When my wife and I bought our house in Kerhonkson about ten years ago, the first thing we did was choose the garden spot so we could start digging in to the soil. We never really wanted a garden at the apartments that we rented, but once we owned our little corner of the planet, we got right to work.

Neither of us had ever really done any gardening, so we bought some books to get us going, but the real joy started when we had our hands in the soil—when our knees became rooted with the ground as we weeded, nourished and planted.

We quickly had the idea that we should be gardening with our friends, so we tried to set up a plan to have rotating weekends at each other’s gardens—many hands make light work. I think we had one or two gardening days at a friend’s house, but the idea quickly wilted for a variety of reasons.

This season, however, the idea has sprung back to life. We are planning to garden with at least five other friends, with each weekend spent on a different property. We will each bring a little something to the table. I plan on sharing what I learned in the Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program, focusing each month on a new variety of tasks.

If you’d like to join us all for some gardening fun, and possibly get your property into the rotation, just reach out to me and we’ll see how we can work together (countrywisdomnews@gmail.com). As I’ve heard a couple of times already recently, “It’s going to be a great spring!”

As always, send us your stories, ideas, and thoughts. We’re always looking to share.

–Chris Hewitt, Publisher