Learn to Grow is more than class

By Eric Barrett

OSU Extension

There is no better way to learn than by doing. Getting your hands in the soil, planting a crop and then eating the foods you grow are rewarding experiences.

We’ll help make vegetable gardening easier by answering your questions along the way — all summer long.

OSU Extension is partnering with the Mahoning Valley Food Policy Council to host Learn to Grow: Vegetable Gardening as part of the Local Flavor programs offered by the council.

The council is a collaboration of a number of organizations in the Mahoning Valley that work with local foods. They are helping to sponsor this event into its second season.

The program is more than a class. It’s a conversation. It is time for hands-on learning and getting individual questions answered. It is a visit with neighbors and friends to learn to grow a vegetable garden and to improve your current gardening skills. It’s a community activity.

This program will take place at 6 p.m. each Monday from May 13 through July 15. The public is invited to meet with us at the “garden of the week.” The program and questions usually last about two hours. Each week we will see what is growing in different community gardens all over the city of Youngstown.

Things you will learn by attending:

Get more production out of your garden.

Learn better weed control methods to save time.

Expand your garden with new plants and varieties.

Tell the difference between the good bugs and the bad ones.

Learn about new plants and crop possibilities.

Meet like-minded gardeners and share with them through the season.

We ask that you bring a lawn chair for seating and a notepad or journal to take notes.

Also, don’t forget to bring your sick plants for diagnosis or your weeds for identification or ideas for controlling them. We’ll help you understand what the problem is in your own garden and how to solve that problem with a reasonable solution.

The program starts next week at Iron Roots Urban Farm at 820 Canfield Road in the Idora Neighborhood. Be sure to park at the cell tower near Glenwood Avenue.

On May 20, the program goes to St. Pat’s Community Garden at 1420 Oak Hill Ave.

For a complete list of each Monday night’s location, see our flyer at: http://go.osu.edu/LearntoGrow.