Herb Planter, Garden Kit or Slave Day?

In my college days, I gave my mother "Slave Days" for Mother's Day. The Slave Day allowed Mom to ask me to do anything, generally in her garden, guilt-free for her and grudge-free for me (regardless of what I had lined up on my weekend schedule). I was her Slave for a Day, plain and simple. She pointed her dirt-free, garden-glove finger; my mud-bound hands dutifully followed. This Mother's Day practice lasted a long time, until I started making money. The Slave Day was soon undermined by potted porch planters and flowering summer baskets.

I'm glad to see Hilltop Hanover Farms has blended the best of both worlds: Slave Days and outdoor planting. This weekend, they're offering a Mother's Day Herb Planter and Vegetable Garden Kit. You can pick-up one or the other on Saturday May 7 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The hand-tiled terracotta planters are filled with wonderful aromatic herbs that will produce throughout the summer and fall. The herb planters were made by volunteers from Another Step, a group of developmentally disabled adults who help on the farm. Each planter is $45 and must be reserved in advance. To pre-order call (914) 962-2368 ext. 2 or pay in advance online.

If you've got a mom with a Green Thumb, opt for the Vegetable Garden Kit. It includes the Gardening How-To Information Sessions on Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (and again from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. for the late-morning riser.) The Vegetable Garden Kit gives Mom a jump start on the growing season with a garden already laid out in a box! The kit includes garden diagram and planting instructions for an 8' x 10' space, over 30 hardy regional plants and seeds chosen by Hilltop's resident farmer and a how-to information session with an experienced grower. If Mom's nervous about going it alone, she can simply follow the farm's garden blog and website and receive e-mails with a weekly gardening to-do list and recipes. The veggie selection includes six each of beets, chard, basil, cucumbers and four each peppers and tomatoes. As for seeds, there's plenty to plant with sunflowers, radishes, zucchini, beans, lettuce, and carrots. Each kit is $75 and must be pre-ordered; call (914) 962-2368 x.2 or pay in advance online.

Hilltop Hanover Farm & Educational Center, is opening its farmstand on May 28; there's lots more listed on the HHF calendar. As I look on my personal calendar, I can see a Slave Day for my mom this year. It might not be such a bad practice to resurrect. The addition of perennials year after year make weeding that much easier each spring and I might even sneak in a few Sungold Tomatoes to get my dad into a new fruit/veggie. This Mother's Day, be sure to spend time with your mothers, and those fathers who've rallied to be mothers. Savor the joys of planting, nurturing and propagating together.

Share with us below (or on the Watershed Agricultural Council's Facebook Page) whether you're opting for the Herb Planter, the Garden Kit or the Slave Day!