How to plant a seedling AKA class number 2...

Okay, I've been gardening for seven years now, with some level of success I must say, but I honestly cringed when I heard Steve shout (with affection?), "Who the heck planted this? This is totally wrong!!"  "Was it me?" I thought. "Oh God, I hope it wasn't me." Oh well, maybe it was. Live and learn.  And I learned:

I will never, ever, plant two seedlings together (okay, that might have been me, but they were really, really stuck together), 

I will never, ever try to cram roots into a too shallow hole,  

I will bury my seedling up to the crown so the tender white part is not vulnerable,

I will always plant strawberries on a volcano in a deep hole, 

I will always water around the circumference of a newly planted seedling two times (not once), I will control the water so that it does not splatter the underside of the leaves confusing the stomata while the plant is still traumatized from being transplanted, 

I will plant seeds by scattering them onto a prepared row and gently cover them with soil first with the tines and then with the back of a rake.

I know I learned more than that (oh yeah, all that soil texture vs. structure, sand vs. silt vs. clay, etc.) but my brain is a little full right now.  For now I'll just ponder over the lives of the people that were living here 4,000 years ago, over the bears and elk that roamed freely, over the sounds of native people singing and dancing to celebrate the gift of huckleberries and of not being eaten by the bear.  I will try to experience living in the present and to remember to RESPECT, HONOR and show GRATITUDE for all living things knowing that if I do, they in turn will take care of me.