b'The New Victory GardenBy Melissa Erickson moved to their garden togardening is also a productiveresearch on the plants that will T he attraction ofprovide food.and relaxing activity that makesthrive well in your local area, More Content NowI like to say we are not atthis trend feel like a win-win forWeber said. We know it can war this time, but then againtime at home.be tempting to buy seeds for home garden- we are waging a war againstI think a large percentageanything youd like to eat, but ing coupled withthis virus and we all want aof the population has been ona little research will go a long anxiety aboutvictory by being successfulthe fence about trying homeway in getting you the results food supply in a pandemic hasin our gardens, Blazek said.gardening, and the recentyou want. resulted in a renewed interestWhat better way to spendpandemic has been the tippingThe main consideration is in victory gardens. some free time while at homepoint where many people havethe sun. It seems as though theyvethan sprucing up your outdoordecided OK, its time to tryFor a beginning gardener, been making somewhat ofspace and planting somethingthis gardening thing out, saidjust go with the basic knowl-a comeback for the past 10to feed you and your family?Shelby DeVore, founder of theedge that vegetables need sun years since the last reces- Victory gardens are makingblog Farminence. to grow, Blazek said. Yes, sion, when a lot more peoplea comeback during this timeGardening is some- there are some vegetables that wanted to grow their ownfor a lot of reasons, saidthing nearly everyone cancan grow in less than six to food to save money, saidgardening enthusiast Emerymanage, and no experience iseight hours of sunlight per day, Diane Blazek, executive direc- Weber, a senior industrialnecessary.but for a beginner, go with the tor of the National Gardendesigner with Fiskars who hasYou can begin as large orsun. Youll be more successful. Bureau. But of course, untilhelped create their garden andas small as you want or as youThe second thing is the now, there was no reason toyard care tools. Gardeningfeel comfortable, Blazek said.growing medium. call it a victory garden. Now,vegetables and herbs can helpIf you dont have the spaceBuy or make a good quality its again a way to save moneypeople cut back on their timestart with one small (but notpotting soil and make sure you and also ensure a food supplyat the grocery store, while stilltoo small) container.fertilize as needed, Blazek that is both good and healthy.ensuring they have fresh itemsYou can have one containersaid. Check resources for When COVID-19 hit, manyto work into home-cookedor 100. Just depends on howexactly what and how much, feared they would not be ablemeals and at-home cock- much space you do have andbut if you have good soil, fertil-to visit grocery stores so theytail hours. At the same time,what you want to grow. Thenizer and of course water, you buy some potting soil and ahave a great start. few plants and youre off to aCheck your plants daily. great start, Blazek said. Your vegetable plants will Just go for it. Dont over- give you clues as to whether think it, DeVore said. Yourethey need some help, DeVore going to grow some plants thatsaid. If you only check them are going to look awesomeevery other day or every and be super productive. Youthree days, you may miss those may also grow a plant or twoclues. Look for wilted leaves, that doesnt turn out so hot.yellowed leaves and stems, Thats normal, and it may notHVSTTIH\x03JVYMX\x03SV\x03S[IVW\x10\x03ERH\x03even be anything that you did.pests. If you notice signs of Often a planting failsa problem or your plant just because of things that maydoesnt look right, look it have been out of a gardenersup and seek help. Dont wait control, she said. around to see if the problem Take the time to do a bit of\\IW\x03MXWIPJ\x126 JULY-AUGUST 2020'