Just behind a family home, in a backyard on the Eastside of Syracuse, there is a white blanket of snow sitting atop a tarp covering a raised bed. The soil underneath is shielded from the harsh Central New York winter conditions.
Grocery prices rose almost 3% in the last year, according to the Consumer Price Index, leaving many Central New Yorkers searching for other ways to eat good. For some, the answer is growing their own food.
Syracuse summers may allow growth, but the winters bring frozen ground and withered leaves. However, the time to prepare for spring gardening is right now.
“This is the planning phase…doing your research, knowing what it is that you want to have to get growing, and even [mapping] out a date that you want to start sowing seeds indoors,” said Charles Madlock, the founder of Nourish Syracuse, a community initiative educating Central New Yorkers on community gardening.
New gardeners can get a jump on the growing season by identifying the space and crops they hope to grow next season. This could include developing and researching a crop plan and purchasing the seeds ahead of time.
“It's like future thinking, right? You're getting excited about what's going to go in the ground and you're like dreaming about the summer and like all the delicious tomatoes you're going to eat.” said Micah Orieta, the food systems and network building organizer with the Syracuse Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SAFSA), “And especially in the like gloom and doom of winter, like having that excitement for the future that you're sharing with folks in the present can be so nourishing.”
For those who have experience growing, it is important to cover gardening beds to protect fertile soil from winter weather. Gardeners should avoid materials with ink or adhesives on them because they could harm the soil long-term.
Taking preparative measures now allows Central New Yorkers to take advantage of the season, even with such a harsh climate.
“You need to know what you want to grow. You need to know how long it takes to grow. And what I would traditionally do, once you know how long it takes to grow… you start working backwards,” said Madlock.
Aspiring gardeners don’t have to work alone. Besides non-profits like SAFSA, free online resources like the Cornell Cooperative Extension can offer guidance to new growers.
“So don't let the thought of growing intimidate you because there is help out there for people. And I want people to be mindful that they're not in this alone,” urged Madlock, “And like, as long as people know, like, there is somebody there to help them, like, yeah, people are willing to try.”
Gardening journeys can even begin in the winter months through indoor growing.
Crops like herbs can grow well indoors with a grow light, says Orieta. The smaller output is a great way for new gardeners to gain experience while preparing for a larger operation in the spring.
“Growing especially herbs indoors is like such a treat because then it's like, even if you're not, right, harvesting like a huge bounty of vegetables, you get like the pleasure and satisfaction of knowing that something that you put effort into and grew with your own hands is going into the food that you eat,” said Orieta.
Growth lights start at around $15 and are available online or at local growing supply stores.
