BALCH SPRINGS — The recession is giving rise to a bumper crop of new gardeners. One million new food gardens are being planted across the country this year.
North Texas is very much a part of that "grow your own" trend.
Marie Tedei owns Eden's Organic Center in Balch Springs. She teaches classes on how to grow your own veggies.
Tedei said she's never seen interest so high. "All you hear is food scares, food scares. Those food scares are a result of mass food production," she said.
The organic farmer said it's all about food safety. By growing their own organic food, North Texans know exactly what they're getting — unlike fruit and vegetables produced at commercial farms.
"They take 12 to 15 different farms worth of spinach or whatever the crop is, and it all gets combined together in one big vat," Tedei said. "And then, hundreds if not thousands of pairs of hands handle your food, touching and sorting and cleaning it. That's where your food contamination comes from."
Mike Schmitt is raising free-range chickens in the backyard of his house in Dallas. He eats fresh eggs every day without any concern.
In his garden, Schmitt grows a wide variety of vegetables — asparagus, sweet corn, tomatoes, onions, artichokes and broccoli.
"I think people are starting not to trust the food supply that's coming from our country, from our nation, from the factory farms," he said. "I think people are starting to want to grow their own because they actually know what they're eating."
Mary Karish is growing her own food in the community garden right next to Coppell City Hall. Anyone who gardens here agrees to donate 80 percent of their crops to the local food bank. They keep the rest for themselves.
Karish said she is saving money. "If you go to the supermarket and you look at the prices, if you have a family of four, one head of lettuce is not going to cut it," she said. "So if you grow your own, a pack of seeds is like $2, and you get a harvest for the whole season."
Marie Tedei, Mike Schmitt and Mary Karish all agree: They'll never have to worry about anything toxic, like chemicals, pesticides or herbicides. And they believe what they grow is superior in taste and nutrition to what's in the supermarkets.
E-mail sstoler@wfaa.com
