This past spring, my Uncle Tim and Aunt Candy came by to visit on their way to "check the cows". If you've never lived in the country, that is code for "we are bored so we go look at our cows in various pastures". Seriously though, we discussed gardens, etc. Several weeks later, Uncle Tim showed back up with his tractor and offered to "break up the land" for my garden. Although we have access to my Daddy's tractor in the barn, I'm smart enough to capitalize on free labor by an expert. So, Uncle Tim broke up the garden. My cousin Bobby and Chad built a fence to protect the garden from the cows and various other critters.
Finally, we were able to plant some "ongions" (according to Farmer Blake). All five of us spent about an hour and lots of laughter planting an onion patch because Blake Dickerson couldn't grasp the concept of rows. Several weeks after that, we planted squash, watermelon, okra, cantaloupe and various pepper varieties. I peeked in on my very first garden fairly often. The plants were growing slowly. However, in the month of June, the garden has really grown. We've had what I would consider to be an unusually wet June. We've picked more jalapeño peppers than I can even begin to eat, freeze, give away, etc. The tomatoes are in abundance as well. The onions were either mediocre or terrible. We really didn't have great luck with large onions this year. The squash were kind of small initially too; however, with the most recent rain, we've managed to harvest a few grocery store size squash. My cantaloupe plants died. I think with our sandy soil and a few 4 year old footprints nearby, the roots may have rotted with the water pooled around them.
The mesmerizing aspect of the garden is the simplicity. Seriously, we tilled up a small patch of sandy, nothing fancy land and planted less than $50 worth of plants. We sprinkled a little fertilizer and made sure there was water when God wasn't providing that free of charge. Other than that, we've done nothing. In exchange for a few dollars and a couple hours of manual labor, we've been blessed with hundreds of dollars worth of fresh vegetables for ourselves and some to share.
I tried explaining my fascination with the garden to Kennedy. I was thinking it was going to be one of those bonding moments. She simply said, "Yes Mom, water and sunshine and chlorophyll make plants grow." I remember feeling similar amazement when Kennedy was born. We all know that egg plus sperm and 40 weeks makes baby. But until you have actually experienced MAKING another human being, it's hard to wrap your brain around God's miracle. The garden is my newest miracle.
