“Recession gardens”are reaping more green thumbs and greenbacks
WNYers planting recession gardens instead of flowers
Anthony Rodgers looked out over a few small patches of dirt in the yard of his Wheatfield home and announced a change of plans for this year’s garden.
“I had impatiens there, some snapdragons, I usually do some marigolds. I was going to put rose bushes,” he said, pointing. “But this year I’m thinking peppers— hot peppers—some tomatoes, carrots. Maybe I’ll do some pumpkins.”
Rodgers is one of many Western New Yorkers getting back to his roots with what are being dubbed “recession gardens.”
Reminiscent of World War II’s “victory gardens,” many people are looking toward home fruit, vegetable and herb patches as a practical way to save some cold hard cash on grocery bills.
Rodgers, a carpenter, isn’t sure what this year’s business season will bring, with new home construction all but grinding to a halt throughout the country. He considers a tidy backup food crop something of an insurance policy.
And he’s not alone. Local spring seed sales sprouted 50 percent over last year.
“People who are losing their jobs, getting their hours and wages cut, they’re going to make sure they have food in their freezers to feed their families,” said Bob Turnbull, owner of Turnbull Nursery and Garden Center in North Collins, which was founded in 1880. “My dad always told me, in times of stress, people will gravitate toward food and edibles instead of ornamentals.”
In fact, demand for vegetable seeds has grown so much, suppliers have reported they’re running out of such staples as peppers and tomatoes. There’s been a virtual run on blueberries. And wholesalers said they haven’t seen such demand for seed potatoes and onions in three decades.
Retailers have begun routinely adding 25 percent to standing orders. Still, many who waited to increase their garden orders are being told they just can’t get their hands on certain products — and seed racks are sporting empty gaps to prove it.
Garden centers report seeing lots of new faces, many trying their hand at gardening for the first time. And classes on vegetable gardening and food storage offered at Menne Nursery in Amherst have doubled in size.
“At any given time you can go back there and find four different couples picking through the seeds,” said Gary Sokolowski, owner of Menne Nursery.
MoneySmart: Gardening With Gary
With a single $1.99 packet of tomato seeds, growers can expect to see 30 to 40 plants, yielding roughly 15 tomatoes each. That compares to $2.99 per pound of greenhouse-grown vine tomatoes at Wegmans.
A study by W. Atlee Burpee & Co., maker of Burpee Seeds, claims every $50 spent on gardening supplies reaps a $1,250 return in produce annually. Burpee is even selling something called Money Garden Kits; $10 worth of assorted seeds which promise to grow $650 worth of vegetables on just one-tenth of an acre of land.
This year, seven million more households will plant a home garden than last year, according to a report by the National Gardening Association, culled from seed sale data and telephone interviews. That’s nearly double the 10 percent increase in home gardening that took place from 2007 to 2008. One in five respondents to the same survey said they planned to start a food garden in 2009, while more than half said they were already gardening as a money-saving measure.
“Families aren’t spending the big money on the big vacation. They’re staying at home. They’re nesting,” said Turnbull.
Michelle Obama, following in Eleanor Roosevelt’s first-lady footsteps, is falling in line, too, planting an extensive vegetable garden at the White House.
Just as the victory gardens of yesteryear were meant to spur self-sufficiency, when 40 percent of American produce sprang from home gardens, today’s recession gardens are a way for tempest-tossed consumers to feel more grounded and reassured.
“In a scary economy, even if it’s more work, people want to feel like they’re doing something, like they’re in control,” said Charles Lindsey, assistant professor of marketing at University at Buffalo’s School of Management.
The therapeutic effect gardeners claim to reap digging in the dirt can also be beneficial in turbulent times. Considered by many to be a relaxing pastime, gardening continues to be recommended by doctors as a stress-relieving activity.
“You keep reading about all the bad things that are happening in the news,” said Rodgers. “When you get out into the garden, you’re focusing on something else. It gets your mind off of everything.”
Another plus experts believe is factoring into home gardening’s popularity is the ability to control food quality and content.
Recent salmonella and other bacteria scares associated with everything from spinach to pistachios has many consumers worrying what can happen to their food as it makes its way from the field to the dinner table.
And while a heightened sense of awareness about the ill effects of pesticides has many people craving organics, some have found organically grown groceries to be cost-prohibitive in stores.
Whatever the reason, gardening advocates are just happy more Americans are getting back to basics when it comes to the food they eat.
“It’s fun, you can do it with the family and you have a product at the end,” said Sokolowski. “Nobody questions it’s a great thing to do. The economy being the way it is is just a great excuse to try it.”
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