Motivation behind gardening
The motivations behind the increase in gardening include self-sufficiency, the need to be in control, reduce costs, adopt a healthy lifestyle, pass time, and have a sense of comfort and hope amidst the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic. The gardening industry has benefitted from this trend with seed companies, nurseries, and farms recording a spike in sales.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/seeds-crisis-gardening-coronavirus-food_n_5e85eca0c5b6f55ebf492212
According to HuffPost, the pandemic has forced people to think about their food source, especially fruits and vegetables, with the fear of uncertain supply leading them to start growing their vegetables. Additionally, boredom and a need to feel in control have motivated people to pick up gardening. Consequently, bulk seed suppliers and greenhouse growers are on overdrive as the demand for gardening supplies including soil, fruit and vegetable seeds, and transplants increase, with companies such as Renee’s Garden Seeds, an online retailer based in California experiencing a 300% increase in vegetable and herb seeds in February.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/dining/victory-gardens-coronavirus.html
A need to be productive, create something beautiful in the middle of great stress, and provide a steady supply of nutritious food has been the motivating factor for the increased uptake of gardening, especially from beginners. Consequently, savvy nurseries moved online to cater for the increasing demand while ensuring safety by adopting a contactless curbside pickup routine. Gardening supplies such as potting soil sold out while seeds moved fast. The uptick in sales has been experienced across the country as more people pick up gardening.
As the world is surrounded by uncertainties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, people are turning to gardening to provide a soothing, family-friendly hobby that also provides supplemental food supply to ease concerns over food security. As a result, fruits and vegetable seed sales are experiencing a surge. The chairman of W. Atlee Burpee & Co, a U.S-based seed company reported that the company sold more seeds in March than any other time in its 144-year history. Another company, Territorial Seed Company in Cottage Grove based in Oregon temporarily stopped taking orders over the phone and reassigned some of its phone workers to physically fill online orders. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-earth-day-especially-remember-plants-are-non-judgmental-what-its-like-to-start-gardening-during-a-pandemic-2020-04-22
According to this article, the motivation behind gardening during the pandemic includes fun and relaxation, the need to be self-reliant and have control over their food sources, and seeking a sense of comfort and control amidst the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic. As a result of the increased interest in gardening, there has been an increase in consumer demand for fruits and vegetable seeds, with seed companies reporting a surge in sales this spring compared to the same period in previous years.
The fear of contracting the virus from surfaces, including food surfaces, has propelled some consumers to be worried about buying food, resorting to supplementing their food sourcing by growing their vegetables. Additionally, they are assured of the safety of their produce. With the increase in gardening, seed companies, and have experienced an increase and retail stores such as Walmart running out of stock of all fruit and vegetable seeds.
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article242572456.html
As the pandemic continues to threaten the food supply chain, there has been an emergence of numerous first-time gardeners, motivated by self-sufficiency, a need to limit going to grocery stores, eat healthily and save money, and a lack of confidence in the food supply chain. Consequently, local nurseries and seed companies have seen a huge surge in demand in garden supplies and seeds respectively. For instance, GardenSphere, a nursery in Tacoma, Washington, reported a four to five times increase in seeds sales than it had ever reported in a regular spring, while Ed Hume Seeds, a South Sound seed company had already sold more than 3 million seed packages this year compared to the annual 4 million packages that are normally sold.
According to Rapid Transition, people are resorting to gardening as a way of becoming self-sufficient by ensuring the future supply of nutritious food and improving wellness. As people experience reduced mobility due to the pandemic, gardens have become an escape for space and exercise.
People have started “victory gardens” as a source of hope, therapy and to feel empowered amidst the pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in a feeling of helplessness, making gardening an attraction to many people as it provided a sense of control. As a result f the increase in gardening activities, there has been an increase in sales of edibles such as vegetables, herbs, and berries.
According to USA Today, people are increasing truing to farming to pass time, while others are using it as a means of ensuring food supply after experiencing shortages in grocery stores due to panic buying. This trend has resulted in an increase in the demand for seeds and gardening tools. The uptake of gardening has been beneficial to their industry players such as farms that help people install their home gardens. For instance, the New York-based Soul Fire Farm has seen an increase in members interested in installing their home gardens, with 50 registrations set for 2020 against their usual 20 registrations annually.