How Gemma Grew to Like Her Vegetables

Chapter 1



         It was a Saturday morning, the last weekend in May. Little Gemma awoke to birds chirping and bright sunshine streaming through her bedroom window. Gemma loved Saturday’s. Saturday’s were her and her mother’s special day together. Her father was at work, and Gemma and mother always went out to lunch, then did something fun together.

         By noontime Gemma could hear her stomach growling. She looked down at the purple t-shirt she was wearing and giggled. Gemma’s mother giggled too. They sat at a square table covered with a bright red table cloth. Gemma ordered a grilled cheese with french fries, her mother  a fresh garden salad.

         After a trip to the bathroom to wash their hands, Gemma sat at the table coloring in her favorite coloring book while telling her mother all about the week she had at school. Finally, the waitress appeared beside their table balancing a tray with one hand. She placed a gooey grilled cheese with crisp french fries and a glass of iced cold milk in front of Gemma and a fresh salad and a glass of water in front of Gemma’s mother.

         “Thank you very much,” said Gemma licking her lips. Her stomach growled even louder.

         Gemma’s mother smiled at the waitress and thanked her for bringing their meal. She cut Gemma’s gooey grilled cheese diagonally in half with a knife. Gemma always ate her sandwiches cut diagonally.

         “What’s in your salad mom?” Asked Gemma before taking a big bite of her gooey grilled cheese.

         “Oh, my salad is full of healthy, fresh vegetables.” Gemma’s mother pointed to the small, dark green leaves in her bowl. “These leaves are spinach. There are also carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes in my salad.” Gemma’s mother took a bite of her fresh salad.

         “It sounds crunchy,” said Gemma before taking another big bite of her gooey grilled cheese. Gemma never spoke with her mouth full of food.

         Gemma’s mother took another bite of her fresh salad. After swallowing she smiled and said, “It’s crunchy, but it’s also yummy.”

         “Why is it crunchy?” Gemma dipped a french fry into some ketchup and took a bite. Some of the ketchup dribbled onto her chin. She wiped it away with a paper napkin.

         “Well honey, all the yummy vegetables in my salad are raw.” Gemma’s mother crunched on a radish.

         “What does raw mean?” Gemma finished the first half of her gooey grilled cheese.

         “Raw means that the food hasn’t been cooked. Your french fries are potatoes that have been cooked. That’s why they’re soft and not crunchy.”

         “Oh,” said Gemma taking the first bite out of the second half of her gooey grilled cheese. “I don’t like salad. I think vegetables are grosse.”

         Gemma’s mother raised her eyebrows. “Really, why don’t you try some of my salad?” Gemma’s mother scooped up some spinach, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes and placed them in a small pile on Gemma’s plate. “There, I want you to try these.”

         Gemma shook her head from side to side. “Uh-uh. I don’t want to. I don’t like vegetables.”

         “How do you know you don’t like them. You haven’t even tried them.” Gemma’s mother pointed to the salad on Gemma’s plate. “ Please, take a small bite.”

         “No!” Gemma shook her head from side to side faster this time. “I don’t want any yucky vegetables. Uh-uh,” she screamed.

         “Gemma, please use your inside voice,” Gemma’s mother said sternly.

         Just then the waitress appeared at their table. “Anyone up for dessert?” She asked with a smile on her face.

         “No thank you. We’ll take the check please.” Gemma’s mother placed her fork in her empty salad bowl and pushed it towards the center of the table. “Are you going to finish your grilled cheese Gemma?”

         Gemma looked down at her plate then up at her mother. “No mom. I’m all done,” Gemma said in a low voice. “I’m sorry I forgot to use my inside voice.”

         “It’s okay sweetie,” Gemma’s mother smiled at her. “I just thought of a very fun idea.” Gemma’s mother winked at her.

         “Ooh. What is it?” Gemma began bouncing up and down in her seat. “What is it, what is it, what is it?” Gemma asked excitedly.

         “You’ll have to wait and see. It’s a surprise.” Gemma’s mother whispered.



Chapter 2



         After the check was paid and Gemma and her mother were safely buckled into the car, Gemma asked, “Now can you tell me what the surprise is? Please?”

         Gemma’s mother chuckled. “You’ll see sweetie. You’ll see.”

         A few minutes later Gemma and mother drove into a small dirt parking lot. A small gray building sat at the end of the parking lot surrounded by pretty flowers and plants.

         Gemma’s eyes grew wide. “Where are we?”

         “We, my darling, are at a nursery.”

         “A nursery?” Gemma sat up straight. “Are there babies in there?”

         Gemma’s mother chuckled. “No sweetie. This is a plant nursery.”

         “A plant nursery? What’s that?” Asked Gemma.

         Gemma’s mother turned off the engine to the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and turned around to face Gemma. “A plant nursery is a place that grows and sells vegetables and flower plants. They also sell seeds to people who want to grow their own vegetable and flower plants.”

         “Oh,” said Gemma. “If they sell plants then what are we doing here?”

         “We,” said Gemma’s mother, “are going to plant a garden and grow our own vegetables.”

         “Is this the surprise?” Asked Gemma as she craned her neck and raised her chin to look out the windshield at all the plants.

         Gemma’s mother got out of the car then opened Gemma’s door so she could hop out. “Come on Gemma, let’s go look at all the plants and flowers, then you can help me pick out seeds to grow in our garden.”

         “Oh, okay,” Gemma said as she reached for her mother’s hand. “I guess it could be fun.”

         Inside the nursery Gemma and her mother were greeted by a nice lady with curly gray hair. “Hello there. Is there something I can help you find?” Asked the gray haired lady.

         “Yes please,” said Gemma. “I’m going to help my mom pick out seeds and then we’re going to plant a garden.”

         The gray haired lady smiled and clapped her hands. “That sounds like fun. Follow me and I’ll show you where we keep our seeds.”

         Gemma gasped. “Look mom, a whole wall of seeds!” Gemma’s eyes grew bright with excitement as she pointed towards the wall of seeds.

         “Yes, an entire wall of seeds,” said the gray haired lady. “Why don’t you carry this basket with you to put your seeds and plants in.” She smiled down at Gemma and handed her a small brown basket with handles.

         Gemma held the brown basket by it’s handles and stared up at all the colorful packets of seeds to choose from.

         “They’re all in alphabetical order so they’re easier for you to find.” The gray haired lady walked away to greet another customer.

         “What does alphabetical mean mom?”

         Gemma’s mom explained that alphabetical meant that things were placed in order by the first letter in their name, like the alphabet.

         “Oh,” said Gemma standing on her tip toes as she reached for a packet of carrot seeds.

         When Gemma was finished helping her mother pick out packets of seeds they walked around the nursery to look at the different plants. Gemma saw big flowers, small flowers, bright flowers, and plants with no flowers on them at all. Her mother choose two tomato plants and put them in the basket along with their seeds. Then they walked to the front of the nursery to pay for the items in the basket.

         “Did you find everything you were looking for?” The gray haired lady read the name of each seed packet as she took them out of the basket. “Carrots, radishes, spinach, cucumbers, green beans, and pumpkins. Oh, and two tomato plants. It looks like you’re going to have a very nice garden.”

         



Chapter 3



         Once at home Gemma laid out all of the packets of seeds on the kitchen table. “What do we do now mom?”

         “First, we need to change into our play clothes. Planting a garden can get pretty dirty,” said Gemma’s mother.

         After Gemma and her mother changed clothes, they went into the backyard and over to the shed. From the shed they took two pairs of cloth gardening gloves, a rake, a shovel, and a hoe.

         In the backyard there was a patch of dark soil in the shape of a big rectangle. Inside the rectangle was where Gemma and her mom were going to plant their garden.

         Once again Gemma laid out the packets of seeds placing them on the ground next to the big rectangle. Gemma’s mother laid the rake, shovel, and hoe next to the packets of seeds. Then she handed Gemma a pair of gardening gloves.

         Standing side by side next to the big rectangle, Gemma and her mother put on their gardening gloves. Gemma’s were a little big for her small hands, but she put them on anyway. Gemma was getting more and more excited by the minute. She liked the thought of playing in the dirt.

         “Those gloves are a little big for you Gemma, but they’ll have to do for now. If you decide that you like gardening we’ll buy you a pair that are your size along with some gardening tools.” Gemma’s mother smiled down at Gemma.

         Gemma smiled in return. “I’ll help you plant the garden, but I’m still not going to eat any yucky vegetables.”

         “We’ll see sweetie. We’ll see,” said Gemma’s mother.

         Gemma tilted her head to the side and looked up at her mother. “What do we next mom?”

         Gemma’s mother explained to her what they were going to do. Then she showed her how to do it.

         “First, we’re going to rake the leaves off of the big rectangle made of soil where we are going to plant our garden.”

         Gemma’s mother picked up a rake. She wrapped one gloved hand around the top of the rakes handle and the other one around the middle of the handle. Then she pointed the rake away from her and dragged it on the ground bringing it towards herself. There was now a dark strip of soil where she had just raked. “See. It’s easy.”

         “Can I try?” Asked Gemma reaching for the rake.

         “Sure sweetie, here you go.” Gemma’s mother handed her the rake.

         Gemma placed her gloved hands on the rake handle just like her mother had shown her. The rake was taller than Gemma so she had to place her hands a little lower on the handle than her mother. Gemma began to rake. “Wow. This is easy.”

         Soon half the big rectangle was raked. Gemma was getting tired from all the raking. Her mother took over. While she raked she said, “Why don’t you decide which order you want to plant the seeds in while I finish the raking?”

         “Ok,” said Gemma as she knelt beside the packets of seeds.

         Soon the raking was done. Gemma’s mother walked over to where Gemma was kneeling and asked, “Did you decided which order you want to plant the seeds in?”

         “Oh yes,” said Gemma. “I want to plant them in alphabetical.”

         Gemma’s mother chuckled. “You mean you want to plant them in alphabetical order.”

         “Yes,” said Gemma. But there is one problem.”

         “A problem?” asked Gemma’s mother wrinkling her forehead.

         “Uh-huh,” said Gemma. “I can’t read yet.” She looked at her mother and shrugged her shoulders.

         Gemma’s mother chuckled again. “That’s alright sweetie. I’ll help you put them in alphabetical order. Do you remember what alphabetical order means?”

         Gemma nodded her head up and down. “It’s when you place something in order by using the first letter in each name. Like the alphabet.”

         “That’s right,” said Gemma’s mother. Together they placed the packets of seeds in alphabetical order. First came the carrots, then the cucumbers, green beans, radishes, and spinach.

         Their next step in planting a garden was to make rows in the dark soil. For that Gemma and her mother used the hoe.

         Gemma’s mother showed Gemma how to use the hoe. She told Gemma to hold the hoe like she had held the rake. She then told Gemma to put the metal part of the hoe in front of her and to pull it towards herself. It left a long indentation in the ground.

         “This is almost like raking,” said Gemma.

         “That’s right sweetie. You’re doing a great job. Are you having fun?”          

         “Oh yes,” said Gemma. “What’s next?”

         “Next, we get to plant the seeds,” said Gemma’s mother. There were six rows hoed into the dark soil. Gemma and her mother had each raked three rows. They left enough room in between each row for them to walk.

         Gemma’s mother ran to the shed to get one more tool. When she returned she was holding a big ruler.

         “Wow mom, that’s a big ruler.” exclaimed Gemma. Gemma took hold of the big ruler. It was almost as tall as she was.

         “That,” said Gemma’s mother pointing to the big ruler, “Is called a yardstick.”

         “Oh. Well it looks like a big ruler,” said Gemma.

         “It is a big ruler, but it’s name is a yardstick. A yard stick is three rulers put into one. A ruler is twelve inches long. A yard stick is thirty six inches long, which is three feet.”

         “Oh,” said Gemma wrinkling her forehead. She pointed to the yardstick and asked, “What are all these holes for?”

         “These holes are going to help us space the seeds in the rows. Your father drilled the holes for me. Each hole is spaced two inches apart.” Gemma’s mother picked up the packet of carrot seeds and walked over to the first row. “Come here, I’ll show you.”

         Gemma handed her mother the yardstick. Gemma’s mother placed the yardstick at the beginning of the first row. “Now we open the packet of carrot seeds and shake them into our hands. Be careful, they’re very small.”

         Gemma held out an open hand next to her mother. Gemma’s mother then shook  half of the carrot seeds into Gemma’s hand and the other half into her own. Next Gemma’s mother knelt down next to the first row. Gemma did the same.

         “All you have to do is drop one seed into each hole in the yardstick. See?” Gemma’s mother dropped one seed at a time into each hole. When she had placed the last seed in a hole in the yardstick she drew a line in the dark soil with her finger. This marked where the end of the yardstick had laid.

         Gemma’s mother picked up the yardstick and placed one end where she had marked the dark soil with her finger. “Now you try,” she said to Gemma.

         Gemma knelt down next to her mother and placed one carrot seed into each one of the holes. When Gemma was finished she drew a line in the dark soil at the end of the yardstick. They took turns moving the yardstick and placing seeds in it’s holes until they reached the end of the row.

         “Next we push each seed into the soil.” Gemma’s mother pushed the first seed into the soil using the tip of her finger. “Want to try?” She asked Gemma.

         Gemma nodded.

         “Once you can’t see your fingernail anymore, it’s time to stop pushing.” Gemma’s mother showed her one more time.

         Gemma gave it a try. “This is easy.” She pushed another seed into the soil.

         Gemma’s mother walked to the end of the row and began pushing the carrot seeds into the dark soil. Gemma stayed where she was and continued working down the row towards her mother. In a few minutes they met in the center of the row. All the carrot seeds were now buried in the dark soil. They did the same with the cucumber, green bean, radish, and spinach seeds.

         When they got to the sixth row they were out of seeds. Gemma asked, “What’s this row for mom?”

         “This row is for our tomato plants.” Gemma’s mother walked away and returned holding the shovel and two tomato plants.

         “How do we plant the tomatoes?” Gemma wanted to know.

         “I’m going to dig to holes first. Gemma’s mother used the shovel to dig a small hole. Then she laid and end of the yard stick down at the edge of the hole. At the other end of the yard stick she dug a second hole. Gemma watched as her mother gently twisted the tomato plants out of their containers.

         Gemma’s mother showed her how to loosen the roots by gently pulling them apart. Next she placed one tomato plant in the first hole and filled it in with dark soil. Gemma’s mother helped Gemma plant the second tomato plant.

         “This is fun mom,” Gemma said. “What do we do now?”

         Gemma’s mother stood with her hands on her hips. She turned to Gemma and said, “Now we have to water each row. If the garden stays watered we’ll be able to see our plants sprout in the next few weeks.”

         “Do we have to water the garden every day?” Asked Gemma.

         “Not every day. We can touch the soil and if it’s dry, we’ll know it’s time to water it.”

         Gemma touched the soil. “It’s dry. How do we water the garden?”

         “We’ll use the hose.” Gemma’s mother pointed to the neatly coiled hose hanging on two hooks next to the house. “Sometimes the rain will water the garden for us.”

         Gemma ran to get the hose. Gemma’s mother turned the water on for her and set the hose to a gentle spray. Gemma waved the hose over each row. The soil was much darker now. Gemma’s mother told her that too much water wasn’t good for the garden, so when the soil darkened it was time to stop watering.

         After a few minutes the entire garden was watered. Gemma’s mother helped her coil the hose back around the two hooks. On the way into the house Gemma asked, “So mom, when can we go to the store to buy gloves and garden tools that are my size?”

         Gemma’s mother smiled. Tomorrow sweetie. We’ll go to the store tomorrow.”

         Two weeks later when Gemma went outside to check the soil in the garden she noticed something that wasn’t there the day before. Her eyes grew wide and she ran inside the house to get her mother.

         “Mom, mom,” she yelled excitedly. “The gardens growing, the gardens growing! Come see!” She grabbed her mother’s hand and they went outside to look at the garden together.

         “Look, look,” Gemma squealed and pointed to the tiny green leaves that were poking out of the ground.

         “Wow!” Exclaimed Gemma’s mother. “Our garden really is growing.”

         Gemma and her mother stood side by side holding hands. Then Gemma’s mother turned to Gemma and asked, “Do you think you’ll want to try some of these yummy vegetables when they’re finished growing?”

         “Maybe,” said Gemma with a smile on her face. “Maybe.”



Chapter 4

         

         For the rest of the summer Gemma and her mother watered and weeded the garden. One morning, in the middle of August, Gemma’s mother brought Gemma outside. She was holding a big basket. Are you ready to learn the last step in planting a garden?”

         Gemma’s eyes grew wide. “There’s another step?” Asked Gemma. “Did we forget to do something?”

         Gemma’s mother chuckled. “No silly,” she said. “The next step in planting a garden is to harvest your crops and the best part is you get to eat them.”

         “Harvest your crops?” Asked Gemma wrinkling her forehead. Gemma sucked in a big breath of air and grabbed her mother’s hands. “Does that mean that we get to pick the vegetables now?” Gemma asked excitedly, her eyes twinkling.

         “Yes sweetie. Harvest means to pick your crops.” Gemma’s mother was smiling. She handed Gemma the big basket.

         Together they filled the big basket with fresh, yummy vegetables. First they harvested some carrots by grasping the green feathery leaves and pulling up. One by one they pulled bright orange carrots out of the ground.

         Once the bright orange carrots were piled in the basket they moved onto the row of cucumbers. Since cucumbers grow on vines close to the ground they had to crouch down to harvest them. Gemma and her mother each picked a long green cucumber by bending it’s stem until it snapped off of the vine.

         After the long green cucumbers were placed into the basket they moved onto the row of green beans. Gemma and her mother harvested these by holding the skinny green beans and snapping them of the bush. Soon the basket was piled with skinny green beans.

         Next they moved onto the row of radishes. They harvested these the same way they had harvested the carrots. Once their basket contained a bunch of radishes they moved onto the row of spinach.

         Carefully, Gemma’s mother used a pair of clean produce scissors to snip the leaves of the crisp spinach. She held the leaves in one hand and snipped the leaves using the scissors half an inch above the ground. Their basket was almost full.

         Finally Gemma and her mother were standing next to the last row. Two tall green tomato plants with bright red tomatoes were growing inside metal cages. When the plants were about a foot high, Gemma’s mother placed metal cages over them to help support their many branches.

         Gemma harvested two of the biggest, reddest tomatoes by holding them in her and twisting them until their stems snapped. She placed the big red tomatoes into the basket on top of the spinach.



Chapter 5



         Gemma and her mother walked back into the house with their big basket full of fresh, yummy vegetables. Once they were in the kitchen Gemma’s mother placed a stool in front of the kitchen sink. Gemma stood on the stool and rinsed the bright orange carrots, long green cucumbers, skinny green beans, red radishes, crisp spinach, and big red tomatoes under a stream of warm water.

         When Gemma was finished rinsing the fresh, yummy vegetables she handed them one by one to her mother. Gemma’s mother peeled the bright orange carrots and the two long green cucumbers. She cut the tops and bottoms off the red radishes. She sliced all the fresh, yummy vegetables and placed them in a big pink bowl with the spinach. After cutting the top and bottoms off of the skinny green beans she placed them in a pot of boiling water and cooked them on the stove.

         “There, all finished,” said Gemma’s mother.

         Before them sat a fresh,  yummy salad in a big pink bowl and a pot full of cooked skinny green beans. “That looks yummy!” Exclaimed Gemma. “Oops,” said Gemma clamping a hand over her mouth. Both Gemma and her mother started laughing.

         “So,” said Gemma’s mother. “I guess that means your willing to try these fresh, yummy vegetables?” Gemma’s mother raised her eyebrows. They laughed even harder.

         “I guess,” said Gemma in between laughs. “I guess.”

         Later that afternoon Gemma’s aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents all went to Gemma’s house for a family barbeque. When it was time to eat Gemma sat down next to her little cousin at the picnic table. Everyone passed around plates and bowls filled with delicious food. Gemma’s tummy growled. She was hungry.

         Gemma’s mother was holding the big pink bowl. “Who wants salad?” She asked. “Gemma?” She asked with a wink.

         “Sure mom. I’d love to try some fresh, yummy vegetables,” said Gemma also winking.

         Gemma’s mother walked over to where Gemma and her little cousin were sitting. She scooped a big pile of fresh, yummy salad onto Gemma’s plate. She did the same to her cousins plate.

         “Eww!” Exclaimed Gemma’s little cousin. “I don’t like vegetables. They’re yucky!” Gemma’s little cousin squeezed his lips closed and shook his head from side to side. “I won’t eat them.”

         “How do you know if they’re yucky if you haven’t even tried them?” Gemma asked her little cousin. “Come on, give them a try. They’re yummy.” Gemma proudly took a big bite of her fresh, yummy salad.