Created: 2/20/2009 7:03:25 PM 
Undated -- 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.
Locally, store owners have seen an increase in people wanting to grow for themselves. They say now's the time to start planting to save money and see a harvest in the fall. Mark Abee, owner of AB Seed says, "You can probably save several hundred dollars if you grow your own vegetables in the course the summer, its easy to do, you need some sunlight, you need a little bit of land, and there's plenty of ways to learn how to do it and we'd be happy to help people."
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USA Today
