[Garden] Garden interest grows

[J. Rochon]

Gardeners,
Here's a quick look at how more Americans are getting into gardening. 
Executive summary, buy seeds now.


Hello Gardeners and Economists,
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2009-02-19-recession-vegetable-seeds_N.htm 


Recession grows interest in seeds, vegetable gardening
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
Hard economic times are acting like instant fertilizer on an industry 
that had been growing slowly: home vegetable gardening.

Amid the Washington talk of "shovel-ready" recession projects, it 
appears few projects are more shovel-ready than backyard gardens. Veggie 
seed sales are up double-digits at the nation's biggest seed sellers 
this year.

What's more, the number of homes growing vegetables will jump more than 
40% this year compared with just two years ago, projects the National 
Gardening Association, a non-profit organization for gardening education.

"As the economy goes down, food gardening goes up," says Bruce 
Butterfield, the group's research director. "We haven't seen this kind 
of spike in 30 years."

At W. Atlee Burpee, the world's largest seed company, seed sales will 
jump 25% this year, Chairman George Ball estimates. "It's weird to have 
everyone else you talk to experiencing plunging markets. We're on a roll."

Burpee is taking pains to craft its marketing to fit the times, says 
Ball. It recently rolled out the "Money Garden," a value bundle of 
tomato, bean, red pepper, carrot, lettuce and snap pea seeds sold online 
at www.burpee.com. With a separate retail value of $20, the pack sells 
for $10, and under the right conditions, Burpee claims, can produce $650 
worth of veggies.

"Seeds are God's microchip," says Ball. But in the suddenly hot world of 
veggie seed sales, Burpee has company:

*•Park Seed. *Vegetable seed sales are up 20% this year vs. 2008, says 
Walter Yates, who oversees the company's e-commerce.

Says Yates, "Every time this country goes through a recession, there is 
a surge of folks who want to get back to basics."

*•Renee's Garden.* Business manager Sarah Renfro says veggie seed sales 
were up about 10% last year and look to grow up to 20%.

"After years of declining veggie seed sales, the whole cycle has 
completely reversed," says Renee Shepherd, president.

*•Harris Seeds.* Home garden vegetable seed sales are up 80% from one 
year ago, says Dick Chamberlin, president. "A jump like this has never 
happened."

•*Ferry-Morse Seed. *After 2008 sales grew 5%, the company stocked up on 
50% more vegetable seeds to sell in 2009, says John Hamrick, vice 
president of sales and marketing.

The veggies are apparently squeezing flowers for space in the nation's 
gardens. Ferry-Morse, along with others, is seeing a decline in sales of 
flower seeds, and Hamrick says the company has switched its inventory 
mix from 50-50 to 40% flower seeds and 60% veggies.
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Also in the news:
The book "Small Scale Grain-Raising" has gone back in to print.
http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/smallscale_grain_raising
Having tried this myself I can only say that grain hopefuls should not 
grow in areas with a good harvest of mice and deer.