NORFOLK, Va. — Since the pandemic, gardening has become one of the most popular hobbies in the country, with 55% of American households maintaining a garden.
Norfolk resident Rebecka Quintero started gardening two years ago.
“Everything that I grow, I grow from seeds,” said Quintero. "So I really get to see it come to fruition when I get to harvest something."
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"I got into gardening because my husband was getting ready to get underway with his ship,” said Quintero. "He was in the Navy and he wanted to give me something to do while he was gone."
She started with tomatoes and kale. This year, she decided to add more, including a carrot bed.
"I really enjoy growing carrots because I find the ones at the grocery store are kinda flimsy,” said Quintero.
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After a year of growing under her belt, she's expanded her garden, which now includes garlic, onions, lettuce, beets, spinach, green beans, strawberries, and more.
She’s part of a growing number of Americans who took up gardening during the pandemic, according to a recent survey by Bigger Garden.
If you’ve been thinking of digging into this growing hobby yourself, the Norfolk Botanical Garden offers classes to get you started.
“[The classes teach] anything from starting seeds on your own, putting in container gardens, how to attract hummingbirds to your garden, the best trees for the area,” according to Les Parks, Director of Horticulture at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
Parks recommends starting small, especially if you live in an apartment or small space.
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“I would start with containers because they can move with you as you need," he said. "They also don’t take up a lot of room, so you can put them on the patio or the balcony."
He tells me peppers and tomatoes are a good place to start since they're easy to grow.
If you’re looking for additional free help in the garden, you can reach out to the Virginia Cooperative Extension. It's a great resource for everything from testing your soil to keeping pests from eating your plants.
