Gardening Is a Common Thread

I have joined a local Gardener's Roundtable. We meet at the library in Farmington. I believe I started going in March or April. I had not heard of the group until My Dear Friend Michelle asked me if I wanted to join. I think I only missed one or two meetings.

The group is a cross section of ages and abilities. Some folks have been gardening for years and have massive gardens.Some have only gardened for a few years,and there are others like myself,who have only done it for a couple of years and have small gardens. The purpose is to exchange ideas and knowledge. You can imagine I don't say much! But I listen carefully. We have had visits from Dr Tomato,a couple who has and sells geodesic greenhouses,a food canning discussion with a representative from the UNH Cooperative Extension Service,a seed swap,garden tour,and My Dear Friend Michelle gave a demonstration on how to build worm bins and discussed worm composting ( she loves her worms! Hi Michelle!!!!). A couple weeks ago,we had a potluck dinner. Everything had to be made from something we grew. At first,I was going to make a zucchini/summer squash casserole,but since I have never made one before,thought better of it. I didn't want to make this poor group my guinea pigs! So I made Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots. All the food was great! I never thought of getting filled by vegetables,but there were so many different kinds of dishes that it wasn't difficult. One of the nice things about our little group is learning from others. Michelle and I sat across from this older couple,Carl and Kay. I guess that they are in their late 60's to early 70's. They live on this wonderful piece of property,over 50 acres,that one has to drive down a long driveway to get to.They are in the middle of nowhere,yet not far from anyone,really. They haul water for their many massive gardens from a pond on their property,and work all day outside.Their gardens are so large that they would drain their well water. We discovered that they spin their own yarn,and weave their own napkins,dish cloths,etc. They are such a fascinating couple.

The folks in the group vary,but the thing that brings us together is our interest in gardening and being more self sufficient. We mentioned possibly in the winter months expanding the agenda to include candle making,soap making,etc...things that folks can do for themselves. Next month,we will discuss problems we had with our gardens,and see if anyone has had the same issues and what they did to resolve it.We are also going to watch "Food Inc" at our November meeting, I believe.

It is wonderful to connect with people in groups such as this.Not only can you exchange ideas and learn new things,but you can also find new friends, sources for bartering,getting veggies,eggs,or other homemade goods. Everyone wins!