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The ground is turned

The spring brings such a joy as it comes time to run my feet through the dirt of the garden.

This year took a bit more effort for me as my tiller was finding every reason not to run this year.

I had endured that last winter and turned the rows by hand. Sadly, it wasn’t as good as I hoped it might be.

It took my brother and I to give it a good tune up a couple of weeks back and it still had a hidden issue neither of us could find. It’s amazing how a small engine with only so many working parts could give one such a time.

A fellow gardening friend – Pete – thankfully had the tinkering abilities to get it going. Maybe it was the magic touch.

A warm day and a couple pulls on the engine and I was off tilling the garden giving it a solid treatment.

After letting the fertilizer sink in a couple of days, I was ready to plant.

I rotated my normal vegetables – cucumbers, yellow and zucchini squash, potatoes, green beans, corn, bell peppers, corn and tomatoes and added a few new to try out this year – spinach, lettuce, onions, cantaloupe and a couple of herbs – basil and thyme.

I learned many of my early gardening from my Grandpa Jesse and my mom and dad. It’s amazing what a little hard work, well cultivated soil, good seeds and some watering can provide.

When I was a child, my mother put up in jars so many vegetables from what we grew in our small garden. We often had food throughout the winter. With each passing year as a kid, I took great joy in seeing a greater yield in what we were doing.

Since I returned to the effort about three years back, unfortunately, I have not seen the return of those childhood yields. Perhaps I have forgotten a few of those early lessons which gave me such a childhood advantage. Or simply, my soil is so much poorer in where I garden today compared with what I had built up over time as a youth.

It seems I can manage a pretty good crop of cucumbers, squash and peppers, as those are what I have pickled, frozen and eaten the most through the winter from my efforts.

With the rising costs of food, that we all are seeing in the stores, I have high hopes that I will be able to be more effective this season in my endeavor.

I even tried a few experimental watermelon in a place I don’t normally plant. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

In any event feeling the fresh-tilled soil between my toes reminds me such of walking behind my grandfather as his plowed.

It’s not exactly the same, but I can almost see his Bib overalls legs up ahead of me as I look along the ground. I can hear his booming voice as he calls out for me to bring the seeds and walk behind him placing them just the right distance apart.

Then months later, I remember looking up at the corn so high above me head with the bean vines running up each one.

My seeds are in the ground, the watering will bring on what comes next and hopefully in a few months, all of my efforts will yield some great eats.

I hope you are taking the time to plant some food wherever you are. Even if its just a few plants on a patio. Every little bit helps and we all need all the help we can get these days.

A turning of the soil

I checked the oil in the engines, filled the gas, sprayed a little quick start in the carburetor. A couple of pulls of the handle and the engine was clicking.

Rolling it around to the garden, I began my efforts to break up the ground and prepare for seeding.

I had been waiting for window after rain was falling every three days. The ground had already broken from drying out after five days since rain.

It was hard at first but soon the tiller was making good work of the effort. After a few hours of turning, and some raking, the ground is ready.

Now I have to develop a new plan for what I will plant this season.

Last year was my first year back at gardening after a very long break. I always enjoyed the effort but I am using these new adventures to try new vegetables I have never grown.

I have found reconnecting with the soil, digging in the dirt, feeling the sun upon me, touches my soul. As I work, I talk, sometimes internally, sometimes out loud. I am speaking to the seeds I plant, the green that grows from them, and to God.

No matter what may be troubling my soul, the daily happenings, the news, the experience brings a peace that comes from that conversation.

Only reading the verses of the Bible have brought me a similar rest in my Spirit.

The touch of the earth upon my hands allows me to feel closer to God’s creation.

Seeing what springs forth this year I know will bring a smile to my face and allow me to reconnect to the feelings shared with each past generation in my family whose survival was dependent upon what survived to harvest.

If you do not already garden, I encourage you to make the effort this year. Even if it’s just a few plants in pots on a patio, please consider connecting to your inner farmer and reconnect with God’s gifts.

If you get more ambitious and turn your yard into an agricultural center, you might want to pull out your grandmother’s canning recipes too and brush up on those.

May the Lord bless your efforts in abundance!