26 October 2010

Abundant Provision


About a month ago, The-Man and I were delighted to see
the tiny seedlings you see in the photo above.
You see, this spot is the exact same place
where we planted our salad garden in April of this year.
Due to our decision to move
we didn't spend a lot of time in the garden over the summer
nor did we plant anything else in this space.

The lettuces went to seed and then died away...

 and now, about four months later,
this is our most welcome volunteer
autumn salad garden!
The greens are mild and tender...tasty and crisp!
I wish I could share them with you.


The red wire fence around the plot will soon support
some 6 mil plastic to fend off the frost for a few more weeks
(we hope)
It will be interesting to see how long we can harvest
before the temperatures kill the plants.

Do you see the plant on the left
in the above photo,
in front of the grass wickiup?
That is a tomato that has come up volunteer
from heirloom seed as well.
It has blossoms on it but I do not expect it to produce.
It would be interesting to see how long it would live
if it were in a hoop house with a little wood heater, wouldn't it?



We were given a few plants of these heirloom golden cherry tomatoes by a friend
about 15 years ago, and they have been coming up volunteer ever since!
They have adapted to our soil and growing conditions
and are the sweetest tomatoes I've ever eaten.
We do have some seed saved--
we want to get them established in our new garden come spring.



Aren't seeds an amazing gift from God?
When you stop to ponder it a bit...
Just one seed from a tomato will grow a plant ...
which will produce hundreds of tomatoes...
which each have 25 to 50 seeds inside them...
which will grow that many plants...
and I would need a calculator to calculate the numbers beyond that...
and God provides seeds free of charge!
He placed Adam in the midst of the garden...
in the midst of abundance!

One of the reasons we are moving to the country
is to do more gardening...to grow more of our own food...
food from unmodified seeds...foods that will nourish and heal our bodies...
and though we may have a small initial expense in acquiring some seed,
we are learning to save our own
so we can grow our own and have extra to share.

Have you seen this video?

If not, and you eat food, whether you grow your own
or buy from someone who grows it for you,
I strongly encourage you to take the time to view it--
it's free to watch online.

When you're done, then take time to watch this one:
I think you'll be glad you did!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Growing some food in whatever small space you have available
is a good thing, in my humble opinion.
God can multiply those tiny seeds that "fall by the wayside"
when times get hard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been young, and now am old;
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread.
Psalm 37: 25 KJV
~~~~~~~~~
I once was young and now I'm old,
but I have never seen the Lord abandon a righteous man
so that his children had to beg for food.
Psalm 37:25 The Clear Word Paraphrase
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We have a work to do--not of our own strength--but in His.
We must choose to cooperate with Him.
Gardening is a perfect example of this.
We must till, plant, weed, harvest, preserve.
God provides the seeds, the sunshine and rain, the miracle of life
harnessed inside those tiny portable packages called seeds...
he provides the fruits for us to harvest and eat,
which gives us the strength to continue our labors
and to preserve the excess bounty for the leaner times...
and the seeds to save for the next years cycle.
We work together, in the yoke with Him.

And sometimes, because he is merciful,
He grants us abundant, undeserved blessings--
in the form of volunteer harvests!
Isn't God good?

God loves us...He sustains us...and He Provides!

How have you experienced His Provision recently?
I'd love to know.

Have a wonderful day!

2 comments:

  1. Missuz C,

    I'll have to watch those videos when I have some extra time.

    Living in the heart of suburbia with a very, very, very, very small backyard, I think it would be virtually impossible to plant anything edible in it, but it sure would be nice. We simply don't have the space.

    I enjoyed viewing your photographs of your tomatoes and lettuce. You are truly blessed to live in the country and grow some of your own produce. :)

    Blessings,

    -Lady Rose

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  2. I respectfully challenge the idea that it is impossible to grow anything edible in a tiny backyard, and here are some examples why:

    http://urbanhomestead.org/

    This family of 5 in the crowded suburbs of Pasadena, CA has grown over 3 tons of food in one year on their 1/10th of an acre backyard!

    And here is another link with some great ideas for growing food in tiny spaces:

    http://journeytoforever.org/garden_con.html

    Front yards could be re-landscaped to include edibles as well. Growing food in challenging spaces requires thinking outside the box, but it can be done.

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete