Washington-Gardens producing home-grown food, an American favorite from early pioneer days to World War II with the victory gardens, are beginning to experience a revival, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects. A survey conducted by ASLA found that nearly one in five (19.3 percent) of residential landscape architects is replacing part or all of traditional grass lawns with food and vegetable gardens. “Not only do you benefit from fresh produce, but these gardens offer lower maintenance time and utility costs compared to turf grass while substantially increasing the sustainability of a home,” said ASLA President Angela Dye. “Plus, there’s nothing more convenient or sustainable than home-grown food.” And these are not the only signs of another banner year for home vegetable growing, which experienced a spurt in 2007 and 2008. A 2007 survey by the Garden Writers Association in Manassas, Va., found vegetables – after sitting in fourth or fifth place for several years – moving up to second place, after lawns, among types of growing gardeners intended to do. Executive Director Robert LaGasse said he expects the trend to continue. “We’ve seen almost double demand (in seed sales),” said Tracy Lee, director of horticulture at seed company W. Atlee Burpee Co. in Warminster, Penn. “It’s amazing.” Why the new enthusiasm for growing food? Stephanie Turner, director of seed product at Park Seed Co., Greenwood, S.C. believes the economy is part of the reason. Turner says an increase in seed sales is typical when there’s an economic downturn, adding that “people are trying to stay home and beautify what they have and grow their own food.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain