Next Generation Gardeners

Reader Contribution by Heidi Hunt
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Last evening, I trooped out to my now-mostly-defunct vegetable garden to pick a handful of basil to add to the tomato sauce pot, bubbling on the stove.

I stepped into the garden and was startled when a voice came from the sidewalk, behind the tomato cages, “Are those green tomatoes?” the voice asked. Two middle-school-aged boys were hovering at the fence. I asked if they liked to eat fried green tomatoes. They assured me they did. So I picked a handful of the small green fruits and threw in a couple of ripe ones for good measure. They grinned all over.

I told them I was making spaghetti sauce and all of the ingredients – tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil and oregano – had been grown in this garden. They were amazed that I could do that – especially grow my own garlic. I showed them where some little garlic sprouts were peaking out of the soil and said they would be ready to dig next summmer.

One of the boys, looking at the ground, said, “My mother used to like to grow a garden.” His expression warned me against following up with a question about his mother and her gardening habits. I offered them a basil leaf to taste – they seemed to really like the flavor.

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