Seed Starting Time
Spring is finally here! Well, almost. It takes a bit of convincing for those of us in Montana. It’s that time of year when the warmth of the sun likes to tease us into putting away our winter coats, only to walk out the door the next morning greeted by snow and sub-zero temperatures. Whether it feels like Spring or not, one thing is for sure–summer is coming. So that means the moment we have been waiting for all winter has finally arrived. Seed starting time! A time filled with a mixture of anticipation and cautious hope.
While the seeds are doing their magic under the grow lights, I thought it an opportune time to set about doing something I’ve been intending to do for 4 years. That is…to launch a website, and a blog. Amidst the dawn to dusk work of irrigating, lugging harvest crates around, transplanting, tilling, weeding–I’ve never found the time to squeeze it in! But now I’ve pounced on the chance!
So, welcome to my very first blog on the newly launched Hatchet Creek Farm website! I’m so excited to share with you all, the happenings around the farm, as well as lessons I learn along the way.
We are exiting a season of dormancy–cold, stark, winter days…and entering a season of renewal, rebirth, and new growth. And it couldn’t have come at a more needed and opportune time. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of upheaval, uncertainty, and fear. Something is needed to remind us that seasons DO change. The reminder for me came when I pulled my seed envelopes out, dug around for my favorite seed starting flats, and opened a bag of potting soil.
Anticipation, Anxiety, and Arrival
Starting seeds is always a time filled with mixed emotions. There is anticipation as I place the seeds in the soil, neatly label them, and place them under the grow lights. But right on the heels of anticipation comes anxiety. After day 4 or 5 rolls around, and I’m still staring at the bare dirt, I start to worry. Perhaps the room isn’t warm enough. Or maybe I buried the seeds too deep…or not deep enough. Or maybe I shouldn’t have used that old seed. Maybe I should start some more seeds just to make sure I have enough plants in the end. Then it happens. The tiny sprouts start to poke their heads through the soil. Everyday their number increases, until a sea of green has arrived beneath the grow lights. And hope is restored. The flame of faith is rekindled.
As the years go by, I learn more and more how to deal with those days of anxiety and uncertainty in between seeding time and the first sprouts. I don’t concentrate on the moment, but I look ahead to the emergence of new growth I know from experience is coming. That hope carries me forward. Staring at the bare dirt and letting my mind remain fixed on the current circumstance only fills me with worry and the fear of failure. What I can’t see at that moment is that a seed deep beneath the surface, in the dark, is going through changes I know nothing about. Things are happening even when I can’t see it.
What Does a Mustard Seed Teach Us?
Seeds are very small. I marvel every time I plant one that it can grow to become a huge plant with pounds and pounds of produce weighing heavy on its branches. Jesus talked about seeds too. In Matthew 17:20 he talked about one of the smallest seeds. “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
So let us learn the lesson of faith and hope that the seeds are teaching us. Let us remember that things are happening that we usually can’t see at the time. Days of new growth are almost ready to push their head up through the dirt and begin reaching for the sky. We just need to have faith the size of a tiny seed.
Can’t wait till we can eat those vegetables.