg carton sections and carefully slide your plant into the hole you have dug for it. To conserve water on your garden, big or small, mulch, mulch, mulch. Just about any material that will break down will be suitable mulching material. Get those seeds and grow something. Today's Thought Just be glad you're not getting all the government you're paying for. WillRogers |