Workers for the Harvest

Greens before Harvesting

This has been a difficult year for the garden.  We have seen a variety of animal invasions. However, we have had a different kind of harvest.  I estimate that from the potatoes we planted this year, we harvested about 30 pounds.  It was interesting that the Purple Mollys did even better than the read potatoes.  If we have the space next year, we will definitely grow the Purple Molly potato.  After all, as someone said, "They're fun!"

Carrots and Kale

In addition to the animal difficulties, we have had problems getting the vegetables picked.  Today I harvested greens (perpetual spinach and rainbow chard) for the third time.  We may have been able to have had more harvest, if they had been picked.  The people who helped pick vegetables last year have been ill and unable to help this year.   I have had poison ivy twice this season and now either have a very long lasting cold or (more likely) have discovered that I have allergies. It has been difficult for me to pick vegetables this year and have them ready for others.

Late Leaf Lettuce

In John 4, Jesus speaks to the woman at the well.  The upshot is that both the woman and her (Samaritan) neighbors are open to the possibility that Jesus is the Messiah.

John 4:35  Don't you have a saying , "It's still four months until harvest"?  I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest.

Tomatoes were not very productive

Beets harvested 10-14-13

There are all kinds of harvests that we need to pick and conserve, lest they spoil.

Learning from the Garden

Dill

Greens:  Perpetual Spinach in front

Blossoming Beans

We are starting to harvest.  This week we had our second picking of rainbow chard and perpetual spinach.  We should be picking these greens every three to four weeks until the frost.  Although the dill is ready to harvest, I am waiting for the seed heads to mature. We should have beets next week and beans in about two weeks.   Planting is continuing in places where either the plants did not come up or where the crop is finished.  The next planting of beets and carrots has come up.  Unfortunately the parsnips and root parsley came up in a very spotting manner.  I transplanted these in a row.  This week I planted winter kale and fall lettuce.  I have started fall cabbage and broccoli.

Chewed on Broccoli

Let me discuss the cabbage and the broccoli.  It seems that someone, probably me, left the garden gate open about 6 inches on the bottom.  Yes, the top was secure, but our friend the groundhog must have gotten in.  He is particularly fond of cabbage and broccoli.  I know what I needed to do, but did not check it out when I "locked" the gate.

Tomatillos

I also notice the husks on some of the tomatillos are splitting.  I picked four in that condition.  I really want to give people a chance to make salsa, but we will see.  I did not grow up with tomatillos. You may know that many plants will stop producing is they are not picked in time, so I am concerned with the quantity of fruit that the tomatillo plants will produce.  I will have to read up and research both tomatillos and salsa making.

Tomatillas with split husk

Over time, I have learned many little tricks in gardening.  Some I have read.  My brother and I learned many things by watching our grandmother and parents in the garden.  I've been taught some things through the very act of working in the garden.  This is also true with our spiritual life.

There is a lot we can learn by reading and even memorizing the Word of God.  We have brothers, sisters and parents in the faith who have patiently taught us many things.  Further, for those who have believed the Word of Truth, the gospel of their salvation, they have received the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13,14).  Read through the Upper Room Discourse (John 14f) and you will see how the Holy Spirit is our guide, teacher, and advocate.  Even so, we must pay attention and follow.

 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

 2 Timothy 3: 16,17

Grace in the garden

Tomatillo

So often I have written about pests and weather and trials of gardening, but today I want to write about grace given through the garden.  Grace can be defined as unmerited favor.  There is nothing that we may do.  There is no work that we may accomplish that provides us with what comes of grace.  Please understand, in the garden and in our lives, there is a need to do work.  Yet, ultimately our work is based on trust in the One who gives growth both to the garden and our spiritual lives.  Ultimately in each we are dependent on the reliability of the One who sends the sun and the rain and even sends His Spirit.

Cherry Tomatoes

Peppers

Yes,  truly it is the His grace gives us a proper amount of sun, rain and temperature.  There are other specifics.  As He is gracious, we will have sun cherry tomatoes (yellow cherry) at the congregation As He is gracious we will have tomatillo and perhaps even get together for salsa making - completely with fuego-jalepeno peppers.  The seeds for many of these came via my brother.  That is gracious also.

Volunteer Marigold

Volunteer Tomato

Yet, above and beyond that, the Lord has provided things that we did not plant.  Although I don't know what to do with it, we have yarrow.  Dill has planted itself in the herb bed (and between and within the other garden beds.)  We have volunteer marigolds from last year.  I started little dainty french marigolds, but last year's marigold's were a contrasting yellow and a bit taller.  It just so happens that I ran out of marigolds to go around the Beth Am Messiah Congregation sign, but with these volunteers I have a second row of taller marigolds.  They will fill in nicely.

Onions

Some of our tomatillos did not make it.  It just so happens that some tomato plants came up between the beds.  I have put these where the tomatillos did not take.

Grace and God are often unexpected.  He does all things well.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory..

Ephesians 3:20f NIV

Struggling toward the Harvest

Groundhog Burrow

There are many enemies to the garden.  I've talked about animals and I probably again today, but weather can be a friend or a foe.  In the greater NYC area, we've had temperatures above 95 and the heat index has been over 100.  We are in extreme heat conditions.

Broccoli at Secret Garden

At my house, many plants had withered before I watered them.  Fortunately, they came back.  I have a bit of a test garden in that my brother gave me samples of seeds.  I really like the Rador Wax Beans.  They were well nigh perfect and next year we can plant a packet to share.  The sample packet of cucumbers and the sample seeds of zucchini are doing well.  (More on squash and cucumbers later.)  There are little tomatoes on the plants.



Tomato at Secret Garden

Acorn Squash at Secret Garden

Now about the sun, it is God's gift.  Without it nothing can grow, but too much heat can cause disaster.  The secret garden is so secret and shaded, that the growth is stunted.  I believe there are all of three peas on the podded peas.  However, the broccoli, though a little slow, is great.  The tomatoes are a bit... thin.  It could be the variety, but I think it is the lack of sun.  We will (eventually) have tomatoes and broccoli from the secret garden and maybe even some acorn squash.  I plan to start some autumn cabbage to replace the peas.



Cucumber

Melons last week

Melons this week

We had an animal invasion at the Potato garden.  The potatoes are fine, but the vine crops are over pruned.  There are currently 3 melons.  I have hit the vines with hot pepper.  I have placed an animal control substance of extreme pepper compounds around the garden.  I will be placing some deer deterrents that I used last year and netting over the melons.  The cucumbers and melons will come back.  However,  whatever animal it was, grazed on the peas and for all purposes, they are gone.  I plan on replanting with Provider Beans.



Tomatillos

Last at the congregational garden, things are dry, but coming along.  I placed straw around the tomatoes and salsa garden to keep the moisture in.  The onions that are ready will be harvested on Friday.  There will also be some leaf lettuce available.  This is the last leaf lettuce until after we plant again in August.

Greens at Congregation

So our garden has woes, but the harvest is coming in and is starting to look promising.  The same is true in our spiritual lives.  We have setbacks, but when we give ourselves to the things of the Lord and indeed to the Lord, himself, we begin to shine with a reflect of His glory.

¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory,

are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory,

which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  

2 Corinthians 3:17,18

The Harvest is Coming

Potato Garden before Weeding

We have had animal trouble.  The skunks are no more.  I think the garden gate is now secure enough that the groundhog cannot get in.  However,  as I sat in the basement one night in a meeting, the groundhog waved at us in the window.  I have applied pepper around to keep the groundhog at bay, but we will see.  It was reported that while they did not eat crops in the secret garden, deer have bedded down there.  All of God's creation desire a bit of the harvest.

Amaranth- note flower

However, other than some weeds, the potato garden is great!  I had transplanted some muskmelons and they are in bloom.  The cucumbers will soon be flowering.  The potatoes look great!  Compare the two pictures.  You can distinguish the purple potatoes from the reds.  The only issue is the amaranth.  This was an experiment in nontraditional grain.  As you can see, some of it has started to flower.  That would be fine, except it should be about five times as high.

Purple Potatoes - Note color

Snap Peas between potatoes

At the congregational garden,  things are picking up.  The tomatillos have fruit.  Some of the tomatoes are starting to blossom.  The beans are up.  Cabbage is making a slow recovery.  The second planting of beets are beginning to emerge from the soil along with parsnips, root parsley, and carrots.  We will be picking greens on Thursday including perpetual spinach, rhubarb chard, and beet greens.  There may be some lettuces as well.  The early onions are almost ready, but I think we will wait until next week.

Listen and hear my voice;

    pay attention and hear what I say.

24 

When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?

    Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?

25 

When he has leveled the surface,

    does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?

Does he not plant wheat in its place,

    barley in its plot,

    and spelt in its field?

26 

His God instructs him

    and teaches him the right way.

Cucumber

Muskmelon

In Isaiah 28:23-26, there is an extended comparison between the way a farm is planted and how Israel is to behave.  We have broken up our soil and had even two plantings so far.  There may be some more planting, but the in farming and the work of the Lord, there are right ways to do things. If the farmer keeps planting melons in August, there will be no crop.  In like way, if we do not do things according to the plan of the Lord, we may well end up in disaster.  In the text, Israel sought to trust in countries, rather than the Lord.  Ultimately the harvest of Gan Am Messiah and in our lives is based on our trust in the Holy One.

23 

Progress in the Garden

Sugar Snap Peas

Our progress this year has seemed very slow.  I think the fact my teaching job, our school, and the Department of Education of NYC has been in flux has added to the situation.  Then there was the "death" of my car.  I have spent an extra 2 hours traveling each day in May and June.  That plus the need to borrow my wife or daughter's car to even get to the plots has been difficult.  Of course, there have been the regular garden varmints as well.

At the congregational garden, we did have a harvest of Sugar Snap Peas.  These were distributed on a Saturday morning.  We also had some greens, but not enough to distribute, so a large mixed salad of mixed greens with radishes was prepared  for the Oneg/fellowship time.  Those areas were replanted with beans (in place of the peas) and a variety of root vegetables (beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips and root parsley in place of the greens).  The tomatoes are a little slow, but the tomatillos are blooming.

Beets and Perpetual Spinach

The varmints have been at it.  There was a stinky skunk family.   While they were smelly, they did not eat vegetables.  They have been dealt with.

Gnawed on Cabbage

Pod Peas in the Secret Garden

Then there is the woodchuck family.  They have dug under a garden gate and help themselves to various greens and root crops.  They seem to like cabbage a lot.  They have made a burrow by the building  and seem quite settled in.  A couple a weeks ago when we were at Laurie's cousin's Bar Mitzvah, it was reported that the children were chasing the critters away from the beans they have planted.  (Note those seeds were donated by my brother and some plants have survived.)  I think I have stopped the woodchucks tunneling into the garden and we will be investing in substances that they do not like, but does not hurt them.

Squash at the Secret Garden

Besides my own, there are two other gardens.  I have not been to the potato garden for some time, but the owner reported that the peas are up and growing.  The other garden we might refer to as the Secret Garden.  It is surrounded by trees, bushes and vines, but was used in the past as a garden.  Every time I have gone, it has been extremely moist.  So the tomatoes in the Secret Garden are growing very slowly.  Some of the squash that I planted came up, but most of it may have rotten from the extreme moisture in the ground.  The wetness encourages weed growth.  However, the broccoli is doing very well and promises to have a good harvest.

Broccoli at the Secret Garden

Things are rather slow now, but we look for a harvest in good time.  The same is true in the spiritual life.  
Galatians 6:9 says,  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  With the garden and with our life in Messiah, we must sow, weed and care for it, so that we reap a good harvest in good time.

Don't Grow Weary

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Galatians 6:9

Farming and gardening is hard work and it takes patience.  We have several fields that we are working in and we are starting to see a harvest.  At the congregation, we have harvested some radishes, arugula and thyme.  We hope to be harvesting spinach and lettuce very soon. Last Sunday we planted a variety of tomatoes and peppers, tomatillas, onions.  It's a good thing to share fancy seeds with the congregation.  (See below.)

Purple Potato

Even so, weeds can get ahead of us.  It takes constant vigilance and perseverance to keep the weeds from taking over.  We have had a slight incursion of cabbage loving varmints at the congregation.  I think that's due to some viewing without shutting the gate.  I was warned about deer at the new site and apparently they made a bed out of the garden there one night.  The property owner stuck some tomato cages near the broccoli to discourage them.  Now,  that I returned, he's beginning to learn what broccoli really looks like.  We have shell peas, head lettuce, and broccoli planted there.  The last weekend of May he and I planted tomatoes (Paragon and I think Rutgers) as well as Amaranth there.  As for the Amaranth, either we will have a nice display of Love Lies a Bleeding or we will also have some Amaranth grain in October.

The last Sunday in May, we planted at our last year's potato site.  We did not like the results of our yellow and russet potatoes, so instead we planted red (like last year) and purple potatoes.  We transplanted some muskmelons.  We also planted edible pod peas, amaranth, rue (to discourage the deer) and cucumbers.

Edible Pod Peas

The bad news in gardening is at my house.  My neighbors love chipmunks and it seems that they must call them by name and feed them on their front yard.   They are munching on almost everything I put in my raised beds in the front yard.  I put the good stuff that my brother sent me there.  So these chipmunks have munched on the Tomatoberries and mini yellow tomatoes he sent me.  My experimental artichokes are all but gone.  They have made short work of the brussel sprouts, eggplants and other things.  They have even found their way to the back yard garden and enjoyed (so far) every tomato plant and pepper that I have planted there, except one.  Woe is me,   but  I will persevere and replant with some cayenne pepper powder and netting.  Also, the good news is that they do not seem to like potatoes, lettuce or spinach.

Our spiritual life is very like persevering in planting.  We must begin by having the Word of God take root in our lives.  We continue by diligently (with the Spirit of the Lord"s help)  rooting out the weeds of sin in our lives.  We must resist the incursions of the enemy of our souls.  While that may not include hot pepper, it does include constructing conscious limits to our activities.  That is barriers that keep spiritual chipmunks (and worse) from the gardens of our lives.  In many ways this is a constant struggle, just as a garden can be.   Like a garden, there will be good fruit if we do not grow weary.

PS:  There are more pictures, but they are going in upside down.