This time last year we had yet to dig the first shovel full of dirt. Now we may soon have to start a waiting list of gardeners for our second year of the Berkeley Lake Community Garden. The support and enthusiasm for our little garden has exceeded anything I could have expected. I do not know if I could count the number of times someone has said to me what a wonderful thing it is to have a community garden in Berkeley Lake. Our success is probably best measured in how many new friendships were formed, rather than the amount of produce any of us actually took home. The camaraderie of sharing the work, some plants, some good laughs and ideas has been a rewarding experience. We were not without our tomato hornworms and squash vine borers, but not a one of us gave up our plot for this year. I think now that we all have the gardening bug (no pun intended) we would like to continue and improve what we started.

We are just getting underway for this year having just had a workday at the beach. Not only did we accomplish a lot of cleaning up and some gardening maintenance, but also in that one day we doubled the number of committed gardeners from last year. As of this writing we have space for only a few more gardeners. If necessary we will keep a waiting list. Last year we did have a couple of people who could not garden, so there is always that chance a spot will open up. Even if we do not have any more space to offer, it would be helpful to know just how many more people are interested. It may be just the ammunition we need to support our argument for more gardening space. Here we are just in our second year and having growing pains already.

This year we had hoped to make our little plots bigger. We found out only too quickly that a 4'x8' space did not hold as many plants as most of us tried to fit in them. Instead, we have even more people gardening, which is fantastic. Of course we all hope that corner of the field by the beach is going to be a lush garden utopia come summertime, but if not, that's okay. We are going to have a good time trying. As always we appreciate your comments and support. Come see us.