“People tend to get really excited,” said Bennett, who is the director of the State Master Gardner Program through Ohio State University Extension. “So pull the reins back a little bit and really look at what can you accomplish this year.”
That means start small, such as planting two or three tomato plants or two or three peppers.
“Think about what your family eats and what they like to eat,” Bennett said.
Then consider how the harvest will be used.
“Are you going to can or freeze, or do you just want some fresh tomatoes to pick off the vine and put in a salad or on a sandwich?” she said.
After that, pick a spot for planting. It should get at least 6-8 hours of sun (if not more), but that’s not all.
“A location that is well-drained, an area that you know you can clear the weeds and grass and what’s there,” she said. “That you can work the soil to put your plants in, and an area that is really close to a water source for when we get to the summer when it’s hot and dry.
“A lot of people get really excited in the spring about gardening, but they kind of forget about having to take care of it in the summer.”
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For those who live in apartments or lack much green space for cultivating, containers are a good option according to Bryna Chandler of Meadowview Garden Center in New Carlisle.
“Any tomato will work, especially the bush (varieties) like Celebrity,” Chandler said. “The Tumbling Tom variety grows great in hanging baskets. Strawberries do great in strawberry pots, hanging baskets, and porch pots. Some varieties of cucumber like the Burpless Bush or the Bush Pickle can also do well in container gardens on a porch or balcony.”
Window boxes can also sustain lettuce or kale as well as onions, chives and herbs.
“Any pepper does well in pots and containers, especially the California Wonder,” Chandler added.
For those who jump into the world of gardening this year – or those just looking to refine their skills – Ohio State Extension offers multiple resources, including weekly webinars via Zoom from 9-11 a.m. on Wednesdays.
Those can be accessed at http://go.osu.edu/gardenhelpline.
“Hopefully by the time we get to harvest, we’ll be able to teach classes on canning and freezing – all the kinds of things on how to preserve and how to harvest the vegetables – and then we have classes on how to pick and store and use the vegetables that you’re growing,” Bennett said. “OSU Extension can kind of cover the whole gamut from getting you started all the way all the way down to what to do with it.”
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