The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Tim Krohn

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    Tim Krohn

February 6, 2010

Tough times feed a growing addiction

By Tim Krohn The Free Press

MANKATO — I was hiding the magazines under the mattress. They weren’t something I wanted my wife to find me looking at.

My addiction has gotten a bit out of hand. I’ve been ordering dozens of them and ogling them every chance I get.

No, not those kinds of magazine.

Seed magazines.

I collect them like Tiger collects cocktail waitresses. But there’s no rehab center that can help me.

Last weekend I pulled out the grow lights and set them up in the basement.

Sure, it seemed odd collecting the little grow pots and bags of frozen potting soil from the garage when the temperature was 11 below zero.

But it seems the best therapy for our long winter of discontent.

The last chance for a killing frost is the third week of May. The directions on the back of the Amish Paste Heirloom tomato packet says to start the seeds indoors six weeks before planting in the garden — early April. If I have to wait two more months to see something green growing, I will be a danger to myself and others.

Besides, I have visions of huge tomato plants to transplant this spring, like the foot-tall thick-stemmed ones the garden centers sell.

That won’t happen, of course. I lack the greenhouse, heat, proper fertilizer mix and skill that requires.

My little plants will shoot up fast, tall and perilously spindly under the grow lights until they fall over, begging to be taken out of their misery.

But by then the March sun will be melting enough snow to offer the promise of earthy fragrances, and the indoor growing won’t be needed.

There are a lot more people with the same yearning for gardening. Vegetable seed sales were up 19 percent last year.

It’s easy to see why. Not a lot else makes sense these days — not the economy, not Congress, not retirement planning, not the success of Lady Gaga.

Putting a seed in soil and watching something grow makes sense, offers comfort and solace in a tumultuous world, and gives you something to eat.

The former concept of Victory Gardens — gardens grown during World War II to help in the war effort — have given way to what are now being referred to as Recession Gardens.

In tough times, people are looking for a way to save money and to be grounded in something timeless. Some North Mankato residents are planning for a new community garden this summer, a way to share work, socialize and grow food.

Raising your own vegetables will, theoretically, save you money.

I’ve never found that to be true. Gardening, like hunting, camping or any other hobby, is a journey of finding new and better stuff.

So far I’ve circled several must-have garden gadgets for the coming season: The Power Plant Growing Kit ($34.95), Time-lapse Plant Cam ($84.99), Aerator Shoes ($16.69), Upside Down Tomato Planter ($18.99), and the Salad Chopping Tool ($19.99).

I better start some more plants. I’m going to need a really big harvest to make this pay.



Tim Krohn is a Free Press staff writer. He can be contacted at 344-6383 or tkrohn@mankatofreepress.com.

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Tim Krohn