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SEE HOW HER garden grows

As a Jewish mom, I am always aware of my connection to Caring for Creation. Maybe now even more.

If you are like me, the minute you heard about the Covid-19 pandemic you started freaking out that here wouldn’t be any safe fresh vegetables for your family to eat.

When I garden, I plant the food my family eats… from the very food that my family eats. I started saving lettuce hearts and the root ends of my green onions, carrots and radishes to plant. I am proud to say that I have at least a dozen heads of lettuce that have been harvested multiple times, and I have even more to plant. The same for my green onions and radishes.

We don’t really think about all the food we throw away. A tomato that is way overripe, the ends of carrots, the seeds inside a cantaloupe—all seeds, perfect for planting.

All these vegetables need no special preparation for planting. You just need gloves, a shovel and a good place to grow your “crops”; a place with enough sun in the morning and not a lot in the afternoons, has proper drainage and bedding that will help hold in water. For bedding, I like pine needles because they break down into nutrients for the soil.

I feel such a connection with the earth, when I garden this way. I am truly humbled by all that Hashem has given me, such as the ability to provide nourishment for my family and hopefully encourage other families to begin their own gardens.

My mind has been filled with so many gardening ideas. “A tomato that is way overripe, the ends of carrots, the seeds inside a cantaloupe—all

perfect for

planting.” By Karen Cohen Morse, Morah Karen’s Garden

My Morah Karen’s Garden, on YouTube, has been the perfect place to take my many years of experience as a Preschool Judaic Resource teacher to teach parents and children how to garden together. If you are a novice gardener, it is a great way to begin to garden with your child. There is always a Judaic component, because that is who I am. I am well aware that vitality and abundance of blooms on my orchids are a blessing.

This is how I have been coping with the “new normal.” It has been fulfilling spiritually and has given me a better understanding of why we say the different blessings on various foods we eat. Each and every time I use the parsley that I planted on Tu’ Bishvat, it is a miracle. Every head of lettuce I use in my salad reminds me that every bite is worthy of blessing We have been given everything we need to grow what we eat.

Go on…start your own garden, you know you want to.

For more tips, check out Morah Karen’s Garden on YouTube.