I spent an afternoon with my brother Troy working on a renovation project at Art House North and we got to talking about farming and what we’ve been learning at the Grovestead. I told him about my recent experience with growing blueberries. A lot of planning and preparation went into this endeavor. First we had to make the site more hospitable. Blueberries only grow in acidic soil, so we mixed peat moss in with the topsoil and mulched each planting with pine needles. Then the daily watering: each planting gets 1-2 quarts a day to keep the shallow roots moist. Turns out pine needles don’t provide the best weed prevention so at one point I pulled back all the mulch, weeded, laid down a biodegradable paper mulch and replaced the pine needles. A lot of work, but it has been worth the effort. In the last few weeks I’ve watched the flowers bloom and now there are hundreds of little blueberries growing in their place. I’m looking forward to a bountiful harvest of homegrown blueberries.
Or I should say, I was looking forward to it, until I stumbled across this unfortunate tidbit while researching blueberry fertilizers: “For the first four years, don’t allow the bushes to fruit at all. Strip off all flower clusters.”
First FOUR years?
Apparently, a newly planted blueberry bush will put all its energy into fruiting rather than growing roots. As with most fruit-bearing cultivars, if you strip off the flowers, it forces the plant to focus on root development. A bush that is allowed to fruit immediately and doesn’t establish proper roots may not survive the winter. But a properly established bush–one that has been stripped of its fruit and forced to do its work below ground–will bear fruit for several decades.
Troy cringed, then said that’s a good analogy for the Art House. Troy and Sara opened Art House North a few years ago as a ministry of sorts to artists. It’s a place for creatives to gather, collaborate, and cultivate their own talents as well as learn how to impact culture. But its more than that. Its also a community hub, a concert hall, a cross-pollinator of ideas.
The work that Troy and Sara have been doing at the Art House until now has been largely underground. The fruit isn’t always immediately evident. Some projects have taken longer than expected. Sort of like stripping the flowers off of blueberry shrubs. But all the while Troy and Sara and their children are fully integrating into their community. They are growing roots that will one day yield an abundant and unstoppable harvest.
I can think of other fitting analogies: moving to a new community, raising children, marriage… those life experiences where the hard work is up-front and there’s little to show for it. But in the long run, the rewards far exceed your inputs. In the long run, it’s worth it.
Excuse me, I’m off to pick some blueberries.
6 comments
Nice! Thanks for bringing the poetry out of the pile. And thanks to Troy and Sara for stepping out.
Nicely said, Rory. I’ll be looking for that smoothie in 2018.
Wish more understood this Kingdom dynamic! It would save them a lot of questioning God, frustration and misunderstanding. So blessed you’ve “got it,” and are trying to help others “get it” as well. His glory is manifest in ALL of creation. Love this.
If I remember correctly, the Bible’s fruit tree growing advice tells us to not pick from the young tree until the fourth year after being in the ground. I know I have knocked off considerable amounts of blossoms on my peach tree when it was young because the branches were still spindly. Of course, they wouldn’t support fruit, and I reasoned the growth must be in the root system first. Unfortunately we didn’t keep up with this practice until it WAS established. Now it is stunted at five feet tall, and must have ropes on its trunk tied to stakes in the ground to keep it from falling over! So, I see this wisdom also applies to blueberry bushes, which I also have. I guess a person must learn patience to later reap an abundant harvest!
It is interesring that in Paul Gautschi’s gardens and videos, i have never once seen or heard of this. Im not saying its not common wisdom nor works, but in nutrient dense soils is this true?
I believe Paul lets fruit grow, on his trees at least, right from the get go, in fact the limbs bend down with the weight of it and become in the shape seen in his film and videos.
I am not sure on blueberries though, but i intend to call him and ask about this.
I will pray about this also.
And see if when planting in soil that has been layered with ramiel wood chips, as Paul Gautschi does in the Back to Eden garden, thatbi will have to do this and wait for four years. It does not make sense to me honestly. Maybe on bare ground that is not nutrient dense one may have to do this.
But i can not see it necessary in how he showed us in layering with wood chips and so forth as is found in God’s natural design. As for the scripture( quoted here) or in the comments at least, in the bible which tells of this, i would like to know where that is please. I shall search the scriptures also myself , and pray as well on this matter, for the truth. It seems very hard to plant and then have to do all this and wait four years, it just doesnt seem right to me. Thank you !