"The Vegetable Patch Takes Root" in the Wall Street Journal

From the June 5, 2008, edition of the Wall Street Journal:

The Vegetable Patch Takes Root
by Anne Marie Chaken

"More families are looking right under their feet to ease the problem of high food prices.

As consumers balk at the rising cost of groceries, homeowners increasingly are cutting out sections of lawn and retiring flower beds to grow their own food. They're building raised vegetable beds, turning their spare time over to gardening, and doing battle with insect pests.

At Al's Garden Center in Portland, Ore., sales of vegetable plants this season have jumped an unprecedented 43% from a year earlier, and sales of fruit-producing trees and shrubs are up 17%. Sales of flower perennials, on the other hand, are down 16%. It's much the same story at Williams Nursery, Westfield, N.J., where total sales are down 4.6% even as herb and vegetable-plant sales have risen 16%. And in Austin, Texas, Great Outdoors reports sales of flowers slightly down, while sales of vegetables have risen 20% over last year.. . . " (Emphasis added)

"Bruce Butterfield, the [National Gardening Association's] research director, expects 2008 will be another strong year for vegetable gardening thanks to 'the combination of gas prices, food prices, and people staying at home because the world's gone crazy,' he says. 'At least they can have some control over their backyard.'"

June in Austin (particularly this June!) is not the ideal time to plant a summer garden. You should have started that in March, but you can start planning now for a late summer garden by starting tomatoes from seeds to plant in late July and early August. If you really want to plant now, warm-season vegetables like okra, southern peas, cucumbers, and squash can still be planted, but act soon!

If you'd like to wait until the fall gardening season (the best time for vegetable gardening in Central Texas), you can take one step mentioned in the WSJ article:

Perform a soil test. "If you live near an industrial plant or even in an old house where lead-based paint may have seeped into the soil, you should consider getting the soil checked for contaminants. A cooperative extension affiliated with a state university can usually do this."

For more information, see Texas A&M's Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory.

Green Corn Project's biointensive method of creating organic vegetable gardens focuses on creating great soil. A soil test is one way to determine where to start.