7/27/2015
Making the Harvest Last
Jennifer Polanz & Ellen C. Wells
“My prettiest food garden is in the fall, not the spring or summer. It’s gorgeous: the air is easier on the plants, the bugs aren’t there. —Joe Lamp’l
We know Americans have gone nuts for edibles over the past five years. There’s just something about growing your own food that’s captured the tastebuds of consumers of all ages. Our next question was: how do we make that last and extend the harvest?
One simple answer is to encourage a second round of planting in the heat of summer. There are lots of newbies to this herb, veggie and fruit trend who don’t know they can squeeze in another round before the frost hits. The Home Garden Seed Association (HGSA) is hoping to change that by educating consumers with a Top 10 Fall Varieties (see the sidebar) that are easy to grow from seed. That list includes veggies and greens that have a quick turnaround time. The HGSA also recommends adding 14 days to the “days to maturity” on the seed packet, since summer-seeded crops get fall’s shorter days, cooler soil and less intense sunshine.
Gardening personality and Growing a Greener World Host Joe Lamp’l also encourages this. He notes that even experienced gardeners can get set in their ways and stop growing after that first round. “There’s an amazing world out there that doesn’t happen during the summertime,” he says of his garden, which he re-plants in August to harvest sometimes through Christmastime.
For Joe, it’s all about education at the local (read: retail) level. “My prettiest food garden is in the fall, not the spring or summer. It’s gorgeous: the air is easier on the plants, the bugs aren’t there. But most people don’t have a fall garden and we don’t have as much exposure to this. That’s the challenge for the garden center.”
He encourages retailers to take to their social media, email or other news outlets to let consumers know there’s opportunity for a second planting in the summer, as well as options for varieties that do well during the cooler fall months.
According to chef and Footprints Edibles spokesman Jonathan Bardzik (who grew up in his family’s retail garden center business), another opportunity is in summer replacement plants. “What types of annuals are you selling in July and August? The larger plants that customers are using as replacements or quick décor. Maybe they forgot to water while on vacation or they are having a backyard party and need some color. This holds true for vegetables. Offer veggies that are well on their way to producing,” he says. “Focus on crops that have short turnaround times. Large pots of fresh herbs or tomatoes with small fruits already on the vine are going to be appealing for people who are worried they might miss out on a fresh harvest for the rest of the summer.”
Another option for gardeners who don’t want to hang up their gloves is indoor growing. This takes a lot of different forms, but one newer and very exciting company on the market is Click & Grow, founded by Mattias Lepp. Products from Click & Grow allow consumers to grow indoors under LED lights, costing a minimal amount in electricity, while continuing their passion for growing.
Currently, the company has a Smart Herb Garden available, which features three plant “cartridges” and a water tank, which only needs to be filled once a month. The herbs grow under the LED light, which is on an extendable track to move higher when the plants get taller. Mattias says this product is only the first step in getting consumers comfortable with indoor growing technology. “Basically, what we want to do today with our lifestyle products is to get people used to the technology and understand that it’s possible to grow plants like this; then to move forward to change the whole food industry and growing greens in homes,” he says, adding they’re working on a prototype for a much larger system that’s the size of a modern refrigerator.
“Today we are talking a lot about urban farming, but the technologies at the moment are extremely expensive, and until now, it wasn’t possibly to start growing at home.” Retailers interested in the Click & Grow system can find it at
www.clickandgrow.com.
Whether it’s inside the home or out in the traditional garden, retailers can help consumers realize there’s more to fresh edibles than one season.
Top Ten Fall Varieties
Helpful tip: Find out your area’s average frost date and count backward to figure out the latest you can plant these! Another note: runners-up for the list include arugula, broccoli, cabbage and carrots.
Beets
Calendula
Cilantro
Kale
Lettuce
Peas
Radish
Salad Greens
Spinach
Swiss Chard GP
Self-Preservation
By Denise Schreiber
One of the hottest topics among consumers is food safety—in particular, their own family’s food safety. This is an opportunity for your business to stand out by offering “Preserving the Harvest” classes at your location. Many land grant universities offer Master Home Preserver courses and they’re ideal teachers for these types of classes. Look locally, too, for Master Gardeners that teach these classes, as well as nutritionists or food safety people from your local health department. Some local chefs may teach, as well. It’s always important that USDA guidelines are followed—in other words, no beeswax to seal jellies and jams anymore.
Younger consumers are taking an interest in these classes because they see it as a way to save money and eat well at the same time. Using your advertising program—whether it’s radio, TV, newsletter or in-store signage—is a good way to get the word out about these classes. In the spring, place signage among fruits and vegetables that these are not only good to eat fresh, but to preserve as well. This will give your customer something to think about. If you have a pick-your-own program, tying it in with that allows the customer to pick not only for immediate consumption, but to pick more for preserving. Offering a class during this time is an added value to the program. Tie it in with a coupon discount on canning supplies.
Strawberry picking time is a great time to have a class on making strawberry jam since it’s very easy to do—especially for the first-time preserver. It can be done quickly as a demonstration as opposed to other recipes. Other popular classes include those involving tomatoes, apples and peaches. And make sure you have samples for everyone, too. There’s nothing like warm, homemade applesauce to make the customer feel at home.
You need a space separate from the rest of the shoppers, a table for the demonstrator with portable burners and a worktable for cutting, jars and other tools. Workshops with hands-on participation are difficult and can cause liability issues.
You should also have canning supplies for sale, including jelly jars, and pint and quart jars, which are the most popular sizes. There’s a combination package of jar tongs, bubble remover, magnetic lid lifter and extra-wide funnel that are the basic tools for first-time preservers. A copy of the “Ball Blue Book of Preserving” is a must with recipes and the latest rules for preserving. It’s a magazine-style book that retails for under $10.
Denise Schreiber is a garden writer in Pittsburgh. She can be reached at edibleflowers1@aol.com.