It was a lot of work and chores at the time, but I did know I was learning things my classmates didn't get to experience. I complained when the work was hot and stinky for sure. But, it was a good childhood, I couldn't ask for better parents. They weren't perfect, none are, but they tried. All any of us can do is give the effort. They had 4 acres for greenhouses and another 8 acres for a nursery, with a big moat dug around it to store rainwater. Organic everything, my Dad grew soil, he only bought chicken, horse and cow crap, all the rest was composting and amendments. Hardly anything was considered trash, everything was reused in some way or another. Clay Pots by the thousands, no plastic for Dad. And guess who got to shovel tons of hot stinking crap?
I did learn so much hands on about plants and horticulture, it has paid back dividends my whole life. Many folks on here would shoot my growing techniques full of holes, but they work for me. That is one reason I am so hesitant to offer advice, it's not conventional and "breaks rules" I see posted all over the place. It's all just what I have learned from Mom and Dad, by my own hands and eyes, my trial and error, not books or articles. I don't ever tell anyone they are growing anything incorrectly, the plant will tell them loud and clear if they look and feel. I love plants, all kinds of plants, my house is a freakin jungle!
Keith