Let’s be honest—every gardener has, at least once, stared lovingly at their tiny raised bed and thought, “If I just had a few more acres…” You know the fantasy: morning dew shimmering on your rolling fields, a sunrise symphony of birdsong, and the gentle hum of your fully loaded tractor as you heroically plow, till, mow, and tame your very own wild frontier.

Yes, deep down inside every gardener lurks a wannabe farmer—complete with a flannel shirt, muddy boots, and an irresistible desire to own a tractor with more attachments than a Swiss Army knife. We dream of box blades, PTO tillers, and bush hogs like kids dream of candy. It starts with a tomato patch and ends with you explaining torque ratios to strangers at the feed store.

But getting back to nature isn’t always the smooth ride it appears to be in those glossy tractor ads. Sometimes it’s more like a sitcom set in a hayfield—with squirrels in the engine, YouTube tutorials that don’t match your model, and, of course, a surprise swarm of yellow jackets that didn’t get the memo about your land.

In her delightfully chaotic tale, “You DEFINITELY Need a Tractor!”, Debbie Morris takes us along for the ride—literally—as she upgrades from weed whacker to horsepower hero, thanks to a persuasive X-ray tech, a budget-friendly tractor named Jin-Ma, and a cast of rural characters that’ll make you laugh out loud. There are glorious victories, mechanical mysteries, and at least one moment of high-speed panic through a field of angry insects.

So if you’ve ever wanted to trade your trowel for a tiller, or if you’ve simply wondered what would happen if a determined gardener got a little too close to the farming dream, this story is for you.

Click here to read the full story in our July 2024 issue.

And remember—when life gives you weeds, you might just need a tractor.