An odd thing happened yesterday in South Bend: no rain! Well, to be technical, it did rain slightly in the wee hours of the morning, but it didn't rain once the sun came up.
With a partly sunny day before me, I headed out to the garden to return to weeding. I am preparing to pull up one of my last two tarps -- before starting the tarping process all over again. For some reason, a bunch of weeds have grown in the bark mulch on top of this particular tarp.
When I started into my weeding yesterday, I expected to find shallow roots, but that's not what I found at all! As I worked to dislodge and dig up these weeds, I was amazed at the intricate root systems each had laid down through the bark mulch to (and a few times through) the plastic.
Even the smallest of the weeds had roots that seemed to go on and on. I dug and pulled and dug and pulled some more. Each time I thought I had gotten to the end of a particular root system, it would branch off in a new direction. A task that I originally thought might take me an hour, at best, is only one-half completed and will necessitate several more hours today.
This has served as a real eye-opening experience. I now have a much clearer understanding of why weeds continue to pop up in the garden proper. Without a tarp to impede how deep they can burrow, all my past efforts to dig out the roots have merely claimed the upper portions of any one root system. I would have to dig down several feet to have any hope of eradicating most of them!
It has also reminded me of the importance for each of us to have strong and deep roots. When our roots are shallow, we can be easily buffeted by the winds of life. However, when our roots are deep, we can withstand all sorts of happenstance and abuse. If we are knocked down, we can stand up again.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
With a partly sunny day before me, I headed out to the garden to return to weeding. I am preparing to pull up one of my last two tarps -- before starting the tarping process all over again. For some reason, a bunch of weeds have grown in the bark mulch on top of this particular tarp.
When I started into my weeding yesterday, I expected to find shallow roots, but that's not what I found at all! As I worked to dislodge and dig up these weeds, I was amazed at the intricate root systems each had laid down through the bark mulch to (and a few times through) the plastic.
Even the smallest of the weeds had roots that seemed to go on and on. I dug and pulled and dug and pulled some more. Each time I thought I had gotten to the end of a particular root system, it would branch off in a new direction. A task that I originally thought might take me an hour, at best, is only one-half completed and will necessitate several more hours today.
This has served as a real eye-opening experience. I now have a much clearer understanding of why weeds continue to pop up in the garden proper. Without a tarp to impede how deep they can burrow, all my past efforts to dig out the roots have merely claimed the upper portions of any one root system. I would have to dig down several feet to have any hope of eradicating most of them!
It has also reminded me of the importance for each of us to have strong and deep roots. When our roots are shallow, we can be easily buffeted by the winds of life. However, when our roots are deep, we can withstand all sorts of happenstance and abuse. If we are knocked down, we can stand up again.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
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