The First Seedlings

As early as the month of February, we begin to see the first seedlings emerge in the seedling trays that line the shelving in our seed vault. Over a period of countless years, I have watched for the first seedlings to welcome the coming of a new season filled with hope for a successful growing season.

The first seedlings to appear are those of cabbage, lettuce, broad leaf parsley, chives and other cold weather crops. On some days I will visit the seed vault several times and look over all of the seeded trays. It doesn’t matter that I was there earlier in the day. Who knows, perhaps two or three more seedlings may have come up since then, and I wouldn’t want to miss the birth of a new seedling.

One might think that after having lived for nearly 83 years that I would no longer experience such excitement over seedlings sprouting in seed starters mix in trays. The truth, however, is this: My excitement today runs as high as it did many years ago when I experienced for the first time my trays of sprouting seedlings. I am looking forward to many more farming seasons to come.

– John Coykendall, Blackberry Farm Master Gardener