Spring Vegetable Gardens

  “We grow herbs and mostly fresh greens, lettuces…arigula.” As spring awakens Idaho yards this year, recession-weary citizens aren’t just anticipating the summer’s aromatic roses and aristocratic delphiniums. Hot with the nation’s grow-your-own fever, they’re dreaming of far more humble—but filling—lettuce, tomatoes and squash. Local resident, Linda Durbin. “We have a passion for growing herbs and vegetables, we grow the natural way.

 “Veggie gardening is the big thing this year because people are trying to save money on produce,” says Susan Bell, University of Idaho Extension educator in Ada County. Bell and her statewide colleagues say the best thing is to start small. Before you till a quarter-acre tract, stop, smell the—uh—onions and consider what your family will actually eat.

 “If they’ve never eaten okra in their life, there’s no reason to grow it,” said JoAnn Robbins, University of Idaho Extension educator in Jerome County. “If your family eats a lot of carrots, by all means plant them. But if they’re banana eaters, it’s not going to save you money to grow a garden.”

 Extension specialists advocate developing a plan for how and when your anticipated produce will land on your family’s table. That includes learning what to expect of each variety and when to harvest it. Some fruits and vegetables can be picked casually over a prolonged period. Others have an unforgiving harvest window of just a couple of days.