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Odessa couple to teach people how to grow their own backyard greens

Imagine not having to go to a grocery store for vegetables but instead just opening your back door.  That's what one Odessa couple does.

ODESSA, TX (KWES) - Imagine not having to go to a grocery store for vegetables but instead just opening your back door.

That's what one Odessa couple does as they've turned their yard into a garden with plenty of food to last, saving them hundreds of dollars a year and they want to teach you how to do the same.

"Who would have thought, taking a sunflower seed, planting it in the ground, letting it get four inches tall, cutting it and putting it in your salad," said Permian Basin Master Gardener Ben Bretz. "It's amazing. Oh man, the taste is just great."

For real, it's that easy.

Ben Bretz and his wife have been growing their own greens for about three years after getting tired of paying for poor tasting food and the possible side effects of pesticides.

"I grew it," said Bretz. "I don't know where this come from down here at the grocery store. I got a good guess but I know I grew this. The taste, there's no comparison, the taste is just great."

They grow everything, from tomatoes, to okra, to cabbage, you name it and they've got it and they use it all together to make some tasty foods, including some great salsa and salads.

Ben, an Odessa native, said, he never expected he would end up with a green thumb.

"Oh no, no,' said Bretz. "Not in a million years. Because here I am, just an old redneck and all of the sudden, I am starting to learn things like, Oh, this is working."

On Tuesday and Wednesday, they'll be trying to spread the knowledge of how to do this. He said even though it looks like it, it's not that hard and there's not that many reasons to not do it.

"There's so many different ways that we can influence people on don't give up gardening," said Bretz. "Just because I don't have time or I don't have space. We'll show you, you got space."

If you're still having trouble deciding on whether or not to take this quick class, Ben has at least one more word of advice.

"They sure taste good. I can tell you that," said Bretz.

The first class is Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the West Texas Food Bank in Odessa. The cost is $15 to register. If you haven't already registered, you can do so by calling the Texas A&M AgriLife extension office.

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