Jesus was not joking when He said it was all about the soil.

Last week, Monday - Wednesday, we got 3 inches of rain. We went out to our garden on Friday and it was a big muddy pie. I figured we would not have to water until Monday at earliest. However, by Sunday our muddy pie turned into this...

Dry to the bone. Cracking all over.

Now with seeds, I have read, the key is to not let them dry out or else they will die and not grow. This sight made me nervous to say the least. Leslie had watered earlier in the day Sunday and hers too had dried out to this point. Amazing! What I now know, is that since our garden site is on a windy hill the soil will dry out a lot faster than if it was somewhere with natural wind protections in place. This is good stuff to know. I had also been told earlier that having raised beds will dry out your soil faster. So now we have the combo of wind and raised beds and we will have dried out soil a lot if we don't stay on top of it.

After one night, this is our soil. Not as scary as the first for sure.

Our broccoli is growing strong though. (Pictured after a good watering.) I thought it would be tough getting these guys rooted with their weak stems and the intense wind, but these have made made their roots go down deep and strong and they are here to stay! Our maggots mats are staying (for the most part) too!

Our onions are taking root too. (Pictured after a good watering.) These were by far the most fun to plant and easiest! Since these guys have all taken root, I have a lot of leftovers and if anyone wants some please let me know!

In this phase, I think the thing I am learning most about is the soil. It is SO about having good soil. Sometimes good soil is just the stuff you find in your back yard. Sometimes you have to work your tail off for some good soil. Our garden soil I think is the kind you have to work your tail off for. We have had to break our backs working to get it ready and now we have to work our tails off to protect it and maintain it. Again, just like we maintain our daily walks with the Lord.

I can definitely tell we will be learning about weeds/sin next. Being out in such a windy place too, I think our weed quantities are higher than normal. You can also see from our photos our new next fun step in detail. They are very tiny right now and can see how they will be a chore for the summer. Ezekiel will be a big help here and if we can help Jeremiah along, he will help too. Miriam though, she'll just have to play in the mud, :)!

This whole experience is definitely a good learning experience for the kids and I!

Side note: It makes me think once again how God said that people will know there is a creator even if no one told them. Just watching these plants grow, or for a jungle person somewhere, they too can watch the flowers and plants grow and see what the cycle is like and all the parts involved in making it happen. Amazing.

Second Side Note: The kids were all given plants from Pap & Trish this last Thursday and they too did not appreciate all the extra sun and were looking mighty sad yesterday afternoon.  However, we have since nursed them back to health and they are up and at em!  Yeah!  Thank you so much for the vi