Chapter 1 — Seed and the Question of When to Plant

Seed was a small finch-tween. He always wore his chunky almanac-vest. It had lots of pockets. One pocket held his tiny seed-pouch. Another held his stack of planting-calendar cards. Seed had warm cream feathers and a soft russet cap. He loved learning about the seasons. He always said, “When to plant. The calendar is a tool.”

His seed-pouch was special. It held all kinds of seeds. Tomato, carrot, kale, garlic, and rye were just a few. His calendar cards were even more special. They showed important dates. Frost dates were on them. They showed how long the days would be. They even showed the best soil temperatures.

Seed taught everyone about seasonality + sowing. This was a fancy way of saying, “Know what to plant and when to plant it.” Most people thought planting seeds was easy. You just dug a hole and dropped them in, right? Wrong. Every single plant had its own perfect time. It was like a secret window.

Some plants liked cool weather. Lettuce, spinach, kale, and peas loved it. They could even handle a little frost. Other plants needed warm soil. Tomatoes, peppers, corn, and squash were like that. A late frost would kill them dead. The length of the day mattered too. Onions needed lots of sunshine to grow big.

Seed used his tools to figure this out. He had an old almanac. He talked to the local farmers. He kept his own notebook, too. The calendar wasn’t just pretty pictures. It was the most important tool a farmer had. Seed’s job was to show everyone how to use it. He wanted to make planting a science, not a guess.

Seed grew up near the old hedgerows. His family had lived there for ages.