Mess or Magic?

This is pretty much what my back porch will look like for the next month or two, it will be a delightful disarray of seeds, soils, pots and packets. Today my #1 priority was getting a start on my tomato seeds.(#2 priority is peppers and eggplants, even though I know that those take a little longer to sprout and should be first, tomatoes are more important to me, personally, and so they get priority). I planted 20 Franchi Italian plum, 24 Scinocca plum, and 7 Striped German beefsteak. I still have to plant all the incredible sounding tomatoes two seed-saving friends passed on to me. It is usual for me to plant at least 50 tomato plants but I believe that I might be planting quite a few more than that this year so that I can try out all the heritage varieties that I want to. I'm thinking that I might have to give over a strawberry bed to tomatoes this year, or perhaps just plant some tomatoes right in the strawberry bed. Hmmmm.

Now, people who know me understand that I think of gardening as the most amazing magic ever, and that I also tend to think of non-gardeners as muggles. ( I tend to think of myself as a bit of a knitting muggle so I really don't mean that as an insult) But as I was starting these tomato seeds this morning, I thought again just how much magic there is in gardening. If you look closely at this tiny tomato seed, about the size of a pin-head, what do you see?

I see a big healthy green plant sprawling all over, growing so crazily that I have to go out each week, and prune it a bit. I see baskets and baskets of sweet, juicy ripe tomatoes, perhaps 10 pounds per plant at least. I see salads, sauces, and salsas. I see hot summer afternoons and us grazing in the garden. And, after all that, I see keeping just one of these tomatoes, and having enough seeds to supply myself and all my friends with plants for the next year. Magic! Now, you might look at that little seed, and try to tell me that it is just a seed. I will just smile, and think to myself, Muggle!