Fair attracts young growers

FINDLAY — The Farm Products table at the Hancock County Fair carried a different kind of energy this year. Mixed among the Hubbard, acorn and butternut squash were entries from a surprising number of young gardeners, kids and first-time growers who said they were inspired by parents, grandparents and the rising cost of food. For longtime gardeners, it felt like a revival. Fair volunteer Linda Finsel said young people, many new to fair entries, showed up with a variety of produce. Finsel is the superintendent of Farm Products at the fair. She is a Master Gardener volunteer and past president of the Findlay Garden Club. She said the Mr. and Mrs. Potato Heads category, for children age 8 and younger, was also popular this year. An entry for "tallest sunflower," grown by a youngster, was also brought to the fair this year, Finsel said. "The children come in just gleaming and wanting to show everyone their entry," she said. "I am just so pleased to see all the new young people." Finsel said she asked several first-time entrants what made them want to participate. Many pointed to family. "They remember their mother, or parents and mainly grandparents gardening and having entries at the fair," she said. "Something the grandparents did that intrigued them." For her, the renewed interest in gardening echoes the same motivations behind the Victory Gardens of the World War II era; the national push for families to grow their own food, including beans, squash, potatoes and other staples. By 1943, Americans had planted about 20 million Victory Gardens, producing nearly 40% of the country's fresh vegetables. The effort helped families supplement their food supply and support the war effort. With grocery prices rising, Finsel said, people are returning to gardening for many of the same reasons: resilience, thrift and pride. Finsel said Victory Gardens have been a popular topic among Hancock County's Master Gardeners this year, as Rob Biolchini, another Master Gardener volunteer, prepares for a public lecture on the history of Victory Gardens at the Hancock Historical Museum, 422 W. Sandusky St., at noon on Oct. 1. The program is part of the museum's Brown Bag Lecture Series. The fair table always reflects the season's quirks. Tomato entries were down, she said, because the plants struggled in this summer's cooler, rainy weather. "They need a hot, dry season," she said. "They just didn't come on early enough." Squash, however, surged. An early start gave plants time to establish before the squash borers arrived. Growers brought in Hubbard, acorn, butternut and turban squash. One variety — tromboncino, a long, curling member of the zucchini family — was new on this year's table, Finsel said. Red potatoes were up from last year, and rhubarb entries increased as well. She said blue ribbon rhubarb requires careful preparation: pulling it from the base, trimming the leaf tops to uniform length, and ensuring the stalks are clean and free of bug bites. "I guess people are still growing rhubarb to make pies or rhubarb crumble. I grow rhubarb, but I never get enough for a pie. The bugs eat it," she said. She said green beans made a strong showing, too, helped by the ability to plant multiple rounds throughout the season. And for the first time, Finsel, who has been tending her garden plot since 1986, succeeded in growing a watermelon! It took third place. "I was very proud of it," she said. "And I think that's what people bring it for — just the pride of growing." She said the wet summer helped her watermelon thrive, and she still has a few left on the vine. Finsel said she tries to encourage gardeners to keep going, even when a season doesn't go as planned. "Don't give up," she said. "You can always learn from your mistakes and succeed."