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Copyright © 2019 Carson Arthur

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the
publisher—or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, licence from
the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency—is an infringement of the copyright law.

Appetite by Random House® and colophon are registered trademarks

of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication is available upon request.

ISBN: 9780147530615
Ebook ISBN 9780147530622

Book and cover design by Lisa Jager

Photography by Carson Arthur, except for the following pages: Michelle Arbus: this
page, this page, this page, this page, this page, this page, this page, this page, this
page; Kevin Lockwood: this page, this page, this page, this page, this page, this
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Published in Canada by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin

Random House Canada Limited.

www.penguinrandomhouse.ca
v5.3.2
a
How do you dedicate a book to just one person

when so many make it happen?

This one is for all of those who’ve had my

back, pushed me to do more and

led the way through your own hard work.

Most of all, it’s for my partner, Kevin:

thank you for trusting me that a farm

was a WAY better option than

a house in the city.

 Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication

Introduction

Vegetables

Chickens

Bees

You Got This!

Thank You
I love growing my own food. I know that the flavors are better
and the food is healthier than anything I could buy in a store. Taking
a tiny seed and nurturing it is incredibly rewarding—the taste of the
first tomato that you grow validates all the hard work that goes into
producing it!
And these rewards aren’t limited to owners of sprawling yards—
you can grow your own food in pretty much any space. Whether you
have a small window box, a community garden plot, a big backyard, a
farm of multiple acres or a patio with just a few pots, there are
always options open to you, and the security that comes from
knowing you’re equipped to feed yourself and your family—with
nothing more than some sunshine, water, dirt and seeds—goes a long
way!
 6 years ago, I bought a small plot of land 2 hours outside the city. I
wanted to try my hand at having my own farm. I even managed to
convince my partner, who is as “city” as they come, to do it with me.
To be fair, I do have a little background knowledge to go on. Not only
am I a landscape designer by trade but I also grew up on an apple
farm. I learned how to grow stuff from an early age with the help of
my mom and my grandma. We ate what we grew and put away for
the winter so that we’d have our own supply all year long. When I
grew up and moved away from the apple trees and into the city,
growing things stayed with me.
With farming in my blood, I have traveled back and forth across
the country for the past 17 years, helping people create the outdoor
spaces of their dreams. I have been showing people how to make the
most of whatever space they have, and how to find balance between
their own human needs and those of the world around us all. I’ve
seen how gardens can grow in all kinds of places and climates. I’ve
also witnessed an awful lot about what not to do if you want your
garden to survive—and thrive. Like the fact that you should call to
check the locations of cable wires and gas lines before you start
digging; like understanding the growing process is more than just
sticking plants in the dirt; like avoiding angry queen bees; like the
fact that absolutely everything wants to kill your chickens.
I’ve learned a lot working on my own garden, and in this book I am
passing my advice and experience on to you so you can avoid a whole
bunch of the #gardenfails I’ve already made. First, I’ll show you to
look at your space and truly understand it. I’ll help you assess the
sunlight and the dirt; show you how to get seeds started; help you
protect your garden from pests; teach you when to water your
garden; and give you DIY guides for raised planters, composters and
self-watering systems, to name just a few. Then I’ll give my advice for
growing 20 key veggies (from preparing the dirt, to harvesting them,
to prepping your seeds for next year). Parts 2 and 3 are a primer on
chickens and bees: Advice on choosing the right breeds for you, how
to feed, care and collect from both, and some hard truths about why
you might not be ready for this step yet. Plus my fav recipes for
cooking all those gorgeous veggies, and what to do with the eggs and
honey you collect from your chickens and bees.
Many of us (me included) have been feeling a pull toward
becoming more self-sufficient in sourcing our own food and are
looking at how we can use our own spaces to grow that food. Some
people have called it the “grow it yourself” movement; others think
it’s some sort of fallout from all the “end of days” movies and TV
shows. Whatever the reason, if you’re keen to jump on board, my
advice can help you ease into this way of life as smoothly as possible.
I warn you though—this is not a dreamy look at an adorable
Instagram-ready farm. I don’t gloss over the dirty bits, but literally
go into the shit you need to know (see this page for a guide to
choosing manure!) and share my honest experience of growing food
in every space.
Happy growing! And keep me posted on how it goes…

@carsonarthur
Carson Arthur
carsonarthur123
 First Things First
Understanding Your Space
All You Need for Seed
Planning Primer
Planting 101
Feeding Your Garden
A Little More Love & Care
Thinking of starting a vegetable garden? Whether
you’re a newbie or a pro, there’s
always something to learn from someone else’s
approach to growing vegetables.
This section covers all the basics you’ll
need for any size of garden, be it a balcony,
a backyard or a community garden plot.
Good luck!
 FIRST THINGS FIRST

S o you want to grow your own food? There are a few things you
should know before you start digging, because things like soil, light
and location all matter—a lot. Knowing what will likely work in your
space before you start helps tip the odds toward success, rather than
just set you up for a #gardenfail. (I’ve had a few of those myself, so
no judgment here.)
Ultimately, whatever space you have can work so long as you
understand the fundamentals of what it takes for food to grow. Don’t
assume you need to have a giant backyard to be successful, or even a
patch of soil for that matter. Planting food on a balcony or a rooftop
definitely has its challenges, but these shouldn’t stop you from giving
it a go! We live in all kinds of spaces, from tiny studios to huge
homesteads, and any spot with some sun can be an opportunity to
grow your own food.
Sunlight
The most important thing to understand is sunlight. Every single
plant needs some form of light to grow (and before you say
“Mushrooms!” let me tell you that even they need some light). Put
simply: If a plant doesn’t have light, it won’t grow. A plant’s leaves
are like little solar panels, converting sunshine into energy to make
the plant grow. Some plants make more energy than others (and so
grow faster) simply because their leaves are better at processing
light.
So how much light do you need? Well, the very best growing
conditions you can ask for are full sun, all day, because that gives you
maximum light. Sadly, we can’t always get what we want. (Yes,
there’s a song in there somewhere!) Instead, you work with what
you’ve got and make smart decisions when planning what to plant
and where. For sure it’s tougher to grow food in a spot that only gets
indirect light or is always in the shade. But there are also lots of
awesome plants that grow well in shadier spots, like near a tree or
even on a north-facing balcony. Certain groups of vegetables can
handle more shade than others and still produce a good crop. The
key to success is understanding how much sun you have in your
space.

Measuring Sunlight
There is nothing complicated about measuring sunlight—all you
need is a solar-powered toy (one that operates by light and doesn’t
have a battery), easily found at a dollar store. So long as the toy has a
little solar panel on the front or top, it will work for testing the
sunlight levels in your space.
Put the toy in the spot where you are thinking of planting. Pick the
spot where you think your garden will have most success. Take into
consideration the various types of sun and shade you think the space
may get throughout the day and the surrounding foliage also. For
example, it is easier to grow vegetables under tall trees that cast
dappled shade than it is under smaller trees with dense branches
close to the ground. Make sure to pick an average weather day to get
a true reading, because lots of clouds mean less light.
 Set a reminder on your phone to check the toy once an hour, every
hour, for an entire day (during the time the sun is up) and record
when the toy is moving. This will give you a good understanding of
how many hours of sunlight the spot will get in a day. If there is
enough sunlight to make the toy move, there is enough sunlight to
grow plants.
Once you know how many hours of sun you average per day, you can
start to think about what to grow. Here is my rule of thumb for what
works best, based on the hours of sunlight in your space:

>6 hours Plant anything you want! The world is your oyster
so take advantage of it! But don’t gloat; Mother
sunlight Nature has a habit of coming back and kicking
you in the ass when you get too cocky.

4 to 6 You are going to have to scale back a little. Any

plants that require heat to make them sweet—like
hours tomatoes and peppers—aren’t going to love your
sunlight quasi-shade garden. The general rule is that if
you eat what comes off the plant (instead of the
actual plant), you need full sun. So beans, corn
and peas, for example, all need full sun for best
success. They may still produce some fruit in a
low-light situation, it just won’t be as much.
 Instead, consider below-ground vegetables like
onions and shallots. They handle lower-light
conditions very well.

2 to 4 Dark leafy things only. Big leaves are better at

creating energy from less sun (kind of like a big
hours solar panel versus a little one). So plants like
sunlight cucumbers, zucchinis, lettuces and chards all do
well in low-light situations. Even plants like carrots
and beets can handle less light because they
produce a lot of vegetation above ground. The full
list of veggies that play well with little light: celery,
chard, cucumbers, kale, lettuce, onions,
radicchio, scallions, spinach and zucchini.

<2 hours This probably isn’t the book for you. Just kidding!
If your spot really doesn’t get much sunlight, stick
sunlight to the plants that have dark-green leaves and set
your expectations low. Also get to know the
farmers at your local market or investigate local
community gardens.

Dirt
Dirt (or soil, for those who are fanatical about their gardening terms)
will always be one of the most important factors in your growing
success. Soil—a mix of nutrients, minerals, organisms, gases and
liquids—is the basis for supporting all life on our planet. There isn’t
one perfect mix of soil for growing all food, but some blends are
definitely better than others.
If you are planning to grow food in a pot or planter—i.e., you will
be buying your dirt rather than using the existing ground—skip
ahead to this page, where I talk about buying dirt. But if you’re
getting a shovel and digging out your garden, it’s time to talk. Before
you start any of the hard work, let’s check out the ground first.
The Dirt on Dirt
Knowing the quality of your soil really matters, not just because of
the impact it has on your growing success but also because anything
that is in it will end up IN your food. Learn as much as you can about
the history of your space; talk to your neighbors and do your
research.
If you find out that the soil used to be farmland or something
agricultural, then you are golden, as odds are the soil is pretty good
for growing things. But if its past life was as soil below a gas station
or factory or anything else that might have contaminated it, you’ll
probably want to rethink planting straight in the ground. Chemicals
and heavy metals can remain in the soil for many years, and you run
the risk of them being absorbed by your plants and ending up in your
dinner.
Getting to know the dirt in your garden will also reduce a lot of
hardship when it comes time for planting, so have a good look at
what is going on in the space right now. (Does the grass look super
happy? Are there lots of weeds? Are there dead brown patches all
over the place?) The perfect spot for a garden is where plant life is
already thriving. Planting in an existing happy space will mean a lot
less work for you in the long run, as nature is clearly already
providing the plants what they need to survive. Ground that is dry
and looks kind of dead will make your life significantly harder. Not
impossible, but harder.

Testing Your Dirt

Then comes the dirt test. You need to wait for 3 full days of sunlight
in a row with no rain to do this one. Once the ground is nice and dry,
take out one full shovel of soil. Not a little namby-pamby hand trowel
of the stuff, but a big, deep scoopful, using a real shovel. Ideally, you
want to dig down at least 4–5 inches into the ground. Take a good
look at the dirt you’ve taken out. Are there a lot of rocks in it? Did
you hit a tree root as you dug? If you hit one rock or one root, there
will definitely be more in that space, and anything that stopped your
shovel going straight into the ground will cause you issues going
forward. This is important to know as you weigh all the factors before
you start. If you didn’t hit anything, then I secretly hate you a little
right now (I always hit something).

If you live in colder climates, make sure

you don’t use ice salt during the winter
near the ground you will be growing food
in.

Next, take a handful of the dirt (a real handful, not a gloveful—you

have to make skin contact) and squeeze it tight for 30 seconds. You
want to see how well the soil sticks together without moisture (which
is why you needed to wait for the 3 days without rain). If the soil
doesn’t stick together at all but runs through your fingers, you have
sand. If the soil sticks together solidly and you can see the perfect
outline of your fingers in it, you have clay. Neither of these situations
is ideal. There are lots of websites and blogs about things to add to
your sand or clay soil, but don’t listen to them! Trying to change what
you are working with is a total disaster waiting to happen—you may
get some short-term success, but in the end the ground will revert to
what it originally was, and all the work you did will pretty much be a
waste. So if either of these situations is yours, consider going with a
raised bed (see this page) instead of planting directly in the ground,
and skip the rest of this section.
 The best scenario for your soil is somewhere in between sand and
clay, what’s called loam. This is the sweet spot where part of the dirt
clumps and the rest stays loose. Loam is a combination of sand, clay
and silt (made up of rock and mineral particles), and generally this
combination is what you want for successful planting. It will provide
enough water drainage so that the roots won’t rot, yet will hold
enough moisture that you don’t have to be watering multiple times a
day.
If you are stressed in any way about the soil in your yard, you can
search online to find a soil-testing company near you. Most require
you to just send in a simple soil sample, but some of the advanced
labs will require a special kit to be sent out to you first. I have a local
university test my soil as the reports it produces can be helpful and
informative. Be prepared to learn that your soil might not be so good
for planting (this is especially likely in urban centers because of all
the human activity). Soil with high levels of copper and zinc should
definitely be avoided, as your plants will absorb both and pass them
on to the food that ends up on your plate.

Buying Dirt
When it comes to buying dirt, there are generally four types to
choose from, and all should be available at most big-box stores or
garden centers.

Garden soil. An all-purpose mix that will work well in almost any
garden bed. Garden soil will often have things added to it like
fertilizers or other “plant foods” to help everything grow. You may
also find garden soil blends for specific types of plants, which have
been specifically mixed to meet a particular plant’s needs. While
garden soil is a great option for vegetable gardening, make sure to
read the label to find out what has been added, because anything in
the soil will end up in your food, synthetic fertilizers included.

Potting soil. A lighter and looser version of garden soil, designed for
planters and container gardening. You will often see little white balls,
called pearlite, in this mix. These aerate the soil and help to make it
lighter (because pearlite is literally lighter than soil, especially wet
soil), so this is a good choice for pots, planters and vertical gardens.
You may also see the term vermiculite printed on the potting-mix
bag. Vermiculite is an additive that helps water and nutrient
retention in the soil, for healthier plants. Like pearlite, it is great for
vertical gardens and containers because it is lightweight. Many store-
bought soils will contain both pearlite and vermiculite in the mixes.
These are great options for the first-time gardener but can be pricier
because of the “extras” inside.
Another random document with
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 Fig. 67

Fig. 68

Fig. 69
 Fig. 70

The seeds of the pine tree are hidden away in the pine cone (Fig.
69) you know so well, and those of the hemlock in the hemlock cone
(Fig. 61). When they are quite ripe, they break away from these
cones. In so doing, each one carries with it a little piece of the cone,
which acts as a wing to the seed (Fig. 70).
Nearly all of these seeds you can find for yourselves when you
wander about the country. Indeed, if you have eyes that are good for
anything, many of them you cannot help seeing. It is all very well to
read about these plants and trees, and to look at pictures of their
flowers and fruits, and to have your teacher bring into the
schoolroom specimens for examination. If this is all the city children
can do (although even in the city one can do more than this), why,
surely it is far better than nothing.
But best of all is it to go right into the woods and fields where
these strange, interesting creatures are living, and to see for
yourselves their manners and customs.
 SHOOTING SEEDS

Fig. 71

D OWN by the brook and along the sides of the mountain grows a
tall shrub which is called the witch-hazel. I hope some of you
know it by sight. I am sure that many of you know its name on
account of the extract which is applied so often to bruises and burns.
This picture (Fig. 71) shows you a witch-hazel branch bearing both
flowers and fruit; for, unlike any other plant I know, the flower of the
witch-hazel appears late in the fall, when its little nuts are almost
ripe. These nuts come from the flowers of the previous year.
It is always to me a fresh surprise and delight to come upon these
golden blossoms when wandering through the fall woods.
Often the shrub has lost all its leaves before these appear. You
almost feel as if the yellow flowers had made a mistake, and had
come out six months ahead of time, fancying it to be April instead of
October. In each little cluster grow several blossoms, with flower
leaves so long and narrow that they look like waving yellow ribbons.
But to-day we wish chiefly to notice the fruit or nut of the witch-
hazel.
Now, the question is, how does the witch-hazel manage to send
the seeds which lie inside this nut out into the world? I think you will
be surprised to learn just how it does this.
If you have a nut before you, you see for yourselves that this fruit
is not bright-colored and juicy-looking, or apparently good to eat, and
thus likely to tempt either boy or bird to carry it off; you see that it is
not covered with hooks that can lay hold of your clothing, and so
steal a ride; and you see that it has no silky sails to float it through
the air, nor any wings to carry it upon the wind.
And so the witch-hazel, knowing that neither boy nor girl, nor bird
nor beast nor wind, will come to the rescue of its little ones, is
obliged to take matters into its own hands; and this is what it does. It
forces open the ripe nut with such violence, that its little black seeds
are sent rattling off into the air, and do not fall to the ground till they
have traveled some distance from home. Really they are shot out
into the world (Fig. 72).
If you wish to make sure that this is actually so, gather some of
these nuts, and take them home with you. It will not be long before
they begin to pop open, and shoot out their little seeds.
Did you ever hear of Thoreau? He was a man who left his friends
and family to live by himself in the woods he so dearly loved. Here
he grew to know each bird and beast, each flower and tree, almost
as if they were his brothers and sisters. One day he took home with
him some of these nuts, and later he wrote about them in his journal,
—
“Heard in the night a snapping sound, and the fall of some small
body on the floor from time to time. In the morning I found it was
produced by the witch-hazel nuts on my desk springing open and
casting their seeds quite across my chamber.”

Fig. 72

Now, I do not want any of you children to go off by yourselves to

live in the woods; but I should like to think that you could learn to
love these woods and their inmates with something of the love that
Thoreau felt. And if you watch their ways with half the care that he
did, some such love is sure to come.
Although the witch-hazel’s rough way of dealing with its young is
not very common among the plants, we find much the same thing
done by the wild geranium, or crane’s bill, and by the touch-me-not.
The wild geranium is the pretty purplish, or at times pink flower
which blossoms along the roads and in the woods in May and early
June.
Its seedbox has five divisions. In fruit this seedbox tapers above
into a long beak, which gives the plant its name of “crane’s bill.”
When the fruit is quite ripe, it splits away from the central part of this
beak in five separate pieces, which spring upward so suddenly that
the seeds are jerked out of the five cells, and flung upon the earth at
a distance of several feet. The picture (Fig. 73) shows you how this
is done. But a little search through the summer woods will bring you
to the plant itself; and if you are patient, perhaps you will see how
the wild geranium gets rid of its children. But though this habit may at
first seem to you somewhat unmotherly, if you stop to think about it
you will see that really the parent plant is doing its best for its little
ones. If they should fall directly upon the ground beneath, their
chances in life would be few. About plants, as about people, you
must not make up your minds too quickly.

Fig. 73
 Fig. 74

Another plant that all of you country children ought to know, is the
touch-me-not, or jewelweed. Sometimes this is called “lady’s
eardrop,” because its pretty, red-gold, jewel-like flowers remind us of
the drops that once upon a time ladies wore in their ears. These
flowers we find in summer in wet, woody places. In the fall the fruit
appears. This fruit is a little pod (Fig. 74) which holds several seeds.
When this pod is ripe, it bursts open and coils up with an elastic
spring which sends these seeds also far from home (Fig. 75).

Fig. 75

This performance of the touch-me-not you can easily see; for its
name “touch-me-not” comes from the fact that if you touch too
roughly one of its well-grown pods, this will spring open and jerk out
its seeds in the way I have just described.

Fig. 76

In Europe grows a curious plant called the “squirting cucumber”

(Fig. 76). Its fruit is a small cucumber, which becomes much inflated
with water. When this is detached from its stalk, its contents are
“squirted” out as if from a fountain, and the seeds are thus thrown to
a distance of many feet.
 THE CHESTNUT AND OTHER SEEDS

Fig. 77

A T the head of this chapter you see the fruit of the chestnut tree
(Fig. 77).
What fine October days this picture brings to mind,—clear, cold
mornings when we arm ourselves with baskets and a club, and go
chestnuting.
Usually the boys climb the tree, and shake the branches till the
open burrs rattle out their contents. But sometimes a teasing cluster
refuses to set loose its treasure. Then the club comes into play. If it
strikes the great burrs, and raps out their fat chestnuts, a shout of joy
follows.
What a delight it is to hunt in the long grass for the glossy brown
beauties just after a sudden shower from above! No one speaks. All
are bent low in breathless search.
I know of nothing much more perfect in its way than an open
chestnut burr, still holding its two or three fine nuts. Its green, prickly
outer covering makes a fine contrast to the velvety brown lining; and
within this beautiful case the plump, shining nuts are laid with the
daintiest care.
 Perhaps the chestnut burr is even safer as a seed case than the
apple. While its seeds (the chestnuts) are young and unripe, it does
not stop to plead, “Pray; don’t destroy my baby nuts!” but it seems to
call out sternly, “Hands off!” and promptly punishes the boy or girl
who disobeys this rough command.
But when the chestnut seeds are quite ripe, then it opens as wide
as it knows how; and very tempting it looks as it unfolds its contents.
A chestnut tree in October looks like one great invitation.
The acorn (Fig. 78), the seed of the oak tree, is pretty enough as a
plaything, but less pleasing than the chestnut. Only the squirrel
seems to find it fair eating.

Fig. 78

The trees which hide their seeds in nutshells contrive in different

ways to send them abroad.
Many of these nuts are hoarded as winter food by the squirrels.
Often in a moment of fright these little creatures drop them by the
way. Again, they forget just where they deposited their hoard, or for
some other reason they leave it untouched. Thus many nuts are
scattered, and live to change into trees.
Others may fall into the water, and float to distant shores. The
cocoanut, for example, has been carried in this way for hundreds of
miles. Its outer covering protects the seed from being soaked or hurt
by water; and when at last it is washed upon some distant shore, it
sends up a tall cocoanut tree.
 SOME STRANGE STORIES

W HEN I began to tell you children about the different ways in

which plants send their young out into the world, I had no idea
that I should take so much time, and cover so many pages with the
subject. And now I realize that I have not told you one half, or one
quarter, of all there is to tell.
You have learned that seeds are scattered abroad by animals that
eat the bright cases in which they are packed, and by animals into
whose hair or clothing they manage to fasten themselves.
You know that sometimes seeds are blown through the air by
means of silky sails to which they are fastened, or else by their little
wings.
You discovered that certain plants actually pushed their young
from their cozy homes in no gentle fashion, much as a mother bird
shoves her timid little ones from the edge of the nest.
And in the last chapter you read that occasionally seeds were
floated by water to distant shores.
Now, these are the chief ways in which plants contrive to dispose
of their seeds; but they are not the only ways. Before leaving the
subject altogether, I will mention a few plants which use other
contrivances.
 Fig. 79

This picture (Fig. 79) shows you the fruit of the poppy. Many of you
know it well. In the fall you find in the garden these pretty seedboxes.
They answer famously as pepper pots, if one chances to be playing
house in the orchard.
Just below the top of the poppy seedbox the picture shows you a
circle of little openings; and inside the seedbox are many poppy
seeds (Fig. 80).
But how can seeds get out of these openings, do you suppose?
If they were lower down, it would be an easy matter for the seeds
to drop out, right on the ground. But perhaps it is well that this cannot
happen. Did such a quantity of seeds fall upon one small bit of earth,
they would have a poor chance for life.
Well, then, you ask, must they wait patiently in the seedbox till
some child comes along and pulls it off for a pepper pot?

Fig. 80
 No, they are not obliged to wait always for you children. This is
fortunate for the poppy plants that are so unlucky as to live in lonely
gardens where no children ever play.
Then what does happen?
If you will go out into the garden the next windy fall day, you will
see for yourselves. You will see the tall poppy plants swaying to and
fro with every gust of wind; and you will see how the seedboxes are
tossed from side to side, and that every now and then a very violent
toss sends the little seeds tumbling head over heels out of the little
openings just as effectively as if the wind too were playing house
and using them as pepper pots.
When the seeds are let loose in this way, the tall poppy plants are
swayed so far to one side, and the wind is blowing so hard, that they
land upon the ground much farther from home than would have been
the case had they fallen through openings cut in the lower part of the
seedbox.
In the East grows a strange plant called the “rose of Jericho.” Its
fruit is a pod. When this plant is nearly ready to get rid of its seeds,
what do you think it does? It lets go its hold upon the earth, curls
itself up into a little ball, and is driven here and there by the wind.
When it finds a nice damp place, it stops and uncurls itself; and the
little pods split open, and drop their seeds on the earth.
Some plants bear fruit that look very much like insects. It is
believed that sometimes these are taken for such, and snapped up
by birds, and thus succeed in getting away from home.
 Fig. 81

This picture (Fig. 81) shows you a pod which, as it lies upon the
ground, looks like a centiped.
Here you have a seed which is shaped and marked like a beetle
(Fig. 82).
The next picture (Fig. 83) shows you a seed from the castor-oil
plant. You can see that it might easily be mistaken for some insect.

Fig. 82

Think how disappointed the bird must be, after having greedily
snapped up and carried off one of these little objects, to discover that
for all his pains he has secured nothing but a dry, tough pod or seed.

Fig. 83
 But if the mother plant really does any thinking at all, cannot you
fancy how she chuckles with delight over the trick she has played,
and the clever way in which she has started her young on its travels?
There is still another way in which birds help to scatter seeds.
They alight in wet places, covering their little feet with mud. Now, a
clot of mud may contain many different seeds; and for days this clot
may stick to the bird’s foot, and thus cause the seeds it holds to be
carried for hundreds of miles.
Have you ever heard of Darwin? He was a great man who spent
most of his life in studying plants and animals.
How many years do you suppose he was interested in the study of
those long, brown worms which you find in quantities in the lawn and
after heavy rains along the sidewalk? At intervals for forty-four years
he studied these little creatures which you girls think ugly and
uninteresting enough, although the boys know they make fine fish
bait.
Well, Darwin once raised eighty-two plants from seeds contained
in a clot of earth which was clinging to the leg of a partridge. So you
can see that when a bird gets his feet wet, he may really be doing
the world a service. And it is not likely that he takes cold himself.
Now, I want you children to see how many different ways you can
recall in which plants scatter abroad their little seeds; and later I want
you to go out into the garden, or into the woods, and see if you
cannot discover many of the seeds about which you have been
reading. But better still it would be if you could find others of which I
have told you nothing.
I should like you to make a list of the different plants which you
find in fruit, putting after each name a slight description of the way in
which it gets rid of its seeds. This will not be a stupid task at all if you
set your mind to it. It will give your walks a new pleasure, and it will
bring to your school work something of the freshness and joy which
belong to the woods.
 Part II—Young Plants

HOW THE BABY PLANT LIVES

W HEN these little seeds at last find a good resting place, what
do you think happens to them? They grow into new plants, of
course. But how does this come about? How does a seed turn into a
plant?
I could hardly expect you to guess this, any more than I could
have expected you to guess how the apple flower changes into the
apple fruit. I will tell you a little about it; and then I hope your teacher
will show you real seeds and real plants, and prove to you that what I
have said is really so.
Of course, you believe already that I try to tell you the exact truth
about all these things. But people far wiser than I have been
mistaken in what they thought was true; and so it will be well for you
to make sure, with your own eyes, that I am right in what I say.

Fig. 84

If you should cut in two the seed of that beautiful flower the garden
peony, and should look at it very closely through a good magnifying
glass, you would find a tiny object such as you see in the half seed
shown in this picture (Fig. 84). Both your eyes and your glass need
to be very good to show you that this little object is a baby peony
plant. Fig. 85 gives the little plant as it would look if taken out of the
seed.
Every ripe seed holds a baby plant; and to become a grown-up
plant, it needs just what boy and girl babies need,—food and drink
and air.
But shut up so tight in its seed shell, how can it get these?
Well, in this peony seed its food is close at hand. It is packed away
inside the seed, all about the little plant. In the picture (Fig. 84),
everything except the little white spot, which shows the plant, is baby
food,—food that is all prepared to be eaten by a delicate little plant,
and that is suited to its needs just as milk is suited to the needs of
your little sister or brother.

Fig. 85

The little leaves of the baby plant take in the food that is needed to
make it grow fat and strong.
Now, how does the baby plant get water to drink?
I have asked your teacher to soak over night some peas that have
been dried for planting, and to bring to school to-day a handful of
these, and also a handful which have not been soaked. She will pass
these about, and you can see how different the soaked ones are
from the others. Those that have not been in the water look dried
and wrinkled and old, almost dead in fact; while those which have
been soaked are nearly twice as large. They look fat, and fresh, and
full of life. Now, what has happened to them?
Why, all night long they have been sucking in water through tiny
openings in the seed shell; and this water has so refreshed them,
and so filled the wrinkled coats and swelled them out, that they look
almost ready to burst.
 So you see, do you not, how the water manages to get inside the
seed so as to give the baby plant a drink?
Usually it is rather late in the year when seeds fall to the earth.
During the winter the baby plant does not do any drinking; for then
the ground is frozen hard, and the water cannot reach it. But when
the warm spring days come, the ice melts, and the ground is full of
moisture. Then the seed swells with all the water it sucks in, and the
baby plant drinks, drinks, drinks, all day long.
You scarcely need ask how it keeps warm, this little plant. It is
packed away so snugly in the seed shell, and the seed shell is so
covered by the earth, and the earth much of the time is so tucked
away beneath a blanket of snow, that usually there is no trouble at all
about keeping warm.

Fig. 86

But how, then, does it get air?

Well, of course, the air it gets would not keep alive a human baby.
But a plant baby needs only a little air; and usually enough to keep it
in good condition makes its way down through the snow and earth to
the tiny openings in the seed shell. To be sure, if the earth above is
kept light and loose, the plant grows more quickly, for then the air
reaches it with greater ease.
So now you see how the little plant inside the peony seed gets the
food and drink and air it needs for its growth.
In the picture above (Fig. 86) you get a side view of the baby plant
of the morning-glory, its unripe seed being cut in two. As you look at
it here, its queer shape reminds you of an eel. But if instead of
cutting through the seed, you roll it carefully between your fingers,
and manage to slip off its coat, and if then you take a pin and
carefully pick away the whitish, jelly-like stuff which has been stored
as baby food, you will find a tiny green object which through a
magnifying glass looks like the next picture (Fig. 87). The narrow
piece pointing downward is the stem from which grows the root.
Above this are two leaves.

Fig. 87

This baby plant is a very fascinating thing to look at. I never seem
to tire of picking apart a young seed for the sake of examining
through a glass these delicate bright-green leaves. It seems so
wonderful that the vine which twines far above our heads, covered
with glorious flowers, should come from this green speck.
As this morning-glory is a vine which lives at many of your
doorsteps, I hope you will not fail to collect its seeds, and look at
their baby plants. When these are very young, still surrounded by a
quantity of baby food, you will not be able to make them out unless
you carry them to your teacher and borrow her glass; but when the
seed is ripe, and the little plant has eaten away most of the
surrounding food, it grows so big that you can see it quite plainly with
your own eyes.
 A SCHOOLROOM GARDEN

I WANT you children to do a little gardening in the schoolroom. You

will enjoy this, I am sure.
When I was a child, I took great delight in the experiments that I
am going to suggest to you; and now that I am grown up, I find they
please me even more than they did years ago.
During the past week I have been doing this sort of gardening; and
I have become so interested in the plant babies which I have helped
into the world, that I have not been at all ready to stop playing with
them, even for the sake of sitting down to tell you about them.
To start my garden, I had first to get some seeds. So I put on my
hat and went down to the little shop in the village, half of which is
given up to tailor work, while the other half is devoted to flower
raising. The gray-bearded florist tailor who runs this queer little place
was greatly interested when he heard that I wanted the seeds so that
I might tell you children something of their strange ways.
“Seeds air mighty interestin’ things,” he said. “Be you young or be
you old, there’s nothin’ sets you thinkin’ like a seed.”
Perhaps the florist tailor had been fortunate in his friends; for I
have known both grown-up people and children who year after year
could see the wonder of seed and baby plant, of flower and fruit,
without once stopping to say, “What brings about these changes?”
To “set thinking” some people would take an earthquake or an
avalanche; but when this sort of thing is needed to start their brains
working, the “thinking” is not likely to be good for much.
But I hope that some of you will find plenty to think about in the
seeds which your teacher is going to show you; and I hope that
these thoughts may be the beginning of an interest and curiosity that
will last as long as you live.
 The seeds which I got that morning were those of the bean,
squash, pea, and corn; and your teacher has been good enough to
get for you these same seeds, and she will show you how to do with
them just what I have been doing this past week.
First, I filled a pot with finely sifted earth, and planted the different
seeds; then I filled a glass with water, floated some cotton wool upon
its surface, and in this wool laid some beans; and then my garden
planting was done.
During the following days I kept the earth in the pot slightly moist.
The cotton wool in the glass of water did this for itself.
And how carefully I watched my two little gardens!
For three days the pot of earth kept its secret. Nothing happened
there, so far as I could see. But the beans that were laid upon the
cotton wool grew fat and big by the second day, just like those that
your teacher soaked over night; and by the third day their seed coats
had ripped open a little way, just as your coat would rip open if it
were tightly buttoned up and suddenly you grew very fat; and out of
the rip in the seed coat peeped a tiny white thing, looking like the bill
of a chick that is pecking its way out of the eggshell which has
become too small to hold it.
Very quickly this little white tip grew longer. It curved over and bent
downward, piercing its way through the cotton wool into the water.

Fig. 88

About this time the pot garden began to show signs of a

disturbance. Here and there I saw what looked like the top of a thick
green hoop (Fig. 88).
What had happened, do you think?
Why, first this bean had sucked in from the damp earth so much
water that it had grown too fat and big for the seed coat; and it had