Merry Heart Farm

Last week we transplanted out collards, kohlrabi, beets, red choi, and broccoli in the Humble Plot. Lettuce, onions, cilantro and fennel in too!  We have had to be really serious about protecting the corn in Friendship Field. One of  the varieties that we  planted did not germinate at all, but the other three are looking real nice.  I have sprayed, dusted and hand picked to keep the caterpillars from eating it before we get a chance. Three plantings of carrots have not germinated well and I have resigned to switch to a pelleted seed from now on, but I can't get back the time lost on sowing those first weeks of tiny seeds.  The dry surface soil has been too much of a hinderance.We have several trays of kale, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and kohlrabi, tomatillas and peppers still to transplant, A set of several trays of lettuces and celery  coming along and we sowed 24 trays of seeds last week.WHEW!!! Cucumber, beans, squash, zucchini, zipper peas, cherry tomatoe, and sweet potatoe plants are healthy and showing flowers and small fruit in the Goodness and Mercy Patch and the Victory Garden. Praise God!

For weeks now I have been meditating on God's word about how our hearts are like the ground that gets hardened and unusable. It is amazing to me how the Bible speaks so often in agrarian terms that come to life for me when I am reading and then later working. In Hosea 10:12, God speaks of repentance and restoration , " Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."  It has been good to dig up the garden rows and add new earth to give structure and support to the soil.  The soil is so important to the plants growth. We work hard at our farm to prepare each bed before putting in the seeds or young plants. We want them to have a fighting chance against the sun, the bugs, and the weeds. It requires diligence, perseverance, strong muscles, sweat and vision. The places where we put down our roots and the people and circumstances we surround ourselves with are just as important. We must be diligent to remove things that will take our energy, or defeat our purposes and be steadfast in the things that give us strength and hope. It would be easy to give ourselves much credit for our talents and the fruits of our labor, but we believe that there is One greater than we are, that does much of the work for us and has given us everything. People unlike plants need a relationship with the one who created them. I hope you will be encouraged to seek the Lord with the freshness of the season and spend some time in worship and thanksgiving. I hope as you visit to pick up your share that you will turn your thoughts to your Creator and find Him in our garden and in your Bible.

Smiles,

Farmer Jen