When I was seven years old we lived in a new neighbourhood. My older brother found a new friend and together we followed him down a back road to a tall wooden fence. There were whispers and hushed tones then this friend climbed over the fence and hurriedly picked some strawberries from that neighbour’s patch. He returned and we ran quickly away, heart pounding. Well that was dumb. My brother and I weren’t those kinds of boys. We ditched the new friend.
As a teen I pumped gas at a big Shell station just out of town on the edge of a dairy farm area. One afternoon a couple of the other gas jockey’s buddies showed up with a trunk full of stolen corn. They were so proud. I had a taste of a raw cob and told them it was ‘cow’s’ corn or silage-feed corn. They didn’t know what I was talking about until they tried a taste. Well that was dumb.
Jesus told a story about a man who planted a vineyard.
“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.” Matthew 21:33 NIV
The rest of the parable is very interesting but this time we’ll stick with just the first verse.
Notice that he “put a wall around it”. Israel is a place of many stones and that is what the wall would have been made of. Most of us nowadays think of a fence rather than a wall. What was the wall for? Perhaps to keep animals, wild or otherwise, from getting at the grapes? Maybe even keeping people from stealing the grapes?
He also “built a watchtower”. What was that for? Probably to warn of people trespassing rather than animals. One tower could watch the whole vineyard; you would need only one watchman at a time. Maybe it was to get a clear shot? (not with a camera). There was probably no need for a watchman to be in the tower to deter thieves except during the harvest. For grapes – probably a couple of weeks or several more if different varieties were ripening at different times. Nobody steals sour grapes but the wine they were making was valuable.
There’s a church in town that has a Community Garden. During its first couple of years in operation it had a sign on the gate of the low chain link fence surrounding it that said something about sharing and caring and such. Well that was dumb.
Of course that sweet sign had to be changed. Too many locals were taking up the offer and helping themselves to the produce after hours. The sign was changed to something more like ‘please respect the labors of our gardeners’, etc. And they put a lock on the gate.
It would appear that community gardens can work really well for feeding the community rather than feeding your family. Community gardens might work alright when the locals are overfed and undernourished with burgers and fries, but once times get a bit harder, (that’s when you really need your garden plot’s produce) that low chain link fence might be too symbolic rather than practical.
Of course my point is Security. If you’re really depending on the produce you grow to be eaten by you and your family, it is most productive if you have a way to deter thieves. Fencing is an asset. And solid board is preferred to chain link --- out of sight out of mind.
My son, The Organic Grower (TOG), farms an acre and a half behind a row of houses. There had been one open spot between the houses, along the main road where his setup could be observed by looking through a neighbour’s large side yard. I was pleased when that neighbour installed a roadside solid fence right across that open spot. Times are changing and not necessarily for the best.
My missionary friend in Uganda, who teaches the “Farming God’s Way” program to the locals, has a high wall around his home and yard. There might even be broken glass imbedded across the top of the wall. What kind of a giving and sharing Christian is that? Well, the local small grocery store has an armed guard standing out front carrying an assault rifle and there’s another guard in front of the small bank. And my friend has his lovely young daughters playing in his yard. Welcome to Uganda. Perhaps one day we may have to do the same?
So I’m into solid board fences. I’ve had to replace large sections of my aging fence and I’ve poured a curb under the new section to keep the raccoons from digging under it. see Raccoon Wars
I soon have to replace the last, longest section. The neighbour erected a chain link fence behind my old board fence and a tall cedar hedge was planted along that. But I’m still going to put up a solid board fence with a curb under it. That won’t keep thieves out of the garden if they really want to get in but they won’t be able to sit in a hedge and watch my garden through a chain link fence.
So far I hope I can delay installing a watch tower. Happy Gardening.
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