Seedlings on sale on Ash Street, in-your-face marketing on "The Avenue"

Saturday was sunny and warm in Hampden, on The Avenue and on the side streets. George Figgs was manning a table on Ash Street in Hampden where he was selling plants he and a partner nurtured under grow lights indoors: tomatoes, squash, basil. The basil plants were just $1 each.

Figgs, an artist and musician, plans to be out there every Saturday. When business was slow, he went back to reading a library book: Michael Sragow’s biography of Victor Fleming.

Apparently, lots of people in the current economy are turning to growing vegetables and fruits to make money.