Weeding our gardens before we can plant vegetables and herbs.
As former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld said, “He who wants to keep his garden tidy does not reserve a plot for weeds.” And so weed and water we must, as Nature teaches us a lot: plants are as thirsty as we are and weeds grow even faster than we do. While tugging on some strong, thick weeds, we talked about why we need to remove them. First, we thought about what would happen if two friends tried to drink out of a very small cup with two straws. Then we huddled together and tried to spread out our arms (roots) which we agreed was hard to do.
We also talked about the first commandment mentioned in the Bible which was God’s direction to Adam (whose name in Hebrew means man of the earth) to take care of the earth. The Bible also forbids us from destroying the fields or fruit trees of an enemy.
We are working diligently this summer to maintain our crops planted over the last two months, each tending our own tiny plots and helping out with others. As we work to keep our herbs and vegetables healthy in the summer heat, we learn about what plants need to grow, the changes they go through, and the challenges they face. We also learn about commitment and teamwork! A worthy effort indeed.
