Knoxville, TN — Walk into a SODELA gardening meeting and you’ll notice something right away. Before anyone talks about soil or seeds, people are hugging, laughing, asking about each other’s kids, catching up in three or four different languages. That’s the real heart of this program. The vegetables are almost a bonus.
This week, SODELA officially kicked off its 2026 Community Gardening Project with an orientation organized by the SODELA volunteer team. The event drew a full room of eager participants — neighbors of all ages, many in beautiful traditional attire, ready to jump into a new season. Some had been part of the project for years. Others were there for the first time, a little quiet, taking it all in. By the end of the meeting, you couldn’t tell the difference.
The SODELA team shared the plan for the months ahead, and there was good news for returning gardeners: everyone keeps their old plot. That might sound like a small detail, but for people who’ve spent hours fixing their soil, figuring out what grows best in their corner, and putting their own personal touch on the space, it means a lot. Tilling will happen in April. Planting starts in May. Simple, clear, and something to look forward to.
The Second Harvest Program is also back for another year, in partnership with Beardsley Farm. Five people were selected this season, and that’s by design. SODELA rotates new members into the program each year so more people get the chance to take part. Nobody stays in forever, and nobody gets left out forever either. It’s a small thing, but it tells you a lot about how SODELA operates — fair, steady, and always thinking about the next person in line.
The SODELA volunteer team is also leading the work behind the scenes — handling plot allocation, resource distribution, and translation. That last part matters more than people might realize. When half the room speaks a different language than the person presenting, translation isn’t a nice extra. It’s what makes the whole thing actually work. Everyone deserves to understand what’s going on, and SODELA has always taken that seriously.
So the 2026 season is on. Tilling in April, planting in May, and a community already showing up for each other before a single seed hits the ground.