6/03/2011

Are Leaves Really Necessary?


Newly married and wanting to experience the thrills of growing my own produce, but also wanting to start small, I bought one robust tomato plant, tore up some grass in a sunny part of the yard, and planted it.

I faithfully watered and fussed over it daily.  Just to make sure I was doing things in the proper fashion, I called my mom to ask some advice.

She said I was doing everything correctly, but I may want to remove the leaves because that will help the nutrients get to the tomatoes instead of just going to the leaves.  Now, she didn't exactly say that, but that is what I heard.

Determined to grow the best tomato plant ever, I marched right out and began removing the nutrient-sucking leaves.  Soon my tomato plant looked like a twig, with only one or two leaves left on for good measure.

Needless to say, I didn't get many tomatoes that year.

I haven't gardened much since then, but I now know that leaves are in fact a necessary part of the gardening equation.  :)

2 comments:

Shannon said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Oh, Heidi! (I'm smiling and wagging my head back and forth in a motherly way right now.) And you know what? I can think of a spiritual application. Some people are so concerned with producing God's garden variety of fruit that they see no need for the leaves-- the nutrient absorbing activities. They might teach Sunday School for 856 consecutive Sundays rather than soaking in the sermon for themselves, and they don't even realize they look like a twig. ('Course I'd love to look like a twig on the outside, but on the inside I want to be leafy and loaded with fruit). :)

Heidi said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

I knew you'd come up with something! :)

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