If you visited a grocery store in the past few weeks, you probably noticed that the prices for vegetables has increased significantly.  The increased vegetable prices shot up last month after cold weather in the southern U.S. and Mexico.  Now high gas prices could keep them up there.   There is a way to avoid those higher prices.  Grow your own vegetables!   Even if you've never grown your own food, high produce prices just might drive you to give it a try.

"Really all you need is a piece of ground, a container, or anything like that, anything you can fill with potting soil. Or you can do it in a raised bed garden. We really like that," said Lee Richter, Program Assistant with Lucas County OSU Extension.  You don't want to use dirt from your back yard.

Richter says now is the perfect time to start preparing for your garden. Most vegetables shouldn't be planted until after May 15th. But there are plenty of cold weather veggies you can get in the ground right now. They will be really to eat in June.

"You can plant peas, spinach, beets and all your lettuces right now. These vegetables like it cool," said Richter.

OSU Extension recommends you begin your gardening adventure by testing the soil to check it fertility.  OSU Master Gardeners or Extension educators can walk you through the gardening process and answer any other gardening questions.

Richter says, “People have trouble with their tomatoes, or they get a fungus, or something like that and we're here to help and its free and we'd love to have people come visit us."