Nau as es Friehyaahr iss un viel Leit blanse en Gaarde, denke sie an was fer Sume fer blanse. Nau fer uns, misse mer denke wege eppes meh… Weil mer im Busch wuhne, blanse mer Sume as net viel Sunn hawwe misse. Un mer henn net genunk Blatz fer Welschkann, Grumbiere, Wassermelon, Karebse, un anneri, so kaafe mer ken Sume fer selli.
(Now that it is spring and many people plant a garden, they think about what kind of seeds to plant. Now for us, we must think about something more… Because we live in the woods, we plant seeds that must not have a lot of sun. And we do not have enough place for corn, potatoes, watermelons, pumpkins and others, so we do not buy seeds for these.)
Yaahre zerick henn mer Gehlriewe, Aerebse, un Schpinaat Sume kaaft – awwer net nau. Fer was? Die Wareme sin in de Gehlriewe gange wu sie am Waxe waare! Mei Aenti hot gsaat as mer Esch mit die Sume neiduh sott. Awwer des hot net fer uns geschafft!
(Years ago we bought seeds for carrots, peas, and spinach – but not now. Why? Worms went into the plants when they were growing! My aunt said we should put ashes with the seeds. But this did not work for us!)
Mer gleiche Aerebse ganz viel so ee Yaahr henn mer die Sume kaaft. Wann mer sie geroppt henn, waare die Blanse voll mit Blansungeziffer! Mer henn gedenkt as mer sie mit Insecticide gschpritze sott. Awwer mer gleiche ken Chemicals druff duh. So heitesdaag kaafe mer ken Aerebse Sume fer blanze.)
(We like peas very much so one year we bought these seeds. When we picked them, the plants were full of plant lice! We thought that we should spray them with insecticide. But we do not like to put chemicals on them. So nowadays we do not buy pea seeds to plant.)
Was noch? Ah, vielleicht meinscht du Popeye, der Schiffman! Er hot allsfatt Schpinaat gesse un hot gut Gesundheit ghat. Gut Gesundheit iss aa wichdich fer alliepper. So henn mer Schpinaat Sume kaaft weil wann sie gewaxe henn, henn mer sie picke kenne fer in unser Salaat neiduh. Des schafft gut weil es Wedder kiehl waar. Awwer wann es Wedder waarem iss waarre, henn sie gschosse un mer henn sie die Blanse ausroppe misse! So heitesdaag kaafe mer ken Schpinaat Sume.
(What else? Oh, perhaps you remember Popeye, the sailor man! He always ate spinach and had good health. Good health is also important for everyone. So we bought spinach seeds because when it grew, we could pick it to put in our salad. This worked well while the weather was cool. But once the weather became warm, it went to seed and we had to pull out the plants! So nowadays we do not buy spinach seeds.)
So, was fer Sume duhne mer in unserem Gaarde blanse? Weil mer net so yung sin un kenne net uff unser Gnie so gut graddele, wie mer Yaahre zerick henn kenne, kaafe mer Blanse un net zu viel Sume. Mer kaafe die Blanse wie Pfeffer, Oierblanse, Tomaets, Salat, Gummere, Zucchini, un Pederli. Awwer mer kaafe Sume fer Rotriewe, Bendelbohne, Swiss Chard, un alsemol Zwiwwel Sets. Un letscht Yaahr weil mer henn wennich Blatz, henn mer Blumme Sume geblanst!!
(So, what kind of seeds do we plant in our garden? Because we are not so young and cannot crawl on our knees like we could years ago, we buy plants and not too many seeds. We buy plants like peppers, egg plants, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers zucchini, and parsley. But we buy seeds for redbeets, stringbeans, and Swiss Chard , and sometimes onion sets. And last year because we had room, we planted flower seeds!!)
Hoscht du gewisst as meh as zehe dausend Yaahre zerick, henn Leit Sume geblanst? Waricklich Sume sin rauskumme baut zwee hunnert milliyoon Yaahre zerick. Sell iss eppes!
(Did you know that more than ten thousand years ago, people planted seeds? Actually seeds emerged around two hundred million years ago! That is something!)
Es wunnert mich mich eb eenichepper weescht was sin die greescht un die glennscht Sume sin. Ich hab mich awwer ordlich verschaunt wann ich des ausgfunne hab! Die greescht iss en Dopplecoconut Sume! Sie wiege baut fimfunfuffzich Pund, sin baut achtzeh Zoll lang, un nemme baut zehe Yaahr fer zeidich warre. Du kannscht sie im Seychelles finne, en Insel Land as Oscht vun Afrika iss. Die glennscht iss en Orchid Sume! Es iss wie Schtaab! Humm…Ich hab gedenkt es waar die Moschdert Sume wie es in der Biewel saagt. Nau hawwich meh glannt!
(I wonder if anyone knows what is the largest and smallest seed. Was I ever surprised when I found out! The largest seed is the double coconut seed! They weigh about 55 pounds, are about 18 inches long, and take about 10 years to ripen. You would find them in Seychelles, an island country that is east of Africa. The smallest is an orchid seed. It is like dust! Humm…I thought it was the mustard seed as it says in the Bible. Now I learned more!)
Gut glick mit deine Sume wann du deel blanscht! (Good luck with your seeds if you plant any!)
Yammer yeh!! Ich hab net eenicheppes wege Umgraut Sume gschriwwe. Ya well! Vielleicht ennanner Zeit!
(Oh, misery!! I did not write anything about weed seeds. Oh, well! Perhaps another time!)
Bis schpeeder… (Until later)
Yuscht es Bauereimaedel aus Kutzeschteddel, die Mary Laub (Just the farm girl from Kutztown, Mary Laub)
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed
https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/orchid-seeds-natures-tiny-treasures
https://smg.quora.com/The-World-largest-seed-smallest-seed
Columnist Mary Laub, of Maxatawny, author of the “On the Farm” series, shares her latest Something Dutch column written in Pa Dutch with English translation.
