For some, the crashing economy has meant nothing but loss. For others, it has created an opportunity to get back to basics and realize a kind of self-empowerment they didn't have before — even when times were good.

For builder Ken Kuhne, whose luxurious but low-key homes dot the landscape in Galisteo, there wasn't a moment to waste. One day in April, 2008, the rug got pulled out from under an immense Bay-area private-home project he had already spent two years on — and that was just the planning stage. Two days later, he was in the midst of an entirely new kind of business. Between the two events, Kuhne had a visit with his next-door neighbor, chef and cookbook author Deborah Madison, who showed him a picture of a raised garden bed in a catalog.

"Look," Kuhne said, "that was going to be my last house; I was going to retire on that project. I was watching how building was slowing down, it was getting really competitive, builders were doing remodels, working for truck payments, and I was ready to get out.

"And I'd been thinking about what the most important things were, and that's basically feeding and watering yourself. Sustenance is not going to go away. This is primal. People have to eat. And I was visiting Deborah, and I said, well, maybe I should just offer to help people put in vegetable gardens."

Madison showed him the raised bed and said, "Build these instead." That was all it took to light the spark. He connected with Jeff Carbine, the cabinet maker he'd been working with for years on his houses, and within 12 hours he had a prototype of a furniture-quality garden bed with potential for year-round gardening, even in the harshest weather conditions. He loaded it into the bed of his pickup and parked in the Whole Foods parking lot while he went inside for a cup of coffee.

Within minutes he had a phone call inquiring about the bed. When he went out to the truck, he found a note tacked to the bed asking for six. He's been busy ever since.

"I had the trust, faith and belief that this was going to work," Kuhne said. "Obviously, the remuneration is not the same, but it's incredibly rewarding in a spiritual way."

While he has yet to clear what one house project would have brought him in the three years he's been in business, Kuhne is optimistic about the potential of his Grow Y'Own year-round garden beds, and he is actively seeking investors to help him expand with a local crew.

"All these people in Santa Fe need work. My sales have doubled every year. If I had a crew, instead of just Jeff (the cabinet maker) and I, who could help deliver and install the beds, that many more people could become local growers of their own food.

"Seventy percent of my clients have never grown food before," Kuhne said, adding that of the 350 or so people he's worked with so far, several were from outside of New Mexico. "And there's an incredible sense of empowerment that comes with growing your own food supply. But most people can't afford a greenhouse, and growing things here is incredibly hard. You have critters, you have wind, you have the intense UV sun, and so I created a cover system that would eliminate all these factors. There are other raised beds out there, but nobody's doing what I'm doing."

In addition to contracting with his cabinet-maker to build the beds, Kuhne contracts with Steve and Judy Romero of Enchantment Upholstery for summer and winter covers. The covers are designed to withstand the harsh elements, but to be user-friendly and affordable. Each grow bed is made from kiln-dried Western red cedar from renewable sources in Oregon and southern Canada.

"You can't buy this stuff at Home Depot," Kuhne said. "It's not pressure-treated, there are no chemicals in it that can leach into your organic garden, it doesn't rot or mold like pine does and it's bug-resistant. It's built like a piece of furniture, and the covers give you easy accessibility in 10 seconds."

Kuhne said that the secret to using a grow bed successfully is in the soil. "Soil is key. Soil, soil, soil, like location, location, location. That's what's going to determine what will grow," he said.

After working with Bob Ross, the container-garden specialist at Santa Fe Greenhouses, Kuhne is confident that he can direct gardeners to the right formula — or, if they prefer, provide it himself.

"I'll set up the grow bed, put in irrigation, fill it up and plant it if they want, or if they want to do it themselves, I'll just deliver it and give them some tips on how to get started," Kuhne said. "It's not rocket science; everybody can do this. Imagine if restaurants just grew their own herbs. It would make such a difference."

According to Kuhne, now is a perfect time to get started.

"You can extend your growing season by four or five months. You can start early and grow later, or grow all year round if you want." He encourages his clients who call wondering what to do with their sudden bounty to give the excess to neighbors or donate it to the Food Depot or Kitchen Angels.

"They'll take a bag of lettuce," he said. "They'll take one carrot."


Prices for Kuhne's Grow Y'Own grow beds:

• Prices range from $185 for a 2-foot-by-4-foot bed to $450 for 4-foot-by-8-foot bed.


ON THE WEB

• For more details, visit www.growyown.com.