My dad really enjoyed farming, and he tilled up a large field so that we could plant vegetables and berries. Mom loved to can vegetables and fruit, so this idea appealed to her too.
When the field was ready, Dad went into town and bought two hundred strawberry plants. He left instructions for my brothers to work on planting the berry plants when they came home from school, which they did.
The next day I remember my dad saying to my brothers, "I thought I told you to plant those strawberry plants." They answered him, "We did."
They had done their job, but they had planted the berries the way you would plant potatoes. They buried them in the ground!!! The next day my dad was out there trying to carefully dig up the strawberry plants and plant them correctly. What a job! But he was successful. We did have strawberries to eat.
Little by little we became "farm" kids, but not without a few laughs during our learning time.
© 2007 Arlene Schwartzkopf