How NOT to Grow Prize Winning Carrots!
life·@denmarkguy·
0.000 HBDHow NOT to Grow Prize Winning Carrots!
<html> <p>Although it was definitely awkward at the time, one of my favorite "ooops" moments in life actually involves myself as a five-year old, and gradually attained almost <em>"legend"</em> status in my family, in the course of the subsequent 50+ years.</p> <p>When I was little and we were still living in my native Denmark, my parents kept a large vegetable garden at the end of our yard. Although both my parents worked the garden, it was basically my mother's pride and joy. </p> <p> <div class="pull-left"> <p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/7LmEVpS.jpg" alt="PetersGarden" /><br /> <em>Yours Truly in the Garden, July 1964</em></p> </div> </p> <h2><em>Adventures in Vegetable Gardening</em></h2> <p>As a small child of some three or four years of age, I found this all quite fascinating and took considerable interest in the ongoing planting, growing and harvesting activities. Whereas my mom couldn't ever get me interested in the never-ending weeding project, I was quite good at such things as fetching tools, making little furrows for seed planting and tossing rocks into the adjoining field.</p> <p>By the time I was five, my parents decided it would be a good <em>"learning experience"</em> for me to have my own small patch of land on which to learn how to grow a things.</p> <p>In no time at all, I was sowing and growing radishes, green beans, carrots, sunflowers and other good stuff. The faded photo (above) shows me in my very first garden, in 1964.</p> <h2><em>Wait... I Could Turn this Into Something...!</em></h2> <p>I was also an enterprising young lad, and knew that my mother would sometimes buy vegetables from the grocery or the nearby farm stand. So my five-year old brain reasoned that I could probably <em>sell</em> some of my home-grown produce to the household... and get some money.</p> <p> <div class="pull-right"> <p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/LXOb8JN.jpg" alt="Produce" /><br /> <em>Some rather more "successful" veggies-- at our local farmer's market</em></p> </div> </p> <p>Unfortunately, neither my agricultural knowledge nor my sense of "scale" were very well developed.</p> <p>Regardless, one early summer day proudly showed up at the kitchen door to present my mother with an offering of a bunch of approximately one inch long carrots no thicker than a coffee stir stick. I had even managed to find a piece of string to tie them together by the green tops, just like <em>"proper farmers"</em> did.</p> <p>I assured her they were <em>"very fresh,"</em> because that seemed important to adults.</p> <p>Rumor has it that my mother actually managed not to laugh, and was able to gently tell me <em>"dear, they are really still a little too small"</em> while maintaining a "serious" look.</p> <p><em>Oops.</em></p> <h2><em>Not Easily Daunted...</em></h2> <p>But the true nature of the "legend" grew out of what happened next.</p> <p> <div class="pull-left"> <p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/HgxySNe.jpg" alt="PurpleFlower" /><br /> <em>Now I just grow tiny purple flowers (weeds!)...</em></p> </div> </p> <p>Resigned to the idea that it would be a few more days before I'd make my fortune from my carrot farming endeavors, I resolutely marched back to my small plot of land and stuck the <em>(by now quite wilted)</em> minuscule carrots back in the ground!</p> <p>Of course, I was deeply saddened and dejected when they-- within a couple of days-- simply died, instead of growing into prizewinning veggies.</p> <p><em>Oops,</em> version 2.0.</p> <p>Although this tale returned to haunt me for <em>years</em> every time my family talked about gardening, I eventually made peace with it... and now find a small measure of consolation in having been able to provide an amusing tale, for so many years!</p> <p>I was reminded of it, a couple of days ago, as summer started up in earnest around here, and things are really starting to grow. And yes, as you can probably detect, I still do garden...</p> <p><strong><em>How about YOU?</em></strong> Do you have any interesting memories of "awkward" things done with childhood enthusiasm? Any that reached "family legend" status? Have you watched your own kids do anything like this? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- start the conversation!</p> <p><em>(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)<br> Posted 20170623 09:03PDT</em></p> </html>
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