| (Copyright 12-17-2024) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| Autumn marks a change of season from summer to winter. As the nights get colder during autumn, the leaves of deciduous trees change color and begin to drop. This is why autumn is also known as the Fall. Some areas of the country have spectacular autumn colors of various shades of red, yellow, and orange for all to behold. God has designed nature to let nothing go to waste. Those fallen leaves will decay and provide vital nutrients for the soil. If you rake the leaves and pile them appropriately, you can create a source of soil enhancement for your garden. The short video linked below provides many good tips on leaf composting and working with nature. The British gardener is a delight to watch and learn from with his sense of humor. I certainly agree with him on raking leaves rather than using a noisy leaf blower. A gas-powered leaf blower is one of the most annoying sounds in the world. When I rake leaves at my mom’s property, I am able to enjoy the sounds of nature as well as get good exercise. I only rake the leaves off the lawn to prevent them from killing the grass. We have a huge mulberry tree which provides good shade in the summer and a blanket of yellow leaves in the Fall. Rather than letting them mulch, I take the bags of leaves over to my property for the cows. The cows further process the leaves to turn them into valuable fertilizer. Here is some country wisdom: Life is like a cow pasture. You got to watch where you step! We come from the ground and shall return to the ground until the Day of our Redemption. The ground provides our livelihood. God instructs us to care for the land by giving it rest every seventh year (Leviticus 25:4-7). We also need to return to the land that keeps the ground alive with earthworms and other organisms which allows the soil to be rich in nutrients for our health and blessing. Fallen leaves are one valuable source. I worked for a chemical company a number of years ago delivering various chemicals to growers in Northern California. I’m very much aware of the toxic chemicals that are used to protect crops from pests and the chemical fertilizers used to stimulate production. Sometimes a grower would request a blend of various liquid fertilizer components for his special needs. This one time, I took a blended batch of liquid fertilizer out to this grower to pump into his tank. Since it was a special blend, none of it could be returned for credit. His tank wasn’t very large, so it was going to be a close fit. As the liquid got close to the top, the grower asked me if any of the fertilizer that was left over could be returned for credit. I couldn’t resist this reply: “No, we don’t take shit off from anybody.” Just kidding about my reply. But I did think it and chuckle to myself. Luckily, the entire blended batch did fit into his tank, and all was well. The gardener in the video also has some tips about “liquid fertilizer.” And just exactly what is God’s leaf plan? Ezekiel 47:12: “Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the [God’s] sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and the leaves for medicine.” See also Revelation 22:1-2. Link to short video: Ben Vanheems’ Gardening Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeEKQLEpZfA ———————————————————————————————————- See Dwight Fleming’s other articles at: Fleming, Dwight – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) ———————————————————————————————————- |
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