OHIO — As grocery prices, including eggs, remain at high price, many consumers are wondering how to better access fruits, vegetables or other garden-variety goods.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes March 18 as National Agriculture Day. The Metropark has tips for those Ohioans who are looking to start their own “Victory Gardens” for this summer. 

What You Need To Know

  • March 18 is National Agriculture Day

  • Victory Gardens began during World War II as a way to conserve food supplies
  • Many consumers are seeking ways to access healthy ingredients as grocery costs rise

  • There are multple plant combinations to try this season

The name of the gardens goes back approximately 80 years, when United States’ citizens were encouraged to garden at home in an effort to preserve food during WWII. Originally called “Liberty Gardens,” they were soon renamed as “Victory Gardens” once it seemed the allies and the United State would win the war.

At the end of WWII, approximately 40% of produce for the country came from these home gardens. 

The first step is gathering supplies. The first step is to get materials, but not the seeds as many may think. These are the materials necessary for planting, maintaining, and tracking the plants, such as:

  • Hand tools: trowel, soil knife, hand pruners

  • Large tools: shovel, hard rake, garden fork

  • Gardening hose with adjustable nozzle or water wand (measure distance from your water tap to where you plant to plant your garden to ensure your hose is long enough)

  • Measuring cups and spoons

  • Plant labels (these can be plastic or wood)

  • Notebook or digital recorder

  • Gardening gear: gloves, hat and sunscreen

USDA ranks states across the county on a Plant Hardiness Zone Map. The latest data came from 2020 for a 2023 map. According to that map, Ohio has four zones for plant hardiness. To measure, USDA calculates the 30-year averages of the lowest annual winter temperatures at specific locations, divides those into 10-degree Fahrenheit zones, which are then further divided into 5-degree Fahrenheit half-zones.

Ohio has four zones: 5b, 71, 6b and 7a. By looking through these zones, gardeners and farmers are able to determine when they should begin transplanting seeds, or sprouts, to the outdoors when gardening.

(Courtesy USDA)

Five Rivers MetroPark said it is important when determining the location of your garden to determine areas that receive sunlight. Most plants will need approximately eight hours of full sunlight each day. 

The park also gave suggestions on plants to try when creating your garden, but said it is important for gardeners to grow what they want to eat.

Among the suggestions were: two large tomato plants, one cherry tomato plant, three pepper plants, five bean plants, one yellow squash or zucchini, three basil plants, six lettuce plants and six spinach or green plants.

For those who lack the space to create a large outdoor Victory Garden, Five River MetroPark recommends seeking out local community gardens around the area. In fact, most of Ohio's major metros have multiple programs, including Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.