Basil is easy enough to grow. But I did everything wrong this year that you could possibly do to basil:
- Constantly wet the leaves when watering.
- Watered frequently in the evening.
- Didn’t pinch it back. At all.
- Didn’t manage the pests.
- Plus, it was HOT.
We love basil and that is really the reason I grow it. But I was focused on other things this year so this yummy little interspersed crop was a little neglected. I let the insects feast on it because that kept the majority of them off of my tomato plants. When the basil started to bolt I thought, why not harvest it and salvage what I can?
Issues with the Fire Ants
I have two 5′ x 4′ raised beds. In bed #1, I exterminated the fire ants before the growing season was well underway. No problem pulling out the basil there.
But bed #2 still had fire ants in it. I knew this, but as gardening goes – I just couldn’t stay out of it when it wasn’t “gardening time.” No, I was rushing to pull these out and finish so I could get to a doctor’s appointment. In my haste, I forgot to look out for the fire ants!
Fire ants feel sneaky, to me. Just when you think they’re not there anymore, you relax your guard and stumble across a mound that looked dormant just the day before. Now you’re in trouble. Thankfully (and sadly), I’ve been bitten enough that my reaction time is pretty quick! I only suffered one bite. My initial frustrated, unhappy, and inconsolable conclusion:
Fire ants are the devil himself.
Risks and, Benefits?
The sad thing about it though? I made a deal with those “devil ants.” The question is, why? Why does anyone deal with them/him at all? One answer is that the apparent benefits outweigh the risks.
What are my risks?
- I have a respiratory reaction to multiple stings. It is my understanding that this reaction gets worse with every recurring instance.
- Or, the consequences are so far down the road they seem insignificant at the moment. I could have exterminated those ants long ago. But it is a hassle dealing with fire ants, especially in a food-growing space.
- And, the consequences may be avoidable at a future date. Like my reaction time, right? Well, maybe.
But really – what could the benefits possibly be? In this case, fire ants kept the bunnies out. I noticed that my cool-weather crops were growing just fine in bed #1. No bunnies got in them until I got rid of the fire ants. Then, mysteriously, my lettuce all disappeared in one night. My spinach disappeared little by little. Beets. Gone. Radish leaves started going. Snap pea leaves . . . you get the idea. I put two and two together and made a conscious decision to let the fire ants stay in bed #2.
In fact, they are still there now. Bed #1 has fall crops planted, is free of fire ants, and is suitably protected to keep out the critters. Bed #2 is open, untouched, and still inhabited by fire ants. So, the bunnies can’t stay in it long enough to get more than a nibble or two, at best. But using the enemy to keep out another enemy? Even Jesus shot that idea down. The story can be found in Matthew 12 and Luke 11.
Destructive Partnership
No one who is running after the kingdom of heaven is intentionally making deals with the devil, no matter how good the offer looks. But we can partner unintentionally through unforgiveness, critical judgments of others, arrogance (this one is so sneaky!), what we look at and listen to, and yes, letting our guard down to give him access to our homes and communities. He is not a lion, but he lurks about like one, looking for any angle he can to bring destruction to our souls. But as the victors in Christ, we must be vigilant to give no quarter to the enemy, no matter how insignificant the partnership seems.
What about the “devil ants” and the correlating respiratory issues? When we don’t have our breath, we don’t have a voice. If we don’t have a voice we don’t speak the word, don’t fill the atmosphere with the praise of God, and cannot speak the truth. If this is all from a “bite,” then does this mean our breath is stolen away? I believe, yes. Worship, stolen. Voice for righteousness and justice, stolen. Words of wisdom for a future generation, stolen. Strength (no oxygen), stolen.
Always Praise!
But, even if we find ourselves in a place where we have limited breath, let us praise anyway! We are reminded in Psalm 150:6 that everything that has breath should praise the Lord. We praise him as long as we live, as long as we have the breath of life – the breath of our Creator – within us. He redeemed us from partnerships with the enemy and our praise is a testimony to his goodness. Our praise, our worship, is an honor to the Wisdom of the ages. It can be gratitude to the one who provides. It can be a bold declaration of his righteousness, justice, and truth!
And yes, our animals can praise the Lord with us. If the very rocks have the capacity to cry out in praise, why not our pets? Or the fire ants, for that matter. There is coming a time when even the enemy will have to admit Jesus is Lord!
Strength to Strength
Back to the basil. I have a friend in Colorado who has lived in multiple states. She is an excellent gardener (plus canner, dehydrator, cook) and could run her own gardening master class! She advised me that when you harvest seeds in the location where the plant is growing and reseed in the following year, the successive plants get stronger in their environment. Gather the seeds again from the most vigorous plants for the following year, and they will be stronger still, and ideally, produce a better harvest! Every successive year they get stronger, for the climate they are in.
So I gathered some seeds from the one remaining basil plant. These are the first seeds harvested in Texas. Game on for next year, and we’ll sing a little louder!
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