Gilbert Yerke hangs an organic herb planter Thursday at Yerke Frog Alley Greenhouses in Mukwonago. In an age of high gas and food prices, some local people are growing their vegetables to save money.

TOWN OF SUMMIT - Ever since he could lift a trowel, Dennis Otto has been gardening.

"There’s nothing like eating fresh vegetables just picked, versus something that has been sitting in a store or a warehouse for a week," Otto of the town of Summit said.

As national attention focuses on higher grocery prices, fuel costs and the nutritional value of what Americans eat, having a small vegetable garden is an option some people are considering.

Gilbert Yerke, owner of Yerke Frog Alley Greenhouses in Mukwonago, said vegetable gardens are experiencing a resurgence in popularity.

"What we are reading in the industry, it is a growing trend," he said. "Last year and this year, they’re predicting it to go up."

Yerke contributes that trend to the economy and people wanting to buy fresh food.

"It is something of a lost art," he said, explaining that today’s young people are often two generations away from farmers.

To adapt to a changing market, Yerke pursued a speciality with his business - organic vegetables.

"We just felt it was a little bit of a niche we could offer people," he said.

Yerke’s greenhouses are the only ones certified organic in southeastern Wisconsin. In them he raises peppers, tomatoes and herbs for people to purchase and plant in their gardens. He also raises non-organic vegetable plants.

"They can rest assured that they have a plant that has been given an organic start," Yerke said.

Sandy Bottom Nature Center in Delafield is one of the local retailers that sells organic vegetable plants from Yerke Frog Alley Greenhouses. Its owner, Herb Rasmussen, will be selling organic vegetable plants for the first time this summer.

He said that organically grown produce became more prevalent in the past couple of years.

Rasmussen will start stocking more plants beginning next week.

Another gardening trend is growing vegetables in containers, he said.

"I think more people are trying to do a little bit," Rasmussen said.

Ann Wied, Waukesha County University of Wisconsin Extension consumer horticultural educator, said that the UW-Extension’s community garden, located on Northview Road near Grandview Boulevard in Waukesha, has all of its 80 plots reserved for this summer.

Plot sizes are 20 feet by 20 feet or 30 feet by 30 feet.

"We like to tell people if they think that’s a lot of garden, they can share it with a friend," she said.

For those people who are unable to find space in the community garden, but want to grow some of their own vegetables, Wied recommends container gardens.

"There are a lot of different things you can grow in a container," she said, including tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and herbs.

"I always tell people to start small," Wied said.

She recommends starting with a 4-foot by 4-foot garden plot in order to keep up with weeds and plants.

"All of a sudden it’s more work and you lose interest and it takes all the joy out of growing your own vegetables," she said if the plot is too big.

Otto, a member of the Ever Green Garden Club in Oconomowoc, has multiple beds for his vegetables and perennials.

"I keep adding on to all my beds," he said. "I even plant tomatoes in the midst of my perennial beds."

By growing his own fruits and vegetables, Otto said he doesn’t buy very many from the store in summer.

"Gardening is a lot of fun," he said, adding "It is (also) hard work. If people have kids old enough to help, it’s always good to get them interested."

For first-time vegetable gardeners, Yerke also recommends starting small with garden plots, but recommends as big of a container as possible for patio gardens.

He said that good soil, a balanced fertilizer and sunny locations are all important elements.

"Don’t be a weekend warrior where you water them on Saturday and forget about them all week," Yerke cautioned.

There are also many uses for extra vegetables grown in local gardens. Members of the community garden in Waukesha donate theirs to the Food Pantry of Waukesha County and Otto cans or freezes what he can.

Throughout his years gardening, Otto has seen people who appreciate fresh vegetables and fruit.

"There is a good supply of people who want to put in their own (plants)," he said.