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| http://globalsailingweather.com/thunderstorms.php |
Isiah 55:6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
We are having day after day of rain, which motivated me to run out and plant even more seeds.
My first lesson in gardening was the need to water the new seedings for several weeks. The early rain feeds the root system, so the plants can obtain support and nourishment, surviving dry weather. The late rain gives the plants the boost they need to fruit and become productive.
That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. Deuteronomy 11:14.
Planting in the rain is bound to bring good results. One way to detect an oncoming storm is the gust of chilled wind that races before it. If the day is hot and stuffy, but someone seems to have turned the AC on, with a medium fan speed, a jolly good storm is on the way. That is the gust front when the chill wind blows.
Currently I see an enormous arc of thunderstorms, which earlier reached from the Mexican border to Wisconsin. The red zone seemed to be running along the bottom, which means we miss the worst weather, flash flooding, and winds.
I had more warty gourd seeds and some more Bee Balm to plant. I went outside to take care of both. I simply push warty gourd seeds into the soil, knowing the crafty squirrels will look for them and rebury them. They may stop and eat a few. One can never have too much mulch or compost, too many seeds.
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| http://www.tekura.school.nz/departments/horticulture/ht102_p3.html |
The seeds will soften, send a root into the soil, and develop root hairs. The tiny root hairs are essential to the health of the plant. That is why tromping around the garden is hard on plants.
Anxious gardeners put down ceramic tiles or boards to keep pressure off the roots.
Nitrogen compounds in the rain give the seeds an early boost, the best kind. I planted Bee Balm and gourds where the dead grass and leaves along the fence would provide some mulch. Some growing weeds will be overshadowed by the aggressive growth of both plants.
Nutrition in the seed feeds the young plant until the roots and leaves take over. That by itself is quite a marvel. Beans are really obvious in the way the food packet feeds the plant until it gets its early growth established. Beans (like all legumes) fix nitrogen in the soil, so they renew the soil and help replace what a nitrogen-hog like corn takes away.
Fanatics like me will even plant a garden to die in the frost, to feed the soil all winter. The soil does not die, although the underground life does slow down. A rotting plant root (especially beans) will benefit the soil. That is why I leave sunflowers up all winter. The stalks make great observation towers for birds, and the stalks look great in the snow, with all the seeds picked off the disks.
A bird looking for food in the rain demonstrated the value of a perch. We have a lot of suckering on our trees, since no one trimmed them for years. I left little outgrowths on the trees since birds will land on them to preen and to watch for life in the lawn. I saw one land on its perch and look around for a worm or insect.
Bird life has increased in our yard. They like the mulch and the birdbath. I created the birdbath by collecting water from the AC and directing it into a ceramic dish. Alex noticed how one drop of water in the aluminum pan turned into one drop going into the ceramic dish. He engineered the pan for better flow, but the ratio remained. One drop in, one drop out.
I told my neighbor I had a lot of unwanted squirrels in my yard now. He said, "Yes, they took the walnuts from my tree and buried them in your yard. Now they are collecting them again." He just pruned his maple tree because I pruned mine. He has quite the garden, and I plan on growing corn, potatoes, and spinach next year.
LI remembers the Silver Queen corn I grew long ago, in Midland, Michigan.
