by Bee Fisher Kocher During WWI and WWII Victory Gardens were a way for individuals to help in the war effort by growing vegetables and herbs to help feed their own family but it also helped relieve pressure off the public food supply. Few of us have enough room to grow enough vegetables to feed a family of four for an entire year but what we can grow helps us financially, medically, and emotionally. If you are new to Vegetable Gardening, here are a few tips to help you be successful. GOOD SOIL: If you can amend your Ohio clay soil in any way shape or form it will increase your success in the vegetable garden. Peat Moss, compost or organic matter (leaves and other plants that are or have decomposed)… all of these things help break up Ohio’s hard soil so it will be easier for your vegetable plants’ roots to work their way through the ground. This is important…. the more roots, the stronger your plant will be able to weather a drought or storms or let’s be honest, neglect. SUNSHINE: 95% of plants that produce some sort of fruit, vegetable, or edible part need at least 6 hours of sunshine a day, preferably the afternoon sun that is more intense. ROOM TO GROW: Those tiny little plants you buy or tiny little seeds you plant become Reynoldsburg Magazine • Spring, 2020 Veggies Growing Your Own Growing Your Own Food Is Rewarding In More Ways Than One Grow fresh vegetables in your own backyard. Amending Ohio’s clay soil is important. really big plants by the time they bear fruit. Tomato plants can be 4 to 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Measure your garden BEFORE you plant. WATER: Fruits and vegetables are mostly water, so guess what? the more water they receive in the growing process, the juicier and more tasty the end result will be. So if we don’t have rain for three or four days, you will have to water your newly planted seedlings. DAILY ATTENTION: I don’t mean every minute of every day, but at least check in on them…how do they look? dry? buggy? what’s that white stuff on the leaves? Is something eating the leaves or fruit? There are sprays to combat bugs and diseases but sometimes just eliminating the diseased leaves, keeping weeds down, and possibly picking off the bugs by hand (I know, it’s gross but necessary) will do the trick. Watering creates juicier vegetables. Bee Fisher Kocher and her husband, Brian, own and run Fisher’s Gardens in Olde Reynoldsburg. Each year their home garden has tomatoes, green beans, peppers, zucchini, and garlic. Share your bounty with neighbors and friends. 19
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