Southeast Texas
Growing Food God’s Way Helped Our Gardening Mistakes
We started a bible study centering around the book, Growing Food God’s Way. The book speaks heavily on growing plants and over just gardening the way God intended…. he covers everything to protect it.
The last year or so in our garden has been discouraging. I have talked so much in our YouTube videos about how we bought soil that we thought was contaminated with some sort of possible herbicide. While we still believe this is true, we also came to the realization that something else may be going on.
Before We Made Our Gardening Mistakes
When we first started gardening years ago, we followed Paul Gautschi and his Back to Eden gardening style. Although, some of it did not work for area due to Bermuda grass, we translated his ideas into raise bed gardening along with no till methods. We layered our beds with rich compost and then a heaping layer of wood chips to hold in moisture. We had some BANG OUT crops.
God provided us the knowledge to make sure our family was fed and blessed us with a wonderful harvest for years.
As Time Passed
As the years went on, we expanded gardens and growing spaces. We got rid of the inground garden and transitioned strictly to raised beds for various reasons. We were still seeing all the blessings God had for us in our gardens.
How We Ended Up Making Our Gardening Mistakes
Fast forward to the last two years. Our gardens were lacking…..or maybe we were “Willy Nilly” doing things, not stewarding the way we should have. The layers of mulch and wood chips were getting thinner and thinner. Was this laziness? Did we not want to take the extra step to add this moisture retaining layer? Or…..were we wanting to do things “Our” way? I think it was a mixture of everything. Were we steering away from gardening the way God intended?
Realizing Our Mistakes and How to Fix Them
This year in particular was a huge bust in the garden and reading Growing Food God’s Way came at the perfect time. It showed us that we were steering away from stewarding our garden the way God wanted us to.
Justin immediately got out into the garden and started wheel barreling load after load of wood chips to our raised bed gardens. Sweat rolling down his brow and soaking his shirt…..but knowing this is what God wanted us to do. Justin has always said that the garden is where he speaks to God, where he worships him, and where God speaks to HIM.
The next day after putting a hefty layer of wood chips in our beds, we went out to plant our fall garden for what seemed like the third or fourth time. The seeds had not germinated, soil was drying out, really there was just not any progress. After adding these layers of wood chips, we made burrows beneath them and into the soil. We found the soil to be moist and damp. We saw life beneath the wood chips, worms and bugs alike. We saw true improvement in just that 24 hours and this was without watering.
This showed us that yes, we had strayed away from gardening the way God intended. We were doing things our way and not leaning on him.
We spent the evening planting all of our beds with fall crops for yes…..the third or fourth time. But I feel like this time we will be blessed with germination and a wonderful harvest in months to come. We stopped, assessed, and refocused.
Take Away
Sometimes in life we stray away from things we know to work and be correct. I cannot give you a definite reason as to why. Maybe we think our way of doing things is the best way. I also think we get complacent and look for the easier route. Maybe we just go through the motions and cut corners because well, life this day in age is busy.
If there is something that is not working in your life, stop, assess, refocus, and most of all listen to what God is telling you. He will lead you to the solution. This is true in everything….not just gardening. With the way the world is these days, my relationship with God has strengthened. I am diving deeper into his word than ever before. He will guide and protect; we just have to slow down and listen.
