hmmmm..."Garden Grubby" sounds like a new fashion trend. I like it! For once I'll be in style.

This is actually my first year gardening, but it doesn't have anything to do with the recession. It's more because it was too tough to start one when my daughter was so little...esp because we are starting from scratch. She's 2 now, so this year it's going to happen!

As much as a recession sucks, I think things like gardening and cutting back on non essentials is a great side effect.

Kel

I'm expanding my garden. It has grown a little larger each year. I'm going all the way to the fence! I need a bigger yard!

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This was a few weeks ago.

Your garden looks wonderful new2gardenfl!

Yep. Lowes is seeing an uptick in seed sales as well as soil and containers already. This weekend the rain killed a lot of outside sales, but the seed racks had to be restocked today.

I heard a similar trend last year, so I'm not surprised. I guess I'm part of the trend, although it was actually part of our long-term plans anyhow. But, I will say I felt more justified in spending money on our fruit trees and veggie seeds than I would have if this year's plan had been more shrubs or roses - those would've had to wait, I think.

Thanks nckvilledudes!

there is a resurgence in vegetable gardening due largely to the high prices of produce in supermarkets and due to environmental awareness. People now want to grow their own food and feel good about this. There is renewed interest in backyard farming, producing your own compost and a number green related activities. You might find a number of younger generation engage primarily in vegetable gardening. However this interest in urban farming is at the expense of the ornamental gardening which could be considered luxurious in this economy. So we should expect to see a number of greenhouse growers specializing in unusual plants to be affected by this.

There will a simplified approach to gardening and because of this I feel that there will be a downtrend on garden accessories and fancy soil enhancers. So other horticultural industries that support the 'well designed' landscaped garden, will be affected. People will start seeking what is cheap and easy to use.

Ianna

Ianna - I agree, to a point. My veg garden was started last year for exactly those reasons, and while I did not track how much I saved, I was really pleased with the quality!! That said, I am now frequenting some 'new to me' growers, for things such as sweet potato slips, etc. I have revisited my affair with Stokes and Richters!! I will still troll through my favourite nurseries, but my eye is on the bottom line as never before. Even so, most nurseries here don't start all of their own plants, they order in from elsewhere. I have to imagine that the profit margin on your own seedlings would be much higher than the imports.....perhaps this will change some dynamics in the greenhouse. Perhaps they will switch to growing more of their own seedlings, thus enhancing the bottom line, while maintaining or even improving diversity. My favourite nursery brings in the hort. students from the local community college, and they're pretty knowledgeable for newbies. Just a couple of random thoughts.

Nancy.

I grow vegetables mostly because I love to grow vegetables. My sister told me once that Daddy would have thought I was the only one of his children who had any sense, because I am the only one who gardens. I grow all the things I like, and many things I don't like, (like broccoli), because my DH and kids like it. I love to grow tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, onions, and I always give a ton away.

But for me, flowers are food for my soul, and I would never be able to do without them. I propagate a lot for my own use, and I always root extras. If I have good cuttings, I stick it. I can't seem to throw a cutting away. I plant a lot of seeds, especially seeds of new things. Seeds are the best deal on the market.

Sometimes I can't believe all that is in the greenhouse. But I never think it is too much. I can always find a place for it. AND, there is always my montra....

"If there is room for a weed, there is room for a flower!"

Janie

Everything you people have said here is how I stocked the store where I consult, and also my private business. Although I have had only 2 vegetable garden clients, everyone is wanting rain collection systems, better looking gardens (spending more time at home), and I have seen a huge surge in the interest in organics.
My two seed classes for veggies - normally full have doubled, there are news stories on Victory Gardens. I went to a class about hatching baby chicks and there were about 40 people there (normally there are 10) and the beekeeping class I took was full. Seed sales at the store are amazing. We've stocked twice this year and yesterday it was looking pretty thin again. I did purchase a TON of discount pottery because I am also estimating that apartment and condo dwellers will be in on the act!
Myself, I just added an extra 80 square feet to my front yard vegetable garden this week (but it's not full like new2gardenf's beautiful garden -that's some nice cilantro!)
and because I've had so much work for others, we can now afford to get our back yard done! The other half of the front yard and 1/4 of an acre of "edible forest" - fruit and nut trees with lots of perennial food plants growing under it - cisterns and solar pumps for watering!

Newtogarden2, that is a beautiful little garden. I have always advocated that anyone, no matter the size of their yard, can have a little vegetable plot with ornamentals interspersed in their yard. You will be amazed at what you can grow.

Mowing grass is a waste.....I do it about three hours a week so I know. So is string trimming...........hate that.

I am always surprised by how many buy soil amendments. Maybe it is just the difference in soil types in various parts of the country. When I want new space, I just do the lasagna thing or till. Things grow just fine. Of course the Ozarks doesn't have very sandy or clay soil (just rocks) so that would make a huge difference. It seems so expensive to have to buy the amendments.

This year every time I have shopped for seeds locally, they are out of what I want. I wanted something very simple, calendula, to plant in the vegetable garden and didn't find it at three different places. I now have a list of other places to check.

I think it reflects on more people gardening and buying seeds.

Thanks gldno1.

I still keep the veggies in the back because the neighbors dog "waters" everything in front. I don't mind because he is such a sweet dog, so I plant flowers in the front.

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We have a local mushroom farm that sells their compost for $5 for a truck load. It is pasteurized so it has no weed seeds. I believe they use manure, straw, peat and gypsum. I usually add some micronutients to up the nutritional value of my veggies.

Even after all these years, for many of us, only the name has changed: from Victory Garden to Recession Garden.

Well Michelle Obama has brought the idea of vegetable gardening in the forefront. I hope the industry tries to capitalize on this.

I have always gone against the tide here, mostly because my chief interest in gardening is purely ornamental, with roses and other shrubs at the top of my list. Gardeners here tend to be mostly of two kinds: old timers who are into vegetable gardens only (that's the traditional way in Portugal) and middle class people who came to this less urban area still within easy commute from the capital city and can't tell the difference between a lettuce and a flower. These have bought the new homes that have been *developed* here and their gardens are usually a lawn with a few palm trees. People like me, who are into ornamental plants, are a rarity.

Personally, I have nothing against vegetable gardens, but I simply do not have enough room to grow one, plus the flowers I'm really keen on. I also have a dog who is a compulsive marker, so eating things out of the ground is, well, not advisable. Another factor to consider is the high cost of water here. A vegetable garden requires a lot of water to be successful, and water is an expensive commodity here. If I add up the cost of water to keep a vegetable garden going here, I probably save money by buying the vegetables instead of growing them. True, quality is a differentiating factor and home grown things simply taste much better and we know what we are eating. That's more of a plus to me than actually saving money, which I don't believe I would if I grew vegetables (we are talking about a family of two only).

I am also spoiled by the fact that this being still a rural area I can get fruit and vegetables from local people at reasonable prices and with less or no chemicals than those found at supermarkets. For example, all Winter long I have managed to get fresh oranges, straight from the tree, delivered to me at 50 cents (of the Euro) per kilo. We have drunk freshly squeezed orange juice every day for a fraction of the cost that would take me at the supermarket.

I'm happy to see the renewed interest of people in the US for vegetable and fruit gardening, something that has not been lost here. Give a plot of land to a Portuguese, and he/she will grow a vegetable and fruit garden. Period. Food is too important in our culture to behave otherwise and we have always been a poor people, so people have always grown "victory" or "recession" gardens, even though they have no idea they are doing it :-). Nice to see North Americans have rediscovered at least some part of their piooner spirit too.

Eduarda

Eduarda, when I was in Barcelona for a few months nearly a decade ago, we'd shop the local markets for fresh food. If I had those sorts of places here, I would only be growing tomatoes rather than cukes, squash, beans, etc. I'd have more room for the flowers that I love so much.