GARDNERS, GAMBLERS AND GOD

by Malcolm Beck

Playing poker, rolling dice and betting on the horses is gambling but this vice is enjoyed at places other then the tracks and casinos.

In the garden or on the farm the objects and location may be different but the odds are just the same. Any time a seed is put into the ground you are gambling.

The seed may not germinate. Even if the seed is viable. the soil may not be loose enough for it to push through or a heavy rain could have formed a hard crust,

If a plant does emerge it could damp off with a fungus, get a virus or the insects could come and make a meal of it.

If you are lucky enough to get a grown plant you are now gambling with a new set of odds. Will it bloom? If it does, will it pollinate and set fruit? If fruit does set you still don't have anything to eat. An early or late frost or a hailstorm may wipe it out before the fruit ripens.

If you are lucky to this point your worries still aren't over. The birds, an animal or neighbor hood kids may beat you to it.

By now you have probably decided it is easier to just go to the supermarket.

I am not trying to discourage growing plants but only show the gamble and challenge that makes gardening exciting and fun.

Farmers experience the same growing problems as gardeners plus a few more.

Bad weather and or labor problems may hinder getting the crops out of the field. And if harvested will the selling price make it all worth the gamble.

By nature we humans, to some degree are all gamblers, and thank goodness that we are.

It probably all started when Adam ate from the forbidden fruit and was driven from the Garden of Eden. God saw it necessary to install the lure of gambling so his newly created race could survive in the outside harsh environment.

If for some reason this vice was stricken from mankind all the farmers would be moving to town, looking for jobs with shorter hours and a guaranteed paycheck. Then we could all starve to death.