Did you know? April is National Garden Month!

Here are our top four ways to celebrate:

1. Get started on your own garden! Whether you are new to growing your own foods or have several years under your belt, a great place to start is by visiting Extension's A Taste of Gardening. This website has loads of information on planning, composting, planting, dealing with insects, and more!

2. Try a container garden! If you are short on space for a larger garden, another website may meet your needs instead - Successful Container Gardening! Learn all about making herb and vegetable container gardens to fit into your smaller space.

3. Use fresh herbs in the kitchen! Try one of our new recipes, Cucumber Dill Yogurt Dip with Vegetables. It calls for fresh dill and is the perfect snack for spring. If you have a recipe at home that calls for dried herbs and you want to try it with fresh herbs instead, the change is simple! 1 teaspoon of dried herbs equals about 1 Tablespoon of fresh herbs. Give it a try and let us know how it went on our Facebook page or by sending us an email.

4. Learn more about using SNAP benefits to grow a garden. Did you know? If you receive SNAP benefits, you can use them to purchase seeds and plants to grow food for your household to eat! A helpful toolkit can be found here, and you can find stores that accept SNAP benefits here. To learn about how to apply for SNAP benefits in Illinois, visit here.

If you have questions about gardening, contact your local Extension office for more information.