Report: Veggies Sales Up Big Time

By Greenhouse Grower staff|March 10, 2009

Rising food costs and unusually warm weather in Southern Arizona have given Tucson nurseries a welcomed boost in vegetable sales. For Cathy Bishop, owner of Mesquite Valley Growers, the word boost might be an understatement.

So far, Bishop’s 2009 vegetable plant and seed sales are up as much as 800 percent compared to this time last year. Besides the warmer temps, she owes much of the success to an increase in variety.

Bishop has also noticed in increase in traffic with her younger clientele. "Because of the bad economy, young people are putting down their electronics and putting their hands in the soil," she says.

Mesquite Valley isn’t the only area business selling vegetables like hotcakes. Harlow Gardens is having a hard time keeping tomato plants on the shelf. Two weekends ago, the operation started on a Saturday with 225 tomato plants. By Tuesday, there were only five left. Citrus trees are also big sellers for Harlow Gardens.

To read about the vegetable successes these and other Southern Arizona garden centers, click here.