Victory over recession: more households take to food gardening

Alina Ever picked peas on a drizzly afternoon and beamed.

"I planted four varieties this year," she said. "I love peas. I cannot have enough peas."

Ever embraces abundance. She doubled the size of her home's garden plot this year.

"Part of my motivation was saving money and preserving more foods through the winter," she said.

Ever, 47, shares a house in Floyd County with her partner, Chris Deerheart, and land with two other families.

An abundant garden serves several purposes, she said.

"I have so much that I'm able to give food away, and that feels good. And some of my friends really need it."

Recession gardening

The National Gardening Association's research found that about 34 percent of food gardening households say their decision to grow this year has been motivated by the recession in some measure, ranging from "very much" to "a fair amount." The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. sponsored the research, titled "The Impact of Home and Community Gardening In America."

The association considers food gardening to include the growing of vegetables, fruit, berries and herbs. Ever grows them all.

Regionally, impressions shared by retailers, growers, food gardening advocates and others seem to support the organization's findings.

Sales of tomato plants sprung up this year and are springing up still at the Lowe's Home Improvement store on Rutgers Street Northwest in Roanoke, according to the location's live nursery specialist. Andy Smith said customers last year purchased about 74 tomato plants but have bought nearly 900 so far this year.

In addition, Smith said, shoppers, in unprecedented abundance, have browsed for and snapped up other vegetable plants and herbs, as well as gloves, seeds, rakes, hoes, fruit trees and a host of other home gardening products.

"Many of the customers are just trying to spend less at the grocery store and save money by making fewer trips to buy groceries," he said.

Craig Fishel, a spokesman for Home Depot's southern division, confirmed similar trends. Successful planting promises the potential to harvest both fresh foodstuffs and savings, he said.

According to the National Gardening Association's research, "the average 600-square-foot garden can produce an estimated 300 pounds of fresh produce worth $600 and a return of $530 based on an average investment of $70."

Of course, growing costs can include, among many other expenses, payments for water if not on a well, seeds, tools, renting or buying a tiller, fencing, fertilizer and hours of tending. Deer and other critters can exact an emotional toll, though Ever accepts their foraging.

She blithely tithes a percentage of the vegetables to the bugs, deer, rabbits, moles and groundhogs (although she might stake out a fence next year).

The animal kingdom contribution is another reason to plant a big garden, Ever said.

"And seeds are cheap," she said.

Kristin Grilli is a spokeswoman for the Burpee seed company, founded in Philadelphia in 1876 by W. Atlee Burpee.

Grilli said Burpee's sales reflect increased interest in vegetable gardening.

"Folks are looking for ways to save money during the recession, and growing your own produce is one of the ways you can save," she said.

As of March, Burpee's vegetable seeds and transplant sales had increased 30 percent when compared with 2008, Grilli said. Sales also sprouted higher in early 2009 for seed starting kits, she said, "suggesting an increase in first-time vegetable garden customers."

The company's top 10 seed sellers have been green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, lettuce/salad greens, peas, hot and sweet peppers, carrots and sweet corn, she said.

Not just money

Yet saving greenbacks isn't the sole reason Ever or many others in the region have planted food gardens at home or in community plots.

Tim Belcher, owner of Rolling Meadows Farms and a vendor on the farmers market in downtown Roanoke for about 20 years, said sales of vegetable plants have doubled this year and he has sown additional crops to meet demand.

The sagging economy certainly motivated some buyers, Belcher said. But many customers also report concerns about whether they can trust produce trucked in from miles away, he said.

"There is definitely an economic factor. But I think there is equal demand created by people who want to know the food they eat is safe," he said.

Sheri Dorn, a Roanoke-based extension agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension, offered a similar observation.

"People are interested in fresh, nutritious food they can feel comfortable about eating," she said.

In recent years, contamination of foods, including spinach, peanut butter and ground beef, has caused death and widespread sickness.

Going organic

In addition, consumer demand is up for organic and locally grown produce and meats. A study released June 10 by the Organic Trade Association and KIWI magazine found that three in 10 U.S. families indicated they are purchasing more organic foods than they were a year ago.

This trend has been driven by personal health choices, worries about pesticides and industrial agri-business practices, desires for freshness and flavor, support for local growers, reduction of transportation-related carbon emissions and even concerns about access to food on the heels of a terrorist attack.

In the New River Valley, friends Jim Garden and Greg Tew purchased a beefy Grillo tiller this year to help start gardens for friends and family, as well as people who have lost their jobs.

Tew said his own motivation to garden is not recession-driven.

"Personally, my garden is more about learning how to grow food than it is about saving money," he said. "So far, my gardening efforts are more expensive than buying in the grocery store.

"But, the more I read about agri-business, the less trust I have for the quality and sustainability of food produced in massive, far away, farms," he said. "So, it just seems prudent to spend some time learning how to grow tasty, chemical-free, food in the back yard."

Victory gardens

Gardening relaxes many people and provides a wholesome activity for families on a tight budget.

And then there's the thrill of that first harvest, Dorn said, and a sense of empowerment during an era of uncertainty.

Americans planted "victory gardens" in the midst of both World War I and World War II -- motivated by patriotism, food shortages, demand for foodstuffs to feed members of the Armed Forces and other influences.

First lady Eleanor Roosevelt championed victory gardens during World War II and planted one at the White House.

In March, Michelle Obama started a food garden at the White House and many people, including Ever, believe she inspired others to get their hands dirty.

The first lady has promised that the whole family will pull weeds.

Dorn said food gardening can provide a sense of comfort and accomplishment during tough economic times.

"We needed something that would really boost us all, and gardening can do that," she said.