Everything old is new again:
Many claim that food prices are causing people to dust off their green thumbs, but whatever the reason, gardening is in.
The impact has been felt at seed companies nationwide and at area garden centers.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported in early June that W. Atlee Burpee & Co. had doubled its seed sales this year. The seed company, which started in 1876, has struggled in recent years as modern families moved away from growing their own food.
Growing your own food to stretch the family budget -- what a concept. Another reason could have been given -- it's a way to rely less on the increasingly less reliable food distribution system. And every time you pick dinner out of the back yard instead of going to the market -- you're using less gas. Get back to nature! Live simpler! Stick it to the oil man!
Sorry, got a little carried away. My extensive gardening experience has taught me two things: Peas take up more room than they're worth, and herbs are the most fun things to grow. Even a little window sill herb garden can really punch up the most ordinary dishes.
