Plant sale at Crown Point attracts budget-minded gardeners

Chris Drenski was asking a lot of questions as he perused the vegetable plants at Crown Point Ecology Center on Saturday.

Drenski has planted gardens in the past, but this year he has more time to devote to it, and he was careful to select plants that would produce best for him.

''I'm laid off right now,'' Drenski said, explaining that he lost his job as an electrician in Cleveland earlier this year.

So, in addition to having extra time to spend in the garden, a good harvest will help with the food bills, he acknowledged.

Drenski, of Euclid, said he heard about the sale from friends at his church in Hudson.

Vegetable gardening is on the rise this year. According to the National Gardening Association, the number of U.S. households that plan to grow a food garden is expected to increase to 43 million, up from 36 million in 2008.

The association's survey showed that the ailing economy is the main reason for the increase, as people look to their backyards as a way to cut their grocery bills. But others are gravitating toward gardening out of a desire for fresh locally grown foods.

It was for that reason that Kelly and Bruno Dabramo of Granger Township came to the sale. They are starting a garden this year to have healthier food for themselves and their son, Colombo, 2.

With all of the food recalls and scares of recent years, Kelly Dabramo said, she was drawn to the Crown Point sale because all of the plants are certified organic.

The Dabramos selected tomato, basil, eggplant and cantaloupe plants and were searching for watermelons, which their son wanted to grow.

Lisa Mercanti of Stow said this is the first year she has the space to plant a garden and she was anxious to get started. Last year, she had to be content with planting in pots.

''The organic part is the most important for me,'' Mercanti said. But she said the potential for saving on food costs was also important. ''That's always the hope, to be able to produce and be less dependent on the grocery store,'' she said.

Crowds at the sale were steady Saturday morning, despite a threatening sky and occasional rain.

Crown Point increased the number of plants it offered for sale this weekend by 40 percent over last year, director Chris Norman said.

In years past, the two-day sale was often sold out by the end of Saturday, leaving Sunday customers disappointed, he said.

Because of the increased interest in vegetable gardening this year, Norman said he felt it was important to have more plants to sell. So Crown Point leased greenhouse space at Hale Farm & Village for additional plantings.

Norman said the larger number of seedlings means that visitors to the sale Sunday should still find plenty of vegetables from which to select.

All of the plants are certified organic, grown from seed at Crown Point, and many are hard-to-find heirloom varieties.