Ann Gehman grows her own lettuce, broccoli and tomatoes primarily because they taste better than store-bought vegetables.
"The kids seem to eat a lot more salad ever since I started growing it," she says.
But there are other reasons that Gehman and her husband and two sons have expanded the garden in the back yard of their Leola home this year.
"With the price of food and gas going up, even the prices at farmers' stands are going to be higher," she explains. "A pack of seeds or a box of young plants are a lot cheaper, and there's no need to drive for food."
Gehman and her family have plenty of company in this season of soaring food and fuel prices. Lancastrians seem to be buying more vegetable seeds and starter plants, and nurturing them in more gardens.
Jeff Watson, manager of Rohrer's Seeds in Smoketown — one of the largest garden seed stores in the county — hasn't seen this much traffic tromp through his place in two decades.
First-timers and people who haven't gardened for years are walking out Rohrer's doors with bags and boxes of vegetable seeds.
"We speculate on the reason," Watson says. "They might be saying, 'Gas is high and we're not going anywhere this year, so we'll garden' or 'This is the way to cut corners and save money."'
The trend toward more home vegetable growing, which apparently began several years ago, seems to be spiking nationally this year.
The Garden Writers Association reports that 39 percent of people with backyards say they plan to grow vegetables this year — up 5 percent from last year.
Moreover, after years of placing fourth behind lawns, annuals and perennials on the Garden Writers Association's preference survey, vegetable gardening this year jumped to Number 2.
Reasons for increased interest range from concerns about food cost, safety and quality to larger issues such as contributing to a smaller ecological imprint.
Elam Sauder, owner of Sauder's Nursery in East Earl, also is selling more garden seeds — but he's not sure why.
"We're finding that a lot of new people are buying seeds, people who weren't here before and never fooled with garden seeds," he reports.
He says customers rarely make a direct link to the higher cost of food, but he hears talk about "the general increase in the bare necessity living expenses."
Feeling the Pinch: One in
a series of occasional stories on how the slumping economy impacts people here.
Sales of garden plants are increasing as well.
Kathy Trout manages 12 greenhouses at Ken's Gardens, across Old Philadelphia Pike from Rohrer's Seeds.
Sales of young vegetable plants are up 12 percent so far this year, running well beyond a 5 percent overall increase in sales, Trout reports.
"I'm hearing people saying, 'I haven't had a vegetable garden in years,"' she says. "The younger generation is getting into it, too. The baby boomers. Everybody's getting into it."
Gwen Horst, at Horst's Greenhouse in East Earl, provides a more moderate appraisal of vegetable plant sales.
"I would say we are selling more than normal," she says. "People seem to be asking for things earlier."
There are other signs that more Lancastrians are going into vegetable gardening.
Nancy Wiker, home economist with the Penn State Cooperative Extension here, says she has fielded several questions about food preservation this spring.
"We hear a lot about food prices and conserving," she says. "My sense is that more people will be growing gardens this year and there will be more interest in canning and freezing."
Interest in renting garden plots in Lancaster County Central Park has increased this spring, according to Jim Hackett, director of the county's Department of Parks and Recreation, which runs the garden program.
"We've seen a gradual increase over the past four years," he says. "What's going to be interesting, with the way food prices have escalated this year, is whether more people take garden plots next year."
More Lancastrians are buying into Lancaster Farm Fresh, a community-supported agriculture operation.
People join a CSA primarily because "they can trust where their food comes from," says manager Amy Chrystle.
Still, she notes, joining an organic-food cooperative is cheaper than purchasing food in organic grocery stores and that appeals to customers.
Will the trend toward increased vegetable gardening continue?
Watson, at Rohrer's Seeds, expresses some doubt.
"I wonder what will happen next year?" he asks. "I wonder if they know what they're getting into? It takes some effort to maintain a garden."
Trout, at Ken's Gardens, is more optimistic. She says the value of gardening reaches well beyond savings in food costs.
"Gardening is a hobby that people are least likely to give up," she explains. "It can be relaxing and add value to your home. I expect it to keep trending up."
Staff writer Jack Brubaker can be reached at jbrubaker@LNPnews.com or 291-8781. 
