In Paul Fleischman's novel Seedfolks, the thirteen characters all contribute in some way to a community garden. Kim is the first character to start planting in the vacant lot on Gibb Street. She plants lima beans in April. She is from Vietnam and isn't very familiar with cold weather and spring time. 

Ana is the second character we meet. She is an observer of all the comings and goings in the neighborhood. When she sees Kim digging in the vacant lot, she assumes she is doing something illegal and digs up the beans. She realizes she has harmed the beans and gets Wendell involved in making it right. 

Wendell is the one who mentions that it is way too early to plant beans. Ana tells him that it's up to them to save the beans. Following Ana's orders, Wendell saves the beans by carrying a pitcher of water to the lot.

The author gives us the knowledge (from Wendell and Ana) that Kim had planted her beans at the wrong time to show the way the garden caused people who were previously isolated from each other to start caring about their neighbors. In the novel, the garden causes the diverse people of this Cleveland, Ohio neighborhood to interact with each other, get to know each other, and even take care of one another. The author plants the seeds of this early in the novel with Ana and Wendell's concern for Kim's beans.