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In
tough times, some try growing own veggies
Seed
company sees sharp rise in sales
The
Daily Gazette
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
By
Kathy Bowen (Contact)
Gazette Reporter
CAPITAL REGION —
The owner of a local seed company says his sales grew for the first
time in 15 years and he speculated that many people are looking to
beat the high cost of groceries by planting gardens this year.
“It looks like a lot of people are reverting to the idea of a
victory garden,” said Lance Bentley, who owns Bentley Seeds in
Cambridge. Victory gardens were grown during World War I and II to
supplement the nation’s food supply.
“Sales for home gardening have been flat or even declining over the
past 15 years, but we’ve seen a great increase in sales this year,”
Bentley said.
Bentley’s seeds are sold mostly as private label seeds for Dollar
General chain stores as well as under custom packaging for profit
and nonprofit companies, he said.
“Dollar General customers tend to be low- and lower middle-income
people who garden more than the affluent,” he said. “But other sales
are increasing, too.”
He said trends toward organic food and interest in environmentally
friendly pursuits also seem to be raising the number of people who
want to grow their own food.
Sharon DiLorenzo of Capital District Community Gardens said most of
the nearly 1,000 garden plots available through her organization
have been reserved for this year.
The nonprofit has 48 gardens in Schenectady, Albany and Troy.
“This is the last week to sign up for a plot, but we don’t have many
left,” she said. “I’m not really surprised, considering the high
cost of food.”
DiLorenzo said reservations for community garden plots are available
beginning in January. In April of last year, there were still many
openings in most gardens.
The gardens vary in size from six plots, on Barney Street in
Schenectady, to 57 plots on Normanskill Farm just off Delaware Ave
on the banks of Albany’s Normanskill Creek.
DiLorenzo said the average plot is 500 to 600 square feet or about
20 feet wide by 25 to 30 feet long.
“You can grow up to $1,250 worth of vegetables in a plot that size,”
she said. “Even if you want to start by dabbling in gardening, a
couple of tomato plants in some pots can give a great return without
too much time and effort.”
She said finding a sunny spot is the key to locating a garden.
“Wait until the trees leaf out before deciding where to plant
vegetables,” she said. “It’s an economically feasible way to put
food on the table. Seeds and seedlings are inexpensive compared to
food in the store.”
Bentley said the high cost of fuel has people looking around their
own yards as a hobby as well as a source of fresh vegetables.
“People aren’t traveling as much and they’re paying more attention
to the home,” he said. “Our sales increases have been primarily in
vegetables, but also in flower seeds to a degree.”
He said leftover seeds are in most cases not viable after a year in
storage.
“Tomatoes, peas, beans and corn would probably be OK from one year
to the next but onions and lettuce don’t keep well. It’s best to
throw them out rather than waste your time,” he said.
Frank Pemberton is a master gardener for Cornell Cooperative
Extension in Saratoga County and a resident of Saratoga Springs.
He said most people will find it difficult to grow enough food to
make a big dent in their grocery bill unless they have a significant
amount of time to devote to canning or freezing their crops.
“We are getting a lot more questions about gardening and if people
see it as a hobby with benefits rather than a major food source, I
think they’re being realistic,” he said. “Some people may grow
enough salad for a few dinners, but they’ll feel good about beating
the system even if it’s just a little bit.”
Whitney Wallace at Agway of Ballston Spa said seed sales have been
brisk this year, but it will be at least a week before live plants
will be in the store, which will be the true test of how many people
are interested in growing vegetables this year.
“It’s too early to put live plants in the ground. Most growers won’t
think about outdoor planting until the second week of May at the
earliest because of the danger of frost,” she said.
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