April – June Stark County can find FREE gardening help for Mom, Dad, kids + worms to earn a green thumb for 2021’s Spring and Summer.

If your family is hoping to perhaps keep their children’s Mother’s day plant alive this year; there is help!  The Ohio State University (OSU) Extension office of Stark County Garden Stark program, Stark County District Library, Stark County’s Master Gardener Volunteer Program along with Ohio Department of Agriculture offer online resources that are extensive.  There are fact sheets, photos, podcasts, videos available to view as well as free seeds.  This year about 8,300 seed packets will be distributed free to the public.

Step 1: Plan your garden

OSU Professionals report preparing a garden includes thinking about:

• Garden size
• Location
• Arrangement
• What to plant, & when
• Building a raised or bucket garden
• Having healthy soil & fertilizer
• Testing old seeds

Step 2: Start your garden

• Place an order for FREE seeds at Stark County Library online form, then select up to 25 seed packets from the list:
• 🥕Vegetables, 🌻Annual Flowers, 🌼Perennial flowers, 🌷Biennial flowers, or 🌿Herbs
• Go to Stark County Main Library when your order is ready for pickup.

Step 3: More in-depth learning

• 7 Gardening videos
• Fact sheets about best practices of growing 9 different vegetables and 6 fruits
• Free 10 am Thursday live zoom classes April through June covering topics such as:
  • Gardening
    • Earth Day
      • Seeding inside vs out
        • Cicadas
          •  Crop rotation
            • Animal manure
              • Tomatoes
                • Decor
                  • Garden Designs
                    • Oil & Vinegar from gardens

There are opportunities to become a Master Gardener Volunteer through a program that includes training in horticulture online.

Step 4: Victory Garden

The Ohio Department of Agriculture teams up with OSU Master Gardeners to create Victory Gardens throughout Ohio.  Director of Ohio
Department of Agriculture Dorothy Pelanda, explained, “We have seen a revived passion for planting through our Victory Gardens Program, which has expanded to 15 additional counties this year.  Our Ohio Victory Gardens are meant to be enjoyed by everyone, from urban apartment dwellers, to those living in the country, and everyone in between. We hope this will inspire a new generation of gardeners who will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor for years to come.”

Stark County is one of 25 counties in Ohio engaging in this program.  Whether your family has young children or adults, kids + worms can still earn a green thumb at any age.

 

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