Making Room For Herbs And Veggies
July 30, 2008 Are herbs and vegetables the way to go? If so, are growers selling themselves short on prices? One grower wrote us about her decision to move full speed ahead with herbs and veggies, and another wrote to share a success story on increasing prices with the two. Both growers, ironically, are located in Minnesota.
Sandie Shores of Herb’s Herbs & Such in Zumbro Falls, Minn., wrote in response to a July 2008 column written by Sara Tambascio, managing editor of Greenhouse Grower. Here is an excerpt from Sandie’s letter:
I am quite amazed that growers are just beginning to see how the downturn in the economy is changing their customers. Of course, I saw this coming! Last fall, I sent out an informal survey to the 700-plus local upscale “Foodies” who subscribe to my e-mail Herb Newsletter asking if they planned on growing more of their own vegetables and herbs next season (2008), and if so, why. The response was what I expected and surprising in the amount of people who took the time to reply.
The vast majority who responded said they were going to give up some, or all, of the space they used for bedding plants and ornamentals in favor of growing vegetables and herbs. Their reasons were the rising costs of produce, food safety and the desire to know the inputs used in the vegetables they eat.
With this information I expanded beyond my normal herb, tomato and veggie transplants and offered every type of vegetable that can be transplanted. I also offered, as I do every season, “ready-to-eat” tomato, pepper and herb hanging baskets for those who wished to replace their flower baskets. It was one of the best spring seasons I’ve ever had.
Most of the large retail ornamental nurseries and garden centers in my area have had a devastating season. I hope that they will be able to recover and that this is not “a day late, dollar short” scenario for them. The status quo has changed, and those that pay attention to the economy and trends will understand how it changes the buying habits of our customers.
In a previous Benchrunner, we asked growers if they had capitalized on the herb and vegetable gardening boom as part of our survey question. Fifty-five percent of respondents say they’ve sold more herbs and vegetables this year in years past, and 18 percent say they sold everything they had and probably could have sold more.
Another 18 percent say they have yet to start growing herbs and vegetables, but Maria Kreidermacher of Pork & Plants in Altura, Minn., is clearly among the growers who’ve capitalized on the herb and veggie boom. She wrote us to share her story:
We’ve noticed the past couple of years the increase in interest and sales of vegetables and herbs, and we made an effort to support it this year with more varieties (particularly heirlooms), as well as considered the pricing. We’re not sure why the industry–at least in the places we’ve seen it–seems to think vegetables should be sold for less than flowers of similar size and space in retail.
Typically we’ve seen 4-inch veggies sold for 99 cents to $1.99, whereas annuals would go for $2.99 to $3.49 or more. We made the decision to increase prices from $1.99 to $3.99 for 4.5-inch tomatoes, peppers and herbs–and from 99 cents to $2.49 for 3-inch peat pots of cucumbers, watermelons, etc.–and provided more information, as well as varieties to choose from.
We did not get a single comment about the price increase, other than one customer who asked me why the larger and older tomatoes weren’t being charged more, because he thought they should have been worth more. Granted, we tend to grow bigger plants than average, but it really showed us that the industry may not be putting enough value on vegetables, particularly in regards to what consumers are willing to pay for good ones. I would like to see others–especially independent garden centers–realize the consumer value.
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