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?

The Future of Food

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:

The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

I think you'll be glad you did!

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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

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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

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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!