DATE:     9/26/97
CONTACT:  Toni Pipkins, (803) 539-9403
          William Hair, (803) 534-6280
          Joyce Christenbury, (864) 5714
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343

Vegetables and Blueberries
Turn Into Profits for 4-H'ers

     CLEMSON -- Money doesn't grow on trees, but tomatoes,
squash, okra, cucumbers, peppers and blueberries can be just as
good as money -- with a little work.
     That's what lots of 4-H'ers have discovered over the years,
including Matthew Lilienthal, 13, of Orangeburg County and Jenny
Grier, 17, of Calhoun County.
     Grier lives on a 40-acre farm a few miles from Swansea near
Interstate 26 with her parents Gary and Sue, 18-year-old brother
Matt and 18 buffalo, four cats, three horses, two burros, two
dogs and some chickens, geese and a peacock.
     She has been in the 4-H gardening project for six years, but
most of the vegetables she grows are eaten by her family. The
pick-your-own blueberries planted on the farm 13 years ago after
the Griers moved from the Texas panhandle offered a way for Jenny
to make some money.
     "I picked blueberries in the summer of 1996 -- 35 pounds at
the time -- and sold them at the State Farmers Market in
Columbia," she said. She did that three or four days a week while
the blueberries were producing. In case you're interested, ittakes an experienced picker like Jenny about 30 minutes to pick
seven pounds of berries.
     "Picking in the heat of the day is no bargain," said Mrs.
Grier.
     Helping out on the farm for the past 12 years has taught
Jenny the business end of farming.
     "I've learned how to talk to people, how to set my price and
determine the cost of labor and expenses," she said. With the
money she earned in 1996, she was able to pay half the cost of an
11-day trip to Europe this summer. She went with a tour group
organized by one of her teachers at Swansea High.
     "We went to five countries -- Austria, Germany, Switzerland,
France and England," she said. Switzerland and the Eifele Tower
in Paris were her favorite memories. With the berries she planned
to sell this summer, she will start saving for a car.
     Matthew, son of Toni Pipkins, Clemson Extension associate
for 4-H resource development, got interested in gardening as a
business because of a story told by a family friend, Marvin
Bozard.
     "He told mama that over a couple of summers he saved
up enough money from selling vegetables to buy a diamond
ring for his girlfriend," said Lilienthal. Lilienthal then 
decided that he would try that to raise enough money to buy
something to drive when he's old enough for a license.
     In the spring of 1996, he planted squash, cucumbers,
tomatoes, peppers and okra behind the family home on Copper Road.
Then he set about finding customers, knocking on doors in
Orangeburg. A few turned him down, but he found enough people
interested in getting regular deliveries of fresh vegetables.
     "They think it's neat, and they usually get something," said
Lilienthal.
     Kathy Tatum's staff at Tatum Realty became regular customers
last year.
     "He's a good salesman and courteous, and we never have a
complaint about the vegetables. I love okra," she said. "It's
refreshing to see a young man willing to work. Most just play
during the summer."
     William Hair, Clemson Extension agent in Orangeburg, has
worked with both Matthew and Jenny. He said each has learned
both how to take responsibility and how to solve problems in
their 4-H projects.
     "Matthew keeps ledgers on his business and he knows every
dime that goes out and what comes in," he said. "He's also done a
good job of developing ways to sell his product -- from putting
out fliers to putting a marketing message on the family answering
machine."
     When her son said he was interested in a garden as a way to
make money, Pipkins contacted Joyce Christenbury, Clemson 
Extension family resource management specialist, for business
advice.
     "I had some information on entrepreneurship for youths, and
Toni thought it was good. She suggested that Extension do
something for South Carolina kids," said Christenbury.
     As a result, she will work with Leigh Walker, county agent
in Orangeburg County, to develop a workbook containing guidelines
on developing a business plan.
     "We want to give them the whole picture. You have to fill a
lot of roles if you run your own business -- a salesman, an
accountant and an advertiser," said Christenbury. She hopes
training for the new program, which does not yet have a name,
will begin next spring. 
                         END