Radishes Don’t Grow in Bunches
Okay, I will admit it. In high school I was a roper or an aggie! I belonged to the Future Farmers of America, better known as the FFA. I enrolled in Vocational Agriculture as a freshman at Herbert Hoover Junior High School. Hoover was next to Lincoln High. The Ag Department and classroom were in the school orchard and Ag area across the street from the main high school. The Ag area was between the campuses of the two schools. I had Ag first period and we walked over to the Ag classroom every morning. Actually, as I remember (although my rememberer may be wrong), Ag class was during the 1st period at Lincoln, but was 2nd period at Hoover. I think my first class in my freshman year was Wood Shop. But back to the story.
I really don’t know why I took Ag, but it sounded more interesting than science. And it counted as a science class. I had always day dreamed of owning a ranch, and I guess it just fit right in… although I had no chance of ever actually owning a ranch. It did afford me the opportunity to raise some livestock and truck crops. As a young boy I dreamed of owning the “Triangle R” Ranch. I have no idea where that name came from, but if I ever was able to own a ranch, it would have been the Triangle R. I think it may have come from the Spin and Marty series on the Mickey Mouse Club. The summer ranch camp Spin and Marty attended may have had a similar name.
My Ag teacher was Mr. Ralston … M.C. Ralston … Merrill Chauncey Ralston. He was old when I knew him, but then I am old now to a 14 year old. He had been a teacher his entire career, teaching many subjects, but now taught VoAg. I think in my freshman year he also taught a math class, but by the time I was a sophomore, he taught only VoAg.
VoAg consisted of classroom and hands-on farming projects. Our classroom was across from the main campus and was a modern, 60s style classroom. I think the classroom was only a couple of years old. Next to the classroom was a metal barn building. In the barn were all the faming implements, the tractor and the farm truck. The compound was fenced in, and large orchards of peach trees, walnut trees, prune trees, and apricot trees and an acre or so of unplanted land for Ag projects, were all inside the fence.
Each year we were required to have an Ag project. We maintained a journal in which we had to keep an accurate log of our projects. Our education consisted of animal and plant biology and how to actually raise animals and crops. Our first project came during January. We were learning how to plant tomatoes from seeds. We planted the tomato seeds in wooden flats (shallow boxes), and kept them in a green house. When the seedlings were a couple of inches high, we transplanted them into individual planting pots. We kept them in the greenhouse until time to plant them in April. We all got a few plants to take home and plant in our yards. It was my very first attempt at planting anything and we were able to have fresh tomatoes in our salads all summer.
Next to the tomatoes in my back yard, I decided to plant some radishes. I love radishes and learned that they were easy to grow. I planted them from seed and soon I had a patch of radishes. My mom would ask me when the radishes would be ready, but I just didn’t know. Finally, my mom came out and picked some radishes. When I got home from school she asked me why I hadn’t picked any radishes. I told her I was waiting for them to grow into bunches! After all, the only radishes I ever saw were those she got at the store, and they were all in bunches! She told me that radishes don’t grow in bunches! I had no clue that radishes didn’t bunch up for harvest. I guess I am lucky I knew that milk came from cows and not cartons!
TO BE CONTINUED
Okay, I will admit it. In high school I was a roper or an aggie! I belonged to the Future Farmers of America, better known as the FFA. I enrolled in Vocational Agriculture as a freshman at Herbert Hoover Junior High School. Hoover was next to Lincoln High. The Ag Department and classroom were in the school orchard and Ag area across the street from the main high school. The Ag area was between the campuses of the two schools. I had Ag first period and we walked over to the Ag classroom every morning. Actually, as I remember (although my rememberer may be wrong), Ag class was during the 1st period at Lincoln, but was 2nd period at Hoover. I think my first class in my freshman year was Wood Shop. But back to the story.
I really don’t know why I took Ag, but it sounded more interesting than science. And it counted as a science class. I had always day dreamed of owning a ranch, and I guess it just fit right in… although I had no chance of ever actually owning a ranch. It did afford me the opportunity to raise some livestock and truck crops. As a young boy I dreamed of owning the “Triangle R” Ranch. I have no idea where that name came from, but if I ever was able to own a ranch, it would have been the Triangle R. I think it may have come from the Spin and Marty series on the Mickey Mouse Club. The summer ranch camp Spin and Marty attended may have had a similar name.
My Ag teacher was Mr. Ralston … M.C. Ralston … Merrill Chauncey Ralston. He was old when I knew him, but then I am old now to a 14 year old. He had been a teacher his entire career, teaching many subjects, but now taught VoAg. I think in my freshman year he also taught a math class, but by the time I was a sophomore, he taught only VoAg.
VoAg consisted of classroom and hands-on farming projects. Our classroom was across from the main campus and was a modern, 60s style classroom. I think the classroom was only a couple of years old. Next to the classroom was a metal barn building. In the barn were all the faming implements, the tractor and the farm truck. The compound was fenced in, and large orchards of peach trees, walnut trees, prune trees, and apricot trees and an acre or so of unplanted land for Ag projects, were all inside the fence.
Each year we were required to have an Ag project. We maintained a journal in which we had to keep an accurate log of our projects. Our education consisted of animal and plant biology and how to actually raise animals and crops. Our first project came during January. We were learning how to plant tomatoes from seeds. We planted the tomato seeds in wooden flats (shallow boxes), and kept them in a green house. When the seedlings were a couple of inches high, we transplanted them into individual planting pots. We kept them in the greenhouse until time to plant them in April. We all got a few plants to take home and plant in our yards. It was my very first attempt at planting anything and we were able to have fresh tomatoes in our salads all summer.
Next to the tomatoes in my back yard, I decided to plant some radishes. I love radishes and learned that they were easy to grow. I planted them from seed and soon I had a patch of radishes. My mom would ask me when the radishes would be ready, but I just didn’t know. Finally, my mom came out and picked some radishes. When I got home from school she asked me why I hadn’t picked any radishes. I told her I was waiting for them to grow into bunches! After all, the only radishes I ever saw were those she got at the store, and they were all in bunches! She told me that radishes don’t grow in bunches! I had no clue that radishes didn’t bunch up for harvest. I guess I am lucky I knew that milk came from cows and not cartons!
TO BE CONTINUED
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