Hartville residents explore vegetable gardening

With Northeast Ohio wages, in many cases, failing to meet the rising cost of groceries, one logical counteraction could be vegetable gardening.

Heather Neikirk, an Ohio State University Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources and Stark County master gardener director, noted a tradeoff, however: money saved but time and effort expended. Even then, savings might be modest because American farms efficiently produce food, she said.

A garden is inexpensive to start despite the cost of tools.

“Lots of fancy tools are unnecessary,” Neikirk said.

Cheap alternatives are available at discount stores and garage or estate sales. Moreover, community gardens often sell discards at a bargain. Although individuals tailor purchases to their needs, most want a spade, garden rake, garden fork, hand trowel, stirrup hoe, bucket, wheelbarrow, and watering container, hose or drip irrigation. A rototiller lessens the chore of tillage.

An extra but worthwhile expense is a $15 soil test kit, payable in cash or check, at Neikirk’s KMG Center Louisville office. Stark County residents should call 234-348-6001 to arrange pickup. The kit includes instructions, and Neikirk interprets test results at no additional charge.

Seeds offer an opportunity for thrift. For 14 years, OSU Extension has partnered with the Stark County District Library main branch and the Stark County Fair to distribute free vegetable and ornamental seeds. Last year’s distribution, surpassing 25,000 packets, showed the program’s popularity.

Another frugal practice, requiring caution, is saving seeds from one harvest for the next year’s sowing. Some seeds come from hybrid plants. Hybrids are valuable because they display traits superior to the parents, but seeds saved from these hybrids often lack those traits. Instead, they revert to parental traits, dashing hopes of retaining hybrid superiority in later generations. Seed saving works best with non-hybrids that breed true, producing consistent traits over generations.

Potential drawbacks should not discourage Hartville residents, whose “muck” soils Neikirk praised. This dark land, rich in organic matter and nutrients, once made Hartville Stark County’s foremost vegetable producer.

“Hartville has a rich history of vegetable growing,” she said.

Because local gardens nourish vegetables and fruits of many types, residents should grow what they like. Neikirk noted that her fondness for green beans makes them prominent in her garden. She also urged gardeners to adapt what they plant to their soil and locale.

Loose, sandy ground, for example, helps root crops such as carrots and potatoes enlarge their subterranean portions. Among potato varieties, flavorful Yukon Gold is popular in Stark County, as is Luther Burbank’s Russet potato. Many red varieties, including Red Pontiac and Red Norland, also flourish locally.

Because Ohio has cold months that arrest plant growth, beginners should plant after Memorial Day, when the danger of a late frost has passed, Neikirk said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture publishes a hardiness zone map to help gardeners match crops and planting dates to their locale. A soil test also guides crop choices. Gardening books at the library offer another source of information. Neikirk, who likes Canadian gardener Niki Jabbour’s Groundbreaking Food Gardens (2014), encouraged patrons to consult a librarian for recommendations.

Beginners should also avoid “irrational exuberance,” a term American economist Alan Greenspan coined in 1996 to warn against an overvalued stock market. Likewise, an overextended garden can overtax muscles unaccustomed to toil.

“Start small,” Neikirk advised.

Pots of herbs, for example, are popular and manageable. She recommends buying plants the first year rather than seeds, which require experience and skill to germinate. As confidence grows, gardeners can experiment with companion planting, crop rotation and winter cover crops while expanding their space and crop diversity.

Neikirk invites the public to Gardening Made Simple, an OSU Extension–Stark County District Library program on Friday, March 6.