Pastoral Ponderings—Intercropping
FINALLY we’re able to start getting our garden in! While it’s not as big a concern for hobby gardeners like us, this spring’s being so wet has put a damper on a lot of farming and gardening this year! Not a laughing matter for those whose livelihoods are threatened by it, and certainly annoying for the rest of us.
We were able to get the garden tilled a few days ago right before the busy-ness of the holiday weekend, but it’s still been quite soggy—with more rain expected this week! We’ve been experimenting in recent years with various facets of regenerative agriculture and intercropping—most specifically right now the practices from intercropping that intentionally builds on strengths different plants bring to the garden.
You may be able to see in the picture along the edge the baby onion stalks we’ve just planted—those are supposed to help prevent annoying pests from getting in the garden. We’ve not put the basil in around the tomatoes yet, but that’s another facet where one plant literally feeds off another, and putting lettuces around tomatoes and beans is the same, with the cooler needs of the lettuces (behind the pea and bean trellis fence) to be protected by the shade of the beans and peas as they grow into the hotter part of the summer (that’s a statement of faith…).
And while the cardboard is NOT very attractive, and not really a part of intercropping, it is an organic way to fight weeds that would otherwise take nutrients and sunlight from the good veggies. Such protection isn’t pretty—but very important to a healthy garden!
Jesus likely would have mentioned these kinds of benefits of intentional gardening in His parables, but cardboard hadn’t been invented yet, nor had the language of intercropping, so those hearing Him would have thought Him off His rocker had these words come out in His parables! But the mutual up-building of intercropping is at lease alluded to later in the New Testament, when “build one another up in Christian love” is cited as a part of our calling. Likewise the protection from The Enemy of weeds that sucks the life out of the garden, and blocks out the blessings of the sun/Son that the cardboard provides, is also alluded to in many ways across the Bible.
So whether you’re growing your own veggies, or being blessed by other farmers’ efforts, think on these things—and enjoy the blessings of the lessons of the garden while you enjoy the blessings of the fruit of the garden! And as with other opportunities for eating—share it with others (like that intercropping…) that we may all keep on blessing one another! — Pastor Jim