From Beth's Lips to God's Ears

During the summer of 2006 I had a spectacular vegetable garden. Multiple varieties of tomatoes, cabbage, garlic, onions, potatos, plus cucumbers, strawberries, tomatillos, and many herbs.

Then the rains came. October of 2006 was one of the rainiest ever. My vegetable garden was under water for weeks. A nightmare. I had to wait until January to plant garlic for 2007.

And when it came time to plant the 2007 crops, I discovered that the standing water had filtered my soil so that I had a hard crust that was almost undiggable. Spring and summer are the busy season at work so I could not devote enough time to get through the crust, and I ended up with no garden this summer. It was devastating.

Over this past weekend my friend Beth, who is a subscription farmer, offered to till my plot. When we discussed it in detaill, however, she decided that it had to be opened up first since the tiller wouldn't get through that crust. "How can I do that?" I begged. Her suggestion was that I wait for a rainstorm, or run the sprinkler, and then work the moistened soil.

And so last night it rained. Beth's lips to God's ears. And this morning I got almost half of the garden opened up.

Things are looking up for the summer of 2008!