Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Do not worry about tomorrow, a garden update

The Lord has generously laid on my heart Matthew 6:19-34. In this passage Jesus tells us that we cannot love money and love Him. He explains that everything on earth will fade and our earthly "treasures" will be destroyed, but that our treasures in heaven will be protected forever. People are our heavenly treasures. The time and love I invest in people, my children, family, friends, and even complete strangers has eternal value. If we care about money, if having it, having all the things money can buy, is important to us, then we can't wholeheartedly serve God. So we are charged first to place all our treasures in heaven and not treasure our earthly possessions. Then Christ goes on to tell us not to worry about tomorrow He tells us not to worry about our food or drink, or our clothes because God generously provides all that we need. And to really round it out, He tells us in verse 34: "So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Verse 34 has become my motto for evaluating problems that arise during the day. I ask myself, "Is this today's problem, or tomorrow's?" Since I'm 36wks pregnant with  5 and 3yr old boys to chase after, it is very easy to start feeling overwhelmed. Thank Jesus for the gentle reminders to keep my priorities in order and my worries to the present and immediate only and to trust in God for all provision. 

I am also encouraged by the growth of my little garden and other small victories, like releasing our 2nd butterfly we raised from a caterpillar. 
 

My green beans have many pods that are the full length and just need another couple days to plump up to full size. I can't wait!


My Cherry Red tomato is still loaded with tomatoes, but they aren't turning red. I may pull a few and bring them inside to see if they turn. Even if I have to use them green, I love green tomato salsa!


And then there's the squash.



These are acorn squash. The large one in the first photo is about full size and starting to darken. The one on the right in the next photo is a little soft and weird shaped, so I'll probably cut it off so the plant doesn't waste energy on it, but the one on the left is lovely.






My spaghetti squash are going crazy. There are so many nice fruit growing, and they are HUGE! I haven't actually eaten a spaghetti squash before, so I hope I like them. Even if I don't, they should still puree and freeze well for baby food.

I have only seen these two variety, so I'm thinking that the Lakota and Butterbush aren't among my seven or so plants.

  
I love marigolds. They are always so hearty and rich in color.




 I think I mentioned starting over with my cucumbers. They are doing very well now and really taking off. There are seven little plants in there and I will let them all grow so long as they look healthy and not too crowded. 






The butterfly garden has a nice orange, red, and yellow vibe now that the lantanas and milkweed are flowering. It continues to attract bees and wasps and then the bees move over to my adjacent squash garden and go nuts in there. It's a win win. I found a wild patch of Maypop growing in the vacant lot next to Lowes and plan on moving some of that into the garden the next time I'm leaving the store. It smelled heavenly! And the Gulf Fritillaries were swarming it.

I should probably side dress my gardens with a rich compost or fertilize soon. I have also had some aphids, hornworms and cabbage loopers moving in on my plants so it's time to try out a homemade pesticide. Hopefully that takes care of things!

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