The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Even in the garden.
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
That may have been a dramatic sentence for what I'm about to show you, but none-the-less, He is in all things...and it's true.
First, let's start with the "giveth" part. Behold, the power of prayer:
One. Tomato.
Isn't it beautiful? Magical? Miraculous?
I think so.
If all I get this year from my plants is this one tomato, well, then my prayers have still been answered.
While I appreciate the history, value, taste-superiority and range of varieties available in heirloom tomatoes, I think that next year, I'll plant some hybrid varieties too. Just in case we have a super mild summer up in the Northwest (like this year!). That way, even if I can't harvest the supper-delicious heirloom varieties, at least I can still have some danged 'ol tomatoes.
Note to self.
And now for the "taketh away" portion. Behold:
The cabbage caterpillar.
Larva of the cabbage butterfly.
Eater of leaves.
Maker of holes.
Destroyer of sauerkraut dreams.
Yes, I did realize that my cabbage leaves had holes in them over a week ago. No, I did not even think twice about it until today. Why? Because I'm a brain-fart. So when I handpicked over a dozen of these little guys of my cabbage heads, I had only myself to blame. After Google-ing ways to get rid of these little buggers, I discovered that I should have wrapped the heads of cabbage in netting prior to the late spring. That way, the butterflies couldn't land on them and lay their eggs.
Bummer.
My all time favorite show is Parks and Recreation. In Season 2, there is an episode where the Parks Department plants a community garden. "Tom" pretends to know all the flowers scientific names, and "Leslie" loves this fact! She'd point to a flower and say "What's this?"..."What's that over there?"... And because Tom didn't actually know the names, he'd just name them after famous rappers.
"Ah, yes, those BoneThugs-N-Harmininums are coming in nicely"
"Those are some Diddys..."
"Those Ludacrises are coming in great"
Sometimes, that's what I feel like in the garden. Like I don't have a clue. Maybe, I can just fake it like Tom. Deter the pests out of sheer stupidity.
So for now, I'm not sure what to do. I suppose I can pick them off, each day, and drown them in a bucket of water (as various gardeners suggest). Because we grow our food naturally, I'd like to steer-clear of spraying with any sort of insecticide. If all I have to sacrifice to the bugs is a few heads of cabbage, I suppose that's a small price to pay for home-grown food.
I don't like these little caterpillars though. They creep me out. And dang man - they are devouring my plants!
So, if you'd like to come pick them off my heads of cabbage...you are more than welcome to. I'm just sayin'...
I'll be your BFF for life!
I suppose these little rascals are a good reminder to me that the Lord truly does give and take away. And yes, He even created them for a purpose.
Though I'm not quite sure what it is...