Growing own food a great stimulus package

With all the bad economic news, most families are looking at their finances a little more carefully.

Some are hoping to win the lottery, others are waiting for the government bailout, and some are just hoping they can somehow survive.

While I am not an economist, a banker or a politician, I am a gardener, and I think one of the best economic stimulus packages for most of us might be to grow a little more of our own food.

The food you grow can be some of the freshest and tastiest you've ever consumed.

While cleaning out my grandmother's house after she died, I came across a poster (which was actually made by my great-grandmother) that advertised tomato plants for sale.

My great-grandmother always grew a huge vegetable garden but also sold plants to her neighbors in a small northeastern Arizona town.

She provided for her family through the Great Depression, two world wars and many other hardships. My own parents grew up during the Depression, and although money was tight, they never went hungry because they raised their own food.

During World War I and II, the call went out for Victory Gardens. These gardens were civil morale boosters, but they were also amazingly productive.

One poster campaign of "Plant more in '44!" encouraged nearly 20 million Americans to plant Victory Gardens, and some 40 percent of all the vegetables consumed in the United States that year came from these gardens.

Nearly three decades ago, President Spencer W. Kimball of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints admonished people to plant a garden with their family. His advice is still applicable today:

"We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. … Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard, even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. … If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities."

At one time, Utah had a significant commercial vegetable industry. Much of the area now covered by homes once produced tomatoes, sweet corn, beans, peas, potatoes and other crops.

There is certainly no reason that property cannot grow plenty of food once again.