"Quit talking about it and just grow something."

-- Justin O., paraphrased

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it.

I'm on the verge of being overwhelmed by all I don't know. There is SO MUCH to learn about agriculture, about agrarianism and rural life and connections to Scripture and St. Isidore the patron of farmers and Amish agriculture and ecosystems and SO MUCH. It seems I add a new book to my "to read" list daily (I have an entire bookshelf already filled with ag-related books, only a few of which I've completed yet). There is so much wisdom and knowledge out there. There are so many individuals who have done amazing things with the land.

Yet -- God's hand is what enables this all. We cannot grow plants on our own. Our best efforts are in vain if He does not bless them. It is through Him that we have the ability to push a seed deep in the soil or research potting mix. And once we have done all we can do, exhausted our knowledge and resources in hopes of abundant harvest, it is our blessing to sit back and wait to see what He will do with what we have done.

Remembering that is like taking a deep breath when on the edge of hyperventilating. It's not me, it's Him.

Lucky duck.

Over the course of the last few months, I've worked in several different gardens: the East Nashville Cooperative Ministry (ENCM) McCoy community garden, the ENCM Bells Bend Cooperative Farm, Sulphur Creek Farm, and Paradise Produce. During this work, I've discovered a four-leaf clover in each garden and, on Friday, found not one, not two, but SEVEN lucky clovers while pulling radishes with Farmer Stacy at Paradise Produce for the Saturday morning farmers market in Franklin.

The literary analyst in me wants to declare that there is symbolism aaaaalllllll over these occurrences. Seven (luckiest number) four-leaf clovers (well-known sign of luck) in a day, accompanied by ladybugs galore? It has to mean something! Right?

I may never know if this is a symbol, literary or otherwise, of anything other than my own observational skills. However, there is in fact an agricultural basis behind the assignment of luck to four-leaf clovers and ladybugs. Farmer Stacy hypothesized that the presence of four-leafed clovers, which he notices often on his land, are a sign of soil fertility -- the clover plant is able to produce an extra leaf in response to high levels of nutrients in the soil. Ladybugs and luck also have a well-known garden explanation. These ladies voraciously consume aphids, a nasty critter that delights in gnawing on crops.

I am blessed to be working in such gardens that benefit most not from luck, but from the hard work and dedication of the men and women who are committed to loving the land and tending it well.

I'm pretty sure Thomas Jefferson addressed the idea of luck best: "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."

Amen, sir.

It all began with the Spring 2009 issue of The Local Table. Who knows where this will end?

I'm hoping it won't.