The Briggs Avenue Community Garden has more people who want plots than it has plots to give. With tomato prices up nearly 23% over the past year, growing your own has stopped being a hobby and started being a budget strategy.
Master gardener Claudia Hines has spent four years at the garden learning what to plant and teaching others to do the same. Her plot this season holds garlic and strawberries, and the math is simple: she doesn't buy tomatoes or greens at the store anymore.
The bigger force driving the rush is tariffs. Garden manager Cheralyn Berry says importing produce across the border costs significantly more now, and that cost lands on shoppers. Overall grocery prices are up nearly 2% compared to last year. Vegetables like tomatoes are climbing far faster. Berry's response is to teach plot owners not just how to grow food but how to cook it.
For Durham residents already stretched thin, a garden plot is starting to look like a practical necessity, not an amenity.
Briggs Avenue is hosting a Spring Fling this Saturday with free vegetable and flower seeds available for anyone who wants to start growing at home.