URI Cooperative Extension gardeners offer green suggestions and advice
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| URI Cooperative Extension gardeners can offer novice growers helpful suggestions and advice. (URI Photo / K. Curry) |
For novice gardeners looking to break ground this spring, University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension gardeners say there’s always a good reason to get outside and grow.
Shanelle Haile’s career brought her around the world, but
her efforts in her own backyard gave her a place to experiment with social
issues at a condensed size. Haile spent six years working in Washington, D.C.,
and abroad as a development officer and advisor with the U.S. Agency for
International Development.
Her community work here in Rhode Island led Haile to join URI’s Food Recovery for Rhode Island program last year, to explore how food systems intersect with the environment. Her current work focuses on economic mobility and workforce development. Gardening at home with her family has helped improve her own bottom line in a quickly measurable way, she said.
Haile, of Cranston, recommends cherry tomatoes for a
first-time gardener. Tomatoes are a resilient plant that can forgive many
mistakes, she said.
“They are also a great way to build your confidence as a
gardener,” she said. “I recommend new gardeners plant an herb or flower around
the tomato plants to gain experience with a different plant, draw in
pollinators, and deter pests.”
Haile said basil and marigold are highly resilient plants
that are easy to grow and beneficial to one’s garden. In addition, peas, beans,
and other legumes are low-maintenance plants that can add nitrogen to the soil
(see Cooperative Extension’s Rhode
Island Planting Calendar for more).
Contain yourself
Providence resident Paula Donovan, a URI Master Gardener
(Class of 2024), said you can go smaller if backyard gardening seems too
intimidating at first. Donovan participated in a recent workshop at the
Rochambeau Library in Providence, and says using containers is a good way to
step into gardening. She suggests starting small with either potted herbs or
cherry tomatoes, or trying a raised bed with herbs—especially if you like
cooking with them.
Donovan and other URI Master Gardeners are leading workshops
across the state this spring, offering first-person instruction in gardening
basics, with a few programs happening during Earth Week: Getting the Most Out
of Your Produce Garden, East Greenwich Library, April 21; Container Gardening,
Wanskuck Library in Providence, April 23; and Bugs and Pests Workshop,
Wanskuck, May 28.
Haile and Donovan are among tens of thousands of state
residents who’ve connected with URI’s Cooperative Extension, which provides
informal education and learning opportunities to people throughout Rhode
Island. The program delivers science-based educational programs and services to
help people in every corner of the Ocean State.
Master Gardeners also tell new gardeners to roll with the
punches and enjoy the twists and turns that the gardening journey may bring.
“If you fail at growing a new kind of plant, try growing it
several times more before giving up on growing it,” said Laura Lopata, an
executive coach and advisor based in Manhattan and Hope Valley and a Master
Gardener from the Class of 2021. For perennials and trees, she counsels to be
sure something is truly dead before digging it up. “I have had many things come
back the next season or the season after that, much to my delight,” she said.
Don’t be in a rush to neaten up the garden too early
“Warm spring days make it tempting to head out and tidy the
garden, but those ‘messy’ old stems are actually important habitat for bees and
other beneficial insects,” said Sejal Lanterman, URI Cooperative Extension
educator. “These pollinators play a critical role in the success of our
gardens, whether you are growing fruits, vegetables, or flowers. If you do
clean up, try cutting stems to about 12 to 15 inches so they can continue to
provide shelter. Gardens can support a lot of biodiversity with simple practices
like leaving leaves in beds and planting native species. And since temperatures
can still drop through May, delaying cleanup helps keep these beneficial
insects protected during chilly nights.”
For further advice on planting or to consult with a URI
Master Gardener, contact the URI Gardening and Environmental Hotline at
401-874-4836 or gardener@uri.edu.
URI
Cooperative Extension programs offer environmentally-friendly,
science-based programs for garden and food enthusiasts of all levels. The next
cohort for Food
Recovery for Rhode Island takes place in September. URI also
offers a Home
Horticulture Certificate and the Master
Gardener training, which both start at the end of January.
Applications open in August for the 2027 sessions. To get on the Cooperative
Extension email list for program announcements, email coopext@uri.edu or call (401)
874 -2900.
