Banking on gardening
The media is abuzz with stories on food prices and how a growing number of people are looking to trim their grocery bills this summer by growing or expanding a garden. KGI's own Roger Doiron was recently featured on local TV for his family's efforts to create their own produce section in their modest suburban backyard.
In today's New York Times, food writer Marian Burros reports that it is a trend that has come as a surprise, even for those working in the garden industry:
Seed companies and garden centers say they didn’t see the rush coming. There wasn’t any buildup last year, said Barbara Melera, the co-owner of the D. Landreth Seed Company in New Freedom, Pa., who takes the pulse of gardeners at the 13 garden shows she attends around the country each year.
“We pack for all the shows and bring 16 different beans, 10 packets for each kind,” Ms. Melera said. In earlier years, by the time the shows end in March, she said, “we are lucky if we have sold two of the 10 packets.”
“This year,” she said, “we sold out the first show and literally sold hundreds. We never sell any corn; this year we sold out of corn by the end of the season. We saw the same thing in the mail order business.”
She said the greatest demand was for what she calls “survival vegetables”: peas, beans, corn, beets, carrots, broccoli, kale, spinach and the lettuces. “It was so different from what it has been in prior years,” she added.
Whether all these first time gardeners turn into long time gardeners will depend on their first experiences. Hopefully, some of them will find their way to KGI's community where they can connect with others willing to hold their hands, offer advice and consolation when disaster strikes, and share in the joy of that first bountiful harvest.
