Genesis 2:5-6

"And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth: and there was not a man to till the ground; but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."

"The making of the heaven and the earth in Genesis 2:4b, above is not described, but assumed,"[9] indicating that these verses refer, "not to origins of the heavens and the earth, but the sequel thereof."[10] "When they were created" means "literally, in their being created."[11]

"These verses refer to a past time in creation, particularly the time of the third day,"[12] and a portion of that day before vegetation with fruit-bearing trees appeared. The interesting statement that no plant was in the ground, and that no herb had sprung up appears to indicate that the seeds were in the ground for a period of time before plants appeared, giving the Biblical answer to which came first, the plant or the seed. It was the seed. The ability of the seeds to lie dormant for even millenniums of time is apparent in the variety of Egyptian wheat, recently developed from seeds buried long ago in the tombs of the Pharaohs.

The coming up of a mist from the ground to water "the whole face of the earth" was an event preceding the springing up of the vegetable kingdom.

"And there was not a man to till the ground ..." Adam did not appear until the sixth day of creation, and it is the third day spoken of here. Just as Genesis 2:5,6 gave further details of the third day of creation, the next verses provide further information regarding the work of the sixth day in the creation of mankind.