BusinessJuly 13, 2008

Laura Gunderson of the Oregoninan
Gardeners growing
Gardeners growing
Gardeners growing
Gardeners growing

PORTLAND, Ore. - Green thumbs new and old are tending more fruit and vegetable gardens this year than in the past, prompting many local nurseries to order second rounds of popular vegetables, fruit and herbs or post signs that certain plants are sold out for the season.

With traces of soil lingering deep under their fingernails, gardeners are looking to save some money, take more control over where their food comes from and spend a little quality time in their yard.

"It's actually been hard to keep up with," said Lori Vollmer, adding that sales at her Northeast Portland nursery, Garden Fever, have doubled over last year thanks to fruits and vegetables.

Unfortunately for local growers, the fervor came a little late. Gardeners weren't so hot on digging into the soil during a drearier-than-usual spring, meaning many plant starts yet to be sold had grown too large by the time it warmed up.

"Demand just wasn't there when the plants were ready," said Dan Bamberger, with Yoshitomi Bros. Inc., a West Linn company that grows vegetables for local nurseries. "You had to throw some away and try to grow more."

The shortened season has left many nurseries and growers with flat sales - some slightly up thanks to the boost from fruit and vegetables. Yet many say they're taking advantage of the lean to green by rolling out marketing campaigns in coming weeks informing gardeners about veggies that like cooler weather.

Other growers and nursery owners who don't deal in produce are making more long-term plans.

Jerry Brown, marketing manager for wholesale Fisher Farms in Gaston, said while the cool weather stunted his ornamental trees and shrubs, they're hardier and could be bigger and healthier next year.

"If the weather cooperates, we could be in good shape next year," said Brown, adding that his sales are flat this summer and he doesn't expect to make his anticipated growth.

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Next year, he said, he plans to focus his business - 75 percent of which is outside of Oregon - from the Rocky Mountains to the West to save gas. He said he also plans to make more frequent deliveries of his unique, fresh ornamentals to distinguish his stock from what's found at big-box retailers.

Shelves emptied with equal speed at Portland Nursery, which had to track down another vegetable supplier and, for the first time, add a second table of organic vegetable starts, said Jemae McCanna, color coordinator for Portland Nursery. McCanna has helped folks who aren't interested in growing anything that isn't edible; others have simply slipped more fruits or veggies into spots once saved for flowers or shrubs.

And though people may be more penny-wise this year, they seem willing to spend a little more on quality plants, said Stephanie Mack, Portland Nursery's yard purchasing manager. A new line of $3 tomato plants in biodegradable containers has been popular, she said, even though the fruit's only $1.69 in regular containers.

Mack and others at local nurseries say they're seeing an increasing number of young, first-time gardeners out looking for fruits and veggies, including tomatoes, peas, beans, corn, carrots and lettuces. Many new gardeners are young parents, nursery workers say, who are interested in serving their kids affordable organic foods and hoping - as research shows - they'll be more inclined to gobble up what they've helped grow.

"Traditionally, the Northwest has been a hotbed for gardening, but not necessarily for food," said Steve Cohen with Portland's Office of Sustainable Development. "But of the new gardeners we hear from, the main driver for them is economic."

A class on year-round gardening that Cohen's office helped sponsor in May was packed, as are similar sessions at the Northeast Portland nonprofit Growing Gardens. The program, which also has long waiting lists, teaches gardeners young and old how to build raised beds in any space possible to grow food, said Libby Upham, the group's development director.

"We hear from people who want to limit the amount of budget going to food at the grocery store since that is going up," said Upham, adding that they teach classes on how to grow food organically. "For the folks we serve on limited incomes, buying organic in a store is prohibitively expensive. This gives them a choice."

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On the Net:Garden Fever:http://www.gardenfever.com/Al's Garden Center:http://www.als-gardencenter.com/index.php?cID=261Portland Nursery:http://www.portlandnursery.com/Office of Sustainable Development: http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/Portland Growing Gardens:http://www.growing-gardens.org/

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