Do you know what the most popular vegetable is? Potatoes, of course! (Iceberg lettuce comes in second). Every American eats about 126 pounds of potatoes a year.19
Gather your family and plant a garden. Share its rewards—the healthful vegetables we all love—with your neighbors. Nothing says you love your neighbor like a basketful of homegrown tomatoes or ears of corn. Involve your children in every step of the process—from planting the seeds to harvesting the crops. Seek their assistance in watering, weeding, washing, and delivering the vegetables.
If other neighbors are willing, they might also enjoy planting their own gardens and then meeting at the end of the season for a neighborhood farmers market.
Another way to utilize the wholesomeness of a garden and share with others is to can the food. A friend of ours cans a variety of homegrown foods each year. Among them are chokecherries from her backyard, crab apples from a neighbor’s yard, and cucumbers from a farmers market. She and her family can the food and then deliver the jars to family, friends, and church members, along with a loaf of homemade bread for the holidays. Their spicy pickled green beans have topped the list of favorites for those who enjoy hot flavors. Whenever they attend a potluck meal, they bring some of their famous canned jelly and leave it for the hosts. Canned and fresh goods make great housewarming gifts.
Whichever way you decide to utilize your garden, remember to instill in your children the amazing manner in which God creates a tiny seed and from it grows wonderful foods to nourish and strengthen our bodies.
Up for Discussion
What vegetables or fruits did your family decide to grow in your garden? How were you involved with this project? Did your neighbors appreciate receiving a basket of the bounty? If your neighborhood came together and held a farmers market, how was this idea beneficial to all who participated? Were you able to give food to those who weren’t able to join in the farmers market?
Read Gen. 1:29. Why do you think God created such a wide variety of fruits and vegetables?
Read and discuss the garden account in Gen. 3. The serpent persuaded Eve to eat from a tree that God had told her not to touch. Gen. 3:6 states, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” What was the consequence of Eve’s failure to listen to God’s stern command? The serpent provided such a convincing line about why it was all right to eat from the tree that Eve believed him. How can you avoid temptation when it’s directed at you in such a way that it seems all right to do it?
God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”
—Gen. 1:29