As the price of food and gasoline increases, many people are relying more on their
own vegetable gardens, saving money on produce while avoiding trips to the
supermarket or farm stand.

Cathy Bouchard, president of the Orchard Valley Garden Club of Southington, bought twice as many tomato plants this year, she said, and purchased more vegetable seeds for her garden as she watched prices inch sky-ward. Uta Zickfeld, vice president of the garden club, also has "increased the size of my garden this year," she said.

Without much room for a garden in the conventional sense, Yvonne Burgar of Southington has turned to three window boxes in which she is growing tomatoes, lettuce and herbs.

Much of what the trend boils down to, according to Kim Stoner of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, is that "people want locally grown." The desire for food grown locally comes from many different sources, not just rising food prices. Gas prices make people want to avoid driving as much as possible while fear of pesticides and a desire to return to a more real relationship with the Earth have spurred the rise in organic gardening's popularity.

"There's a lot of health concern; there's also a lot of environmental concern," Stoner said.
Stoner also said people are developing "an interest in quality." Many believe that food brought in from afar simply does not have the taste of locally grown vegetables.

"The altering of plants is a major concern," said Laurie Nelson, also of the Orchard Valley Garden Club. Nelson said that "anytime you alter God's nature of things, it has catastrophic results."

In response, Nelson tries to use farmers' markets, but added that, unfortunately, "you have to drive to them."

By growing her own organic vegetables, Zickfeld believes she saved approximately $300 on produce last year.

Concerned about gas prices, Bouchard said she is trying to grow her own food, because "if you go to the farm stand, you still have to have gas to get there."

Cheshire Garden Club member Inge Venus estimates she's increased the amount she spends growing vegeta-bles this year by as much as 30 percent. Venus is trying to save money, not just at the counter but at the pump, hoping her garden allows her to make fewer trips to the supermarket or farm stand for organically grown vegeta-bles.

"We're going to have to change our habits ... for our health," Venus said.

"Organic stuff is so expensive you might as well do it yourself," said Burgar.

Master Gardener Marvin Carley, president of the Cheshire Garden Club, started growing vegetables last year. Carley stays away from plants grown abroad because growers in other countries are "not as stringent about what they have to do," he said.

Jeff Rapoport, owner of Jordan Caterers of Cheshire, is starting a 30x40-foot vegetable garden, in which he hopes to grow some of the food he prepares for his customers. "It is an expansion into a new line," Rapoport said of the garden. "We've never put in a large bed just for food."

Rapoport is starting the garden less out of concern over rising food prices and more because of rising gas prices, which he fears will seriously hamper his ability to obtain food for his business. "We're running out of petroleum," he said.

Claire Criscuolo and her husband Frank Criscuolo own two New Haven restaurants, Claire's Corner Copia and Basta Trattoria. While they have always grown vegetables, "we're doing it on a much larger scale this year," Claire Criscuolo said.

She started growing for herself because "after a while, you'll save money," she said. Organically minded, Criscuolo also hopes to save money on gas. She sees homegrown food as a major selling point for her restaurant. "We like to tell people
where our food comes from," she said.

Criscuolo remembers the victory gardens of World War II, in which Americans grew a staggering 40 percent of the food they ate. She believes we are slowly returning to a greater self-sufficiency. If the trend continues, "everyone would be able to eatbetter," she said.

By: Bryan Koenig , Record-Journal staff

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