We live in a dry area and I use pots to grow them in because the ground is rocky. There are lots of deer so even if I did grow them in the ground they would get eaten up. I have the pots upstairs on a covered outdoor area. Pretty low fuss and easy to keep up with since I never know what will grow and what will not. Right now I have garlic and beans growing. I did find some okra seeds in an old box. Based on the slip of paper that was insdie the plastic bag of seeds, they were given to me from a local gardening club about 10 years ago. So that was a fun find. I planted about four seeds and they are growing in a pot outside. So that's been another sort of surprise. I guess seeds can stay viable for a long time.