NORTH DAKOTA (KXNET) — April begins Saturday, and gardening supplies are already popping up in our local stores.

Whether you’re growing flowers or veggies, it’s important to know the best ways to expand your garden.

So, what can help your garden flourish? You need to add stakes for your fruits and vegetables.

Some plants grow pretty tall and need a little support to stay off the ground.

This will keep the fruits and vegetables from sitting in a pile of dirt.

If they’re on the ground, fungi, bugs, and animals can easily get to them.

Staking can also provide support from windy areas, and as we know, wind is a very common problem in North Dakota.

“An alternative staking method is to use a tomato stake. You just pound it into the ground, make sure it’s deep enough so that it won’t blow over. It’s going to be supporting quite a lot of weight. Then you can use twine. I like biodegradable ones, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning up in the garden later and tie it off,” said Dr. Eva Worden from USDA.

According to the USDA, there are several ways to stake your garden. You can use one stake, two stakes, or even use a trellis.

To check out some options for yourself, click here to learn from the company, Eising.