Get gardening: Local experts offer tips for success

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Dr. Candy DeBerry starts lettuce in her basement before transplanting it outside.

Courtesy of Dr. Candy DeBerry

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Volunteers work at East End United Community Center’s garden in 2022.

Courtesy of Dave Meredith

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Margaret Sams’ garden at her home in Peters Township

Courtesy of Margaret Sams

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Garlic is seen growing in Dr. Candy DeBerry’s garden in North Franklin Township. The garlic was planted in October and will be harvested in July.

Courtesy of Dr. DeBerry

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The community garden at East End United Community Center in Uniontown gives local youth the opportunity to learn about gardening.

Courtesy of Dave Meredith

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Whether you have a green thumb or are just plain green when it comes to growing plants, there are ways to improve your gardening skills.

Margaret Sams is a master gardener with Penn State Extension in Washington County, as well as a soil scientist. She said anyone looking to create a garden needs to have a plan going into it.

“I think the best way to start is to figure out what you want to grow. Don’t grow something you don’t like to eat because it will just rot. Find out what the yield of different plants will be,” Sams said.

As for the actual planting, Sams and fellow master gardeners Dave Meredith and Laura Delach all agree the quality of the soil is going to play a major role in how successful a garden is.

“The soil is probably the most important. If you have a good soil base for your plants, a lot of things won’t happen. You won’t have disease and insects. If you can’t do anything else, make sure your soil is good,” said Delach, who is also with the Washington branch of Penn State Extension.

Meredith is a master gardener in Fayette County, and also volunteers much of his time at East End United Community Center in Uniontown. He helps maintain the community garden.

He notes that organic material to fertilize the soil is likely already available in your backyard.

“The organic material is things like mulched leaves. Run them through your lawnmower. If you break it down, it dissolves a lot faster into nutrients plants can use,” Meredith said.

For a more detailed understanding of the overall health of your soil, Sams recommends paying $10 for a soil test from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

“Follow the recommendations that you get back. They come back in less than a week. It’s interesting to see what state your soil is in,” Sams said.

Another important point is to understand the limits of your abilities and knowledge.

Meredith said many people get “big ideas” and end up biting off more than they can chew.

“A five-gallon bucket might be the place to start,” Meredith said, adding that you just need to drill some drain holes in the bottom of the bucket and buy some potting soil.

Dr. Candy DeBerry, program director of biochemistry at Washington & Jefferson College, agrees.

“Always, always, always start very small. Much smaller than you think,” DeBerry said. “It’s going to be more work and a lot more thought and learning than you anticipate. It’s very easy to have it be more than you can handle.”

Learning is part of what makes gardening an exciting activity for DeBerry. She points out numerous books and other resources are available to educate and guide your gardening journey.

However, as with anything else, beware the internet.

“The amount of misinformation I see people sharing on gardening on Facebook is scary. How do you sort it out if you don’t know? If you’re going online for your information, go to some reputable web pages and reputable YouTube channels and get your information from people who know and who have been studying this for decades,” DeBerry said.

A favorite of DeBerry is Joe “Joe Gardner” Lamp’l. Lamp’l hosts Growing a Greener World on PBS, and has a wealth of resources available at joegardener.com. He also hosts a podcast and YouTube channel.

“He is very, very fact-based. He really does the reading of the research before he talks about it … He is actually one of my go-to sources to keep up with what is happening in the gardening world,” DeBerry said.

No matter how much you prepare, don’t worry: Something will go wrong. DeBerry says failure is expected, and not to fret over it too much.

“There are a lot worse things than a dead tomato,” DeBerry said.

Delach said a pitfall for amateur gardeners is not knowing when certain seeds should be planted.

While temperatures are still inconsistent, you can begin planting crops like lettuce, onions, beets and kale. Those are “cool crops,” according to Delach.

Once temperatures are regularly in the 50s or above, tomatoes, beans and peppers can be planted.

For those who have been getting crops such as lettuce started from seed in the basement, it is almost time to prepare to transplant them to the garden.

“Once this cold snap passes, lettuce should be fine,” DeBerry said.

The weather forecast suggests it should be much warmer this week, so if you haven’t started the lettuce, it is OK to start planting seeds directly into the ground.

Other crops more tolerant of the cold, such as onions, leeks, spinach and shallots, are safe to begin the transplanting process.

Also, don’t be shy about picking the food as it grows.

“Sometimes the more you pick things, the more you get. The more you pick your beans, the more the plant will produce. I don’t think people always think of that,” Delach said.

Meredith said you should not underestimate the size of the plants, either. Leaving little room between plants can lead to trouble down the road. However, with a little experience you can learn how to maximize your space.

“Sometimes once you get used to it, you can cheat a little bit … Spinach comes up and goes away in six weeks. You might be able to grow a crop of spinach between your tomato plants,” Meredith said.

If you are wanting to put down perennials or ornamental plants, DeBerry says do so with caution because you could be introducing foreign and invasive species to the region.

One example is the Callery pear, also known as a Bradford pear. DeBerry notes they are not native to North America, and are “terribly invasive.” They have a “disagreeable odor” and are not used by wildlife.

She warns that even if you think your Callery pears will be fine, they won’t be, and that gardeners have a bigger responsibility than “do no harm.”

“We don’t have that luxury. We’ve destroyed way too much. We have to not harm, but actually heal. One of the best ways to do that is to plant natives,” DeBerry said.