Despite Mr. Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction, March is going out as a roaring lion this year. With another snowstorm closing in on the mountaintops of Pocahontas County, WV, I can’t help but remember the hundreds of seeds promising new
life that arrived on our doorstep just short couple of weeks ago.
Upon arrival, we assembled envelopes, tape and a black marker to begin dividing seeds among our Grow Appalachia participants. Chinese cabbage, rainbow carrots, arugula and tomatoes were just a few of the vegetable
varieties that our participants ordered.
While dividing the seeds, we also began starting seedlings for our participants. We grabbed over ten varieties of green peppers and a dozen more varieties of tomatoes and began planting into several trays. As a new gardener, this was my first time planting seeds and it was definitely my favorite part. As I held the little seeds in the palm of my hand, I realized that these little seeds would eventually grow into fresh local vegetables to feed families and communities. So, as the winter melts away and the seasons change, I look forward to growing together with our families and communities towards a healthier future.
Rainbow carrots sound like a lot of fun so I looked them up…. and I found this cool website that had more info that I thought would be fun for people to check out. 🙂
Here was a highlight from the webpage:
“Red carrots derive their color mainly from lycopene, a type of carotene believed to guard against heart disease and some cancers. Yellow carrots accumulate xanthophylls, pigments similar to beta-carotene that support good eye health. Purple carrots possess an entirely different class of pigments—anthocyanins—which act as powerful antioxidants.”
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/ar/archive/nov04/carrot1104.htm
I think it’s so amazing how one tiny seed will grow an entire plant. As a kid when I planted things with my grandma in her garden, I would dump a bunch of seeds into a single pit of dirt so they would grow. I realized later that she probably went back in and spread them out a bit after I had moved on to another project.
I’m so excited to see your seed starts! Spring is coming!!