AMISH PROVERB In Ohio, the first planting happened after the snow had melted and the ground was able to be worked. The first things Hope typically put in were spinach, onions, radishes, beets, and carrots. After the danger of frost was gone she put in the green beans, zucchini, peppers, corn, and melons. She smiled thinking about what her grandfather had told her years ago—that is was safe to plant after the first full moon in May. Back north, sometimes warm April days would lull gardeners into feelings of safety, only to have a late frost come and wipe everything out. Hope had listened to her grandfather’s advice. She’d stuck by that rule, and she’d never had frost take her plants. This was the first year that she didn’t follow that rule. In Pinecraft things were different. Frost was rare, and that was why she’d gone to the library and looked up some local gardening books. She’d diligently written down their suggestions of what to plant when, and because she wasn’t the expert she wasn’t going to argue.
