Gardening efforts growing on the North Fork

Tag : gardening supply


With food costs rising and contamination scares, like salmonella-tainted tomatoes, making headlines, growing fruits and vegetables at home has become an increasingly appealing option for North Fork residents. Proof of this is the recent increase in sales of seeds and yard supplies at the area's two Agway garden supply stores, suggesting more customers are taking to tilling topsoil and tending tubers and tendrils in their own backyards. "The economy ... is one factor, and wanting to know where your food is coming from is certainly another," said Sherry Brezinski, nursery manager at Talmage Farm Agway in Riverhead.

Since early spring, Ms. Brezinski has seen an increase in sales of fruit seeds, like blueberries and raspberries, vegetables, including heirloom tomatoes, and herbs, the most popular being basil and parsley. She said there has been no notable increase in the sale of fertilizers, however. Fertilizer and seed sales are up at Chick's Southold Agway, and the store's general manager, Valerie Cichanowicz, believes the reason is more "multifaceted" than just the desire to save money. Though neither Agway store could provide exact sales figures at this time, both Ms. Brezinski and Ms. Cichanowicz said that inventory was purchased much earlier this year and that popular products had to be restocked several times. Usually, Ms. Cichanowicz said, products are restocked just once during the growing season.

But starting a new fruit and vegetable garden isn't likely to save a significant amount of money, the Southold Agway GM said. Home gardeners often need to invest in soil, fencing, hoses, sprinklers and insect and animal repellents, Ms. Cichanowicz stated. And, of course, a significant investment of time is needed to be a successful gardener. Still, many area residents see home gardening as a worthwhile investment of time and money. Tanya Doherty, a News-Review community columnist, has been cultivating a 10-by-12-foot garden in her backyard in Flanders for about five years because she finds gardening "enjoyable" and "convenient." Though Ms. Doherty grows such vegetables as tomatoes every year, she's also trying her hand at raising cabbages and watermelons this year. Next year, she plans to raise chickens to produce eggs and gobble up bugs around her yard.

"I think more people should grow their own food," Ms. Doherty said. "It lends a certain respect to farmers. It's not as easy as you think." Ukrainian-born Gennady Gulyayev, who recently took up residence in Greenport, is growing various vegetables around his backyard this year. Fledgling tomato, bean and cucumber plants are sprouting up in the dirt around the sides of his detached garage. "It's a small garden," he said. "Gardening has always been one of my passions," said Southold resident Harry Katz. "It's fascinating to grow your own vegetables."

Since Mr. Katz and his wife, Ana, moved to Southold in 1994 from Wading River, the two have rigorously cultivated a garden in their yard. Through trial and error, Mr. Katz is able to offer tips to new and aspiring gardeners. Any hopeful gardener must first clear a sunny spot in his or her yard to grow plants, he said. And building a fence to protect plants from such animals as deer and rabbits also is a good idea. Potatoes, fava beans and turnips are some of the most durable crops a new gardener can grow, he said. A "myth" Mr. Katz wants to debunk is the need for pesticides. With a little research, a new gardener can discover a variety of natural repellents, like onions, to deter insects from eating vegetables, he said.

Though Mr. Katz spends as many as 14 hours a week plugging away in his garden, he believes the fruits (and vegetables) of his labor are worth the effort. Each summer, Mr. Katz looks forward to planning different meals around what's available in his garden, and he maintains there's "nothing like eating something you've grown." Because plants can produce multiple generations of fruits and vegetables, Mr. Katz doesn't spend more than a few dollars on fresh produce during the summer months. Ultimately, Mr. Katz said: "You have to work at it, plant again and keep plugging away."