MOUNT VERNON — More and more people want a green thumb to make up for a lack of green stuff in their purses and wallets.
Fred Forster, owner of Glass Gardens Greenhouse, said he is having a hard time keeping vegetable seed packets on his shelf, and has seen sales of items such as onion and potato plants double this year compared to last. He said he just put in an order for 1,100 new packets of Burpee vegetable seeds.
“It’s basically a reaction to rising food and gas prices,” he said. “This year there’s almost what I would call a panic. People are trying to figure out how to save money.”
Forster said his overall sales have increased by about 25 percent so far this year, driven by the spike in vegetable seed and plant sales. Although the price of seeds has remained relatively stable, the cost of fertilizer and birdseed has increased due to rising food prices in the global market. He said he has had to raise the price of a flat of vegetable plants — there are 48 plants in a flat — because of the higher cost of plastic and increased transportation costs.
Forster said he expects all of his vegetable plants to be gone by the first of June. Because of the relatively poor gardening weather this year, he thinks there will be a big gardening push around Memorial Day. He added that older people still know how to can vegetables, but few young people do.
“We’re in a weird economic cycle,” Forster said. “We’re seeing a lot of new people asking how to put a garden together.”
He said he generally recommends that beginners start with a 10-foot-by-10-foot garden, which is about enough to grow vegetables for one family. Forster said a lot of novice vegetable gardeners want to start with a huge garden, which can be difficult to maintain.
“Food prices? You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he said.
