Parker Plants the Seeds of Science

Parker T. Bear woke to the sound of a rooster’s call, just as the sun was peeking over the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.

“COCK A DOODLE-DOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” yelled the rooster.

“Eddie, did you hear that?” whispered Parker to his pal Eddie the Owl. “Why don’t you sound like that in the morning?”

“That’s a rooster,” snapped Eddie. “You know I am an owl! And yes, of course I heard the rooster. It means that it is time to get up and tend to our garden.”

Parker sighed, snued, hued, pued, and pulled himself out of bed as Eddie shued towards the kitchen.

“Farming is hard work, Eddie. Can we please eat some breakfast before we go out to the garden?”

Before Parker could get his overalls and boots on, Eddie shouted from the kitchen, “Hurry up, Parker! We have some guests for breakfast who are going to help us grow the best fruits and veggies in the world!”

Parker was still wiping the sleep from his eyes as he sat down at the table with two new friends who weren’t dressed as farmers, but looked like they came from a science lab.

“Good morning, Parker! We are so excited to help you and Eddie with your garden. My name is Sara and I am a botanist and soil scientist. My friend here is Erica, and she is an engineer and computer whiz who specializes in crop production and water conservation.”

“That’s exactly right!” Erica nodded, as she nished a bite of Eddie’s famous strawberry pancakes. “We can make sure that your fruits and vegetables are healthier, bigger, and more delicious by using science, engineering, and technology…Isn’t that awesome?”

Parker helped to clear and wash the breakfast dishes before going to join the others at the site of their new community garden.

“Good news,” hooted Eddie, as Parker put on his work boots and gloves, “Sara and Erica said that with the right crops, correct nutrients and a precise amount of water, we can grow hundreds of pounds of food!”

Parker, who isn’t the greatest at math, tried to gure out how he could eat hundreds of pounds of fruits and veggies, especially with how many tacos he eats each day. By Parker’s calculation, there would be no way he and Eddie could eat all the food that they were going to grow.

While Parker continued to count all of the pounds of delicious food he was going to eat after the harvest, Sara came up to him with a color-coded chart and a layout of the planter boxes in the garden.

“Here you go, Parker! We have planned out the planting schedule for everything you are going to grow here. You see, some of these foods need to be in the ground earlier in the year, and some need to be planted later on. I made this chart for you and Eddie so you know exactly when to plant each fruit and vegetable. I also made a chart to show you when to add nutrients into the soil. Each plant needs certain nutrients in order to produce the most abundant and delicious food for the harvest.”

“Erica, we aren’t engineers like you, but we are here to help if you need anything,” oered Parker.

“Thank you for the oer, you two! I am just nishing up a computer program that will automatically water your garden for you, with each fruit and vegetable receiving the perfect amount of water based on the type of plant and the temperature every day.”

“So, we don’t even have to water the plants?” asked Eddie, who was confused but elated.

“Don’t sound so sad, Eddie,” joked Erica, “we both know you would rather play on your skateboard than water plants…”

They all laughed as Erica walked out to the garden to show Parker and Eddie how to set up the irrigation system for their garden.

After a hard days’ work, the irrigation system was in place and everything was planted. Parker and Eddie thanked their new friends for helping them, but there was still something on Parker’s mind.

“Erica and Sara, how are we ever going to eat all of the hundreds of pounds of fruit and vegetables that will be harvested from our garden?” he inquired, clearly worried about wasting food.

“Worry not, Parker,” explained Sara. “We’ve already connected with members of the community who will be glad to take some of your fruits and vegetables home for their families. With our planting schedule and harvest schedule, you’ll be able to give fresh produce to your community throughout the year!”

Erica added, “I’m sure your buddy Eddie is already working on a great recipe for zucchini pancakes. I would be willing to try those.”

What a great day it was for Parker, Eddie, and their new friends. They were so excited to try all of the delicious food that they had planted that it was dicult to fall asleep that night.

The two friends chaed about food and agriculture, and how important science was to a simple community garden. As Eddie was dozing o, he could hear Parker talking to himself in his sleep about tomatoes, pumpkins, bell peppers, and other treats from the garden.

“Goodnight, Parker,” whispered Eddie, “I think we’re going to be great farmers.”