GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A recent survey shows 42 percent of Americans have started growing their own produce.
Cathy Hedge is the owner of Ivy Trails in Green Bay.
She says in the last couple of years, the interest in home gardening has grown exponentially.
“Pretty much vegetable sales, and that type of thing have been pretty flat the last few years before that. But the last two years with people being at home, they’ve welcomed the chance to grow some of their own food at home,” Hedge said.
She expects that to continue.
“Because of the increase in food prices and I’m hoping they found it rewarding the last two years too so they’ll just keep doing it,” Hedge said.
Hedge says tomatoes, green beans, and peppers are some of her best sellers.
She also says the shop has seen an increase in fruit plant sales as well.
The USDA says fresh vegetable prices are predicted to rise between 1 and 2 percent.
According to the National Garden Association, the average garden yields 600 dollars worth of produce a year.
“A pack of seeds for lets say beans maybe will cost you 2 dollars at most at the store. And then you plant them, and if you plant all of those seeds you will have beans to last you all season and then some,” Green Bay Botanical Garden Horticulture Manager Lindsey Hendricks said.
Hendricks says there are several other benefits to growing your own produce.
“You get control of what goes into your food. So limited pesticides, you can grow organically if you want to, you know what’s going onto your food. And then you can pick it when it’s the most fresh so you don’t have to worry about it being not really good quality. It usually tastes a lot better picked fresh off the vine,” Hendricks said.
According to the National Gardening Association, millennials make up 29 percent of gardener demographics.
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