With the recession in full swing, many Americans are returning to their roots - literally - cultivating vegetables in their backyards to squeeze every penny out of their food budget.
My husband planted green peppers and tomatoes last year. It was our first garden at the townhouse. It didn't go super well, but it went well. We did get a lot of herbs, but there is a significant amount of shade and water drainage is an issue due to the slope of our tiny yard. But I think he plans on putting more in the garden this year, and I'm happy about this.
Industry surveys show double-digit growth in the number of home gardeners this year and mail-order companies report such a tremendous demand that some have run out of seeds for basic vegetables such as onions, tomatoes and peppers.
"People's home grocery budget got absolutely shredded and now we've seen just this dramatic increase in the demand for our vegetable seeds. We're selling out," said George Ball, CEO of Burpee Seeds, the largest mail-order seed company in the U.S. "I've never seen anything like it."
Gardening advocates, who have long struggled to get America grubby, have dubbed the newly planted tracts "recession gardens" and hope to shape the interest into a movement similar to the victory gardens of World War II.
The National Gardening Association estimates that a well-maintained vegetable garden yields a $500 average return per year. A study by Burpee Seeds claims that $50 spent on gardening supplies can multiply into $1,250 worth of produce annually.
A new report by the National Gardening Association predicts a 19 percent increase in home gardening in 2009, based on spring seed sales data and a telephone survey. One-fifth of respondents said they planned to start a food garden this year and more than half said they already were gardening to save on groceries.
I know we're not in April yet, but keep in mind April is National Garden Month. With a tough economy and concerns about global warming, pollution, and health on the rise, April is the perfect time to kick off some new habits that address these issues, while making your lifestyle healthier and your community stronger.
Locali Conscious Convenience Stores is taking grab n' go to a whole new level. The new convenience store is encouraging its customers to Think Globally While Acting Locally and with so many delicious offerings the prospect doesn't seems too difficult.
According to CEO Horos, the small-format, environmentally-focused hybrid grocery and convenience market "will be a hip version of the mom and pop corner store. Locali will also be a place for people in the community to connect with each other and their food sources. There will be an emphasis on local and organic food artisans, producers and growers in the inventory line up. However, refined sugar, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and genetically modified products will be missing from the shelves," he says.
Locali conveniently connects the community to eco-friendly food, beverage and lifestyle products. By providing easy access to socially and environmentally responsible goods, Locali promotes conscious consumerism and healthy living.
Is it true, can there be organic food out there that is cheaper than regular? TreeHugger seems to think so and they wrote about it on their site. Of course I have to share with you, but please check out the source.
Here is an exciting excerpt:
Take beans, for example, a staple of frugal cuisine. At a Safeway in Boulder, Colorado, a 15- ounce can of O organic black beans costs $1.05. On the same shelf, a 15-ounce can of Bush's Best black beans will run you $1.39. Down the street at Whole Foods, meanwhile--the store often referred to as Whole Paycheck—the supermarket-label 365 Organics brand black beans cost a measly 99 cents.
They do admit most organic fruits and vegetables are still more expensive, but hopefully we'll be seeing a trend going the other way soon. Lord knows we all need a way to eat healthier and save money!
My Mom informed me that my younger brother is now shopping at a supermarket that only sells organic foods. He lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I'm so pleased to hear that he has gone organic. It's difficult to do though because those items are typically more expensive.
Brian and I buy organic milk and i have just recently purchased organic oatmeal, but sometimes a buck makes a difference and we stay away from other organics. I'm hoping eventually we'll be able to do more.
My hope is for there to be more and more choices of where to buy organic food and then the prices will drop. But it will probably be several years before that happens; if it does.
The New York Times recently published an article of five foods you should definitely try to buy organic. The list includes milk, potatoes, peanut butter, ketchup and apples. Recent USDA monitoring data found synthetic pyrethroid pesticides in 27% of conventional milk samples. With that knowledge, I feel good about the fact that we already have switched to buying only organic milk but we have yet to try the other four items.
I'm not sure what organic ketchup would taste like, I mean I'm so comfortable with my Heinz. But the article states that organic ketchup has "double the antioxidants" as your typical name brand.
Less pesticides and more antioxidants sounds good to me!
