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During World War I
and later in World War II, food shortages and difficult economic conditions
spurred efforts that encouraged the public to grow vegetables, fruits,
and herbs at home to help supplement traditional supplies. These gardens were known as war
or victory gardens.
With hard times
making a comeback, will we see a resurgence of such activites? If the
following Financial Times
report, "Seed Merchants Benefit from Urge to Dig Deep," is anything to go
by, the answer is "yes."
Americans are turning
in increasing numbers to their back yards to save money, with leading US seed
merchants reporting a dramatic surge in early sales of carrots, tomato and
pepper plant seeds.
George Ball, chairman
of W. Atlee Burpee, which sells directly to gardeners and via retailers such
as Home Depot, told the Financial Times that sales of vegetable seeds had
grown 20-30 per cent this year.
The increase, he
said, follows a similar jump in sales last year, and compares with previous
annual growth levels of about 12 per cent.
Mr Ball said
belt-tightening and economic concerns were the dominant factors driving
demand, which had been stimulated last year by the high cost of petrol, and
food safety concerns, following a scare over contaminated store-bought salad
greens.
"Not only has demand
not returned to normal but it has wildly increased," he said of the
company's latest sales numbers. "It is just like a bonanza."
Richard Chamberlain,
president of Harris Seeds, which supplies both commercial growers and
gardeners, estimated that sales of seeds to gardeners were up by 50 per cent
this year, with the company seeing a surge in first-time customers on its
website.
"You'll be
seeing people digging over their lawns and planting vegetables," he
said.
Burpee has responded
to the frugal mood by marketing a $10 multi-pack of vegetable seeds dubbed
the "Money Garden", which includes seeds for tomatoes, peas,
carrots, basil, peppers and sugar-snap peas.
It also commissioned
research to demonstrate that the seeds could theoretically produce the equivalent
of $650 of store-bought vegetables.
The boom in vegetable
planting has already had a knock-on effect for other businesses. Bell's, part of Jarden, the homewares conglomerate, says sales of its preserving jars and
lids increased 40 per cent last year.
Lowe's, the home
improvement retailer, also suggested last year that strong sales of freezers
partly reflected increased freezing of garden produce.
In an effort to catch
the mood, Park Seeds, another leading seed company, is this year again
selling a "Victory Garden" multi-seed pack, that also includes
squash and beans, with its marketing recalling the victory gardens planted in
the US and the UK during the second world war.
Burpee's marketing message
for its Money Garden is more closely focused on the current crisis, saying
that gardeners can "watch your assets grow before your eyes".
"Unlike any
stock you ever bought, you can enjoy your returns sautéed, boiled,
braised, broiled or served raw," exclaims the blurb.
Michael J. Panzner
Editor, Financialarmageddon.com
Michael J. Panzner is a
25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the
author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending
Catastrophes, published by Kaplan Publishing.
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