'Survival gardens' can help save cash

Many cash-strapped families are turning to "survival gardens" to help dig out from the recession. These differ from the usual vegetable patch by delivering high yields from small spaces and producing wholesome foods that store well.

Probably just as important: They can be done on the cheap.

"They were called 'victory gardens' during the world wars because they helped ease shortages," said Chris Becker, a regional agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service in Florence. "We call them 'survival gardens' now because they help families cut spending."

The term is part of a larger do-it-yourself trend toward growing more backyard veggies and eating locally grown food.

Survival gardens are used mainly to raise the kind of produce that you can grow for less than what you would pay at a grocery store - things like squash, watermelon and zucchini.

"There's also the bonus that homegrown tastes better than store-bought. Just a lot more flavor," Becker said.

People new to gardening can get help from county extension offices, churches and community groups. Some offer training, others provide growing sites and a few distribute supplies - all for little or no charge.

"When families come to us for our free starter kits, we seek out people who've never gardened before as well as those having the skills and the willingness to teach it," said Tammy McDaniel, executive director of the Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama.

"We had 209 volunteers this year who did everything from take in applications to repackaging and handing out the garden supplies, which included seed, plants and fertilizers," McDaniel said. "They served over 900 families."

Discounts and buying in bulk brought the agency's costs down to $16.84 per garden site. "That should produce an estimated $400 worth of food, primarily items that are good for freezing or canning and that can tide you over for a while," McDaniel said.

Survival gardens can do more than put fresh, nutritious food on the table, she said.

"Families have told us they sell some of their overage (from the starter kits) to pay bills and get medicines," she said.

Scott Peterson, owner of Hometown Seeds, an online operation based in Orem, Utah, sells "survival seed" packets, and said their sales have more than doubled in the past year. Each package contains 16 easy-to-grow heirloom vegetables, from beets to pole beans, cabbage to sweet corn. They come triple-wrapped in watertight plastic, designed to increase storage life.

Peterson noted that gardening with seed is one way to save on food dollars, particularly if it's the right kind of seed.

"It's got to be open-pollinated" - that is, aided by birds, bees and wind, he said. Seeds used from open-pollinated plants mature "true to variety" and can grow into many generations of crops retaining the traits of their parents. Seeds replanted from hybrids, on the other hand, may become sterile or revert into something genetically different from their crossbred originals.

"You can save our 'survival seed' for at least five years - 10 years if frozen - a practice that helps reduce your living costs because you're not buying new seed every spring," Peterson said.

Online:

• For more about survival gardens and sections dealing with plant culture and harvesting, see this University of Missouri how-to manual:

• http://extension.missouri.edu/publications

You can contact Dean Fosdick at deanfosdick(at)netscape.net.