Backyard veggies growing in popularity

Vegetable gardens are sprouting up in yards all across the valley.

Fresno resident Kiel Schmidt just converted unused space behind his house into a vegetable garden. He says he enjoys eating homegrown foods. “To come out here and grab a warm tomato off the vine, it’s one of the most satisfying things.”

Another reason backyard vegetable gardening is growing – a surge in popularity of heirloom varieties of foods like tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes are special varieties with distinct colors and flavors. Some kinds are more than a hundred years old with fun names like “the Mortgage Lifter.”

Tomato expert Craig Pierce says the legend behind “The Mortgage Lifter” is that the first crop was so big, the gardener lifted the mortgage off his house.

Pierce discusses several different varieties of heirloom tomatoes in our Extended Play Video section. Follow the link on this page to watch.

Pierce says although heirloom tomatoes can be fun, he thinks herbs are the best choice for beginning gardeners. “The beauty of herbs is 90% of them do well with benign neglect.”