Container Veggies - Not necessarily a no-brainer!

Planting veggies and herbs in containers is not some kind of revolutionary new idea, at least not to most of us. It actually makes a lot of sense because veggie gardens tend to be in the back corner of the yard (supported by Ball consumer research data AND common sense) away from the place where people cook (grill and kitchen). But a container of herbs or cherry tomatoes will be harvested and used more frequently if it's near on the patio by the Weber and back door. No brainer. Or so I thought.

Last weekend, I planted veggies. Burpee Home Gardens veggies, you ask? Of course. But that's not the point. I planted 5 tomato plants, 5 pepper plants, cabbage (snuck into my cart by my 2-year old... unnoticed until I got home) squash and lettuce seed. Most went into my raised veggie gardens but my Sweet 100s and Pinot Noir peppers went into big patio pots.

I was planting with my father-in-law, a brilliant guy who has planted gardens for years. He kept asking why I was planting some things in pots. I explained about how great it was to have them close by, on the patio, and the benefits of keeping them somewhat compact and really managing the soil/nutrients throughout the season. He went home at the end of the weekend planning to grow some veggies in pots.

I remember having similar discussions with customers when I worked at the garden center - helping educate them about growing veggies and herbs in containers and how pleased they were when they came back and shared results (and some of the harvest) in the fall.

So, container veggies and herbs may seem like a no-brainer to you and your team but it's not for many of your customers. Don't forget to encourage customers to add a couple more plants (and pots, soil, etc.) to their cart for those sunny spots on the patio! Or better yet, have some big pots of tomatoes and peppers on hand - add perceived value with decorative trellises and stakes. Sell the benefits and your customers will respond.

Here's a LINK to a good container veggie story from CNN's Eatocracy section online:

For the Children

With two little kids at home, my wife and I are always looking for fun activities and classes that expose our girls to new things. We've done sports classes, "little learners" classes and now gymnastics - all through our local community center. So when the seasonal catalog of workshops arrives, we immediately look through it to plan our next couple months of parent-kid activities.

I was happy and sort of surprised when my wife pointed out a couple gardening classes in the latest edition. Some were for adults and some were for kids/parents. But it got us thinking. Why are our local garden centers not hosting these workshops instead of the community center? Seems like an opportunity not captured by local independent businesses hungry for new customers?

Maybe they do hold classes like this. It's unfair to scold local IGCs when I am not aware of their activities. But maybe that's the point. I just don't know what kinds of cool things they have available for my family. Our daycare provider always knows about local activities - probably through the local network of in-home daycare providers. Our rec center reaches out to us because we're their target demographic. Heck, we get constant communication from companies like Pampers who see us as a goldmine...

But as my wife said, we would be all over classes for our girls at the local garden center, so I have to believe other young parents feel the same way. And judging by the sold-out classes at the community center, we're not the only parents looking for semi-structured activities in the evenings and on weekends.

If you are trying to attract young customers/families to your store- try reaching out to parents by promoting activities for kids. A great place to start is within your own team. You probably have a young parent on your staff. Ask them where they find out about fun and educational things to do with the kids. Reach out to your local daycare providers to get into their communication vehicles. Send information to churches with big youth education departments. Hopefully some of these ideas give you the push you need to go out and bring in your next generation of loyal customers.