Planting Time: The timing of seed planting influences its success

By Ed Jordan

Spring is here. Many of us are spending time preparing the soil for planting. There are certain principles that remain consistent in the process of planting seeds. In the next few articles we will look at some of these principles, which are not just true in agriculture. They are also true in our relationships, in our families, in our business dealings, in our education systems, in our nation, in politics… etc., etc.

There are many areas of our lives where we plant seeds that will come up later, and produce a crop. Timeless truth is valid in many areas of life. This is the reason the Christian message is always so relevant. Today, we will focus on the principle regarding the timing of seed planting.

As we begin this series, we must acknowledge that while these principles are timelessly true, there are many factors that can disrupt the natural production cycle of a crop’s harvest. For example, in Idaho you can wait until the proper time to plant your crop and still lose the crop due to a bizarre summer snow or hail storm. But generally there is a time to plant that is safely after the high probability of frost damage. Keep these variables in mind as throughout this series of articles.

Which of us has not enjoyed the warming of spring days, the appearance of blue skies, and experiencing sun-bathed days? I am writing this article during the first week of April, but I am already itching to plant my tomato plants so that the tomatoes have enough time to ripen. You can shake your head and tell me not to do it, but you have the urge, too!

How many times do we fight off that urge, and then finally decide that we have had three weeks of sunshine, so it must be time to plant. We get out in the garden and transplant our little plants into the great outdoors. Two days later we go out to see lifeless stems where there were vibrant little plants. It seems to always be too early to plant our plants here.

The locals talk about waiting until the snowy 7 is gone from the mountain as the guideline for planting. For several years I have waited, and still lost my plants to cold nights. So the timing of our planting, or transplanting, is really crucial to the success we will have in our gardens.

Timing is important in most areas of life. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (HSCB) states: “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:” then continues in verse 2 with “A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot (literally ‘uproot what is planted’).”

There is a time that is fairly ideal for each event. There is an ideal time to propose marriage. There is an ideal time for teaching and learning. In parenting, we speak of using daily events that occur as teaching points or times. Events are often the catalyst of a teaching opportunity.
The teaching point concept means that if a child is asking questions about a particular theme, they are in the mood to learn about that theme. Such a time is normally the best time to address it, because they desire to know and are more teachable at that time. However, the content you discuss with them must always be age appropriate for the child.

This does not mean that we don’t teach our children at other times. We do. We are constantly teaching them through our attitudes, our behavior, and our conversations. But there are ideal times as well.

There are ideal times to discuss a problem in your marriage that needs to be worked on. At two in the morning is rarely that time. There is an ideal time to ask the boss for a raise or reassignment.

The best time to ask forgiveness from someone is as near in proximity to the offence as possible. The longer you wait, the more bad feelings and bitterness develop. It is never easy to admit our mistakes, but it is easier to do it sooner, than later.

There is a time to plant values and proper ideals into our children, and a time when it may be too late. There is a time to seek God. God says that “now” is always the ideal time to seek Him. What is it time for you to be doing?