Grow your own produce to pare grocery costs

Massive unemployment, home foreclosures, a downward spiraling stock market and an ever-growing number of multibillion dollar corporations lining up for more multibillion bailouts. You don't have to be Chairman Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve Board to realize that our country's economy is in its worst condition since the Great Depression.

Why this talk about our faltering economy in a gardening column? Good question. Historically, whenever our economy has gone into a deep recession, new vegetable gardens have sprung up like dandelions. And it's happening again.

The National Gardening Association's 2007 annual survey found that Americans increased spending on vegetable gardening by 22 percent over 2006. And that was just in the early stages of our recession. Given what has happened to the U.S. economy since the last quarter of 2008, would you care to guess what percentage of increase there will be this year?

I was a child of the Depression, but we never lacked for plenty of good, nutritious food because my parents always grew a large garden. Mom canned hundreds of quarts of fruits and vegetables each year.

But the Depression mentality stuck with my parents even after good times returned. Before my father died in the mid-1970s, they were still growing far more food than they could possibly use, and Mom was still furiously freezing and canning.

The day of my father's funeral, Mom announced, "We have to freeze the rest of the spinach." I told her to just forget it, but she looked stunned and asked, "What would your father think if we let it go to waste?" Needless to say, we picked, washed and froze all the rest of the spinach shortly after breakfast.

Maybe I have retained a vestige of Mom's Depression mentality. Even today, I cannot bear to leave uneaten food on my plate. And I grow a much larger vegetable garden than we need, but I rationalize that it's just because I love gardening. And, of course, there's the satisfaction of sitting down to meals any time of the year and finding that a substantial part of the food on our table comes from my garden. In these uncertain times I believe that growing a part of our own food just makes good sense.

BEGIN VEGETABLE GARDENING THIS YEAR: If you are not already growing some of your own vegetables and small fruits, there are sound economic reasons why you should. While having a vegetable garden won't automatically cut your grocery budget to the bare bone, it will certainly help.

NO ROOM FOR A GARDEN?: According to a recent Garden Writers of America's survey, we spend much more money on our lawns than on vegetable gardening. A lot of folks could cut back on growing grass and use some of the space for growing food.

The bottom line: If you have a spacious lawn, you have space for a vegetable garden.

NO SPACE FOR A GARDEN?: However, if your home sits on a tiny lot or you live in an apartment or condo, there may not be room for a garden. Consider these alternatives:

* Work with a few friends to share a garden at one of their homes.

* Make a deal with a nearby friend to garden in his or her yard and share the produce.

* Explore the possibility of creating a community garden at your church. This is also a great opportunity for community outreach by offering surrounding residents a garden space.

* Garden in containers on your patio, deck or balcony. Many vegetables and small fruits will produce abundantly in containers.

PLAN FOR GARDEN PRODUCE YEAR-ROUND: In addition to providing food in season, gardens can provide food long after the growing season ends. Here are some possibilities:

* A number of vegetables can be easily frozen, including peas, corn, green beans, peppers, broccoli and peppers. Also consider growing strawberries and raspberries to freeze.

* Onions, potatoes, turnips, garlic and winter squash can be successfully stored indoors for several months.

* Carrots, leeks and parsnips are crops that can be left in the ground during winter. By covering them with a foot of fall leaves, they can be dug whenever you need them.

* There are even more possibilities if you have a relative or friend who will teach you how to can your vegetables.

There's an old saying that I would amend to read: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" -- and start growing a garden to help cope with the recession.

* Gardening columnist Jim McLain can be reached at 697-6112 or ongardening@compwrx.com.

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