The "Perfect Pumpkin"

All three of our children love the garden. At this point in life they all play different roles which is fine by me. I prefer them to have a genuine interest rather than being part of the gardens labor force. My oldest daughter is usually very excited about taking part in prepping the garden in early spring and planting seed. Once the garden begins to bloom she is a little scientist observing the shape of leaves,flowers and stems. She kneels in the dirt watching the insects hard at work and is a constantly asking for answers to her observations. Our son loves playing with all the tools and digging in the dirt and can be found in the patch all through the year weeding and harvesting veggies. When playing in the yard he will snack on nasturtium and cherry tomatoes without hesitation. Our youngest has recently begun to realize there is an entire world deep within the foliage that is available for her to explore and is always eager to follow her father out to the garden.

I mention all of this because it is the background for today's entry. There is a little patch in the main garden that has become my "son's garden". He planted garlic and shallots, peas and carrots and also pumpkins. His Nona gave the kids some pumpkin seeds for Easter and they were planted in the pumpkin patch. Turns out the little guy took a seed and put it in his garden and low and behold he grew the perfect pumpkin! We only had a few of the orange squash this year but his was by far the prettiest. It was perfectly shaped, perfectly ripe and the perfect weight for a Halloween squash at 13 pounds.

He has nurtured it all summer. Weeding and watering it when necessary and showing it off whenever he has gotten the chance. He is extremely proud of his accomplishment and I am extremely proud of my 3 year old. A garden is quite a long term commitment, especially for preschooler! Good job Buddy!

Tobias Whitaker blogs for Mother Earth News and Grit Magazine. Click on the Mother Earth News logo at the bottom of the page for all of his post. You can also find him on Facebook at Seed To Harvest: Bossy Hen Homestead  https://www.facebook.com/seedtoharvestbossyhenhomestead/ which is a central location for his homesteading blogs and his homeschooling blog, A Mile In Her Shoes: Tales Of A Stay-At Home Dad found here https://amileinhershoestalesofastayathomedad.wordpress.com/