Home gardens bloom as economy shrivels

The downturn in the economy finds more people with home gardens
The downturn in the economy finds more people with home gardens
The downturn in the economy is negatively affecting many industries, but it appears that more Americans are turning to the time-honored tradition of growing food at home.

According to the National Gardening Association, the number of people growing vegetables at home will increase by 40 percent this year - one of the few industries seeing an increase.

"As the economy goes down, food gardening goes up," Bruce Butterfield, research director for the National Gardening Association told USA Today. "We haven't seen this kind of spike in 30 years."

Walter Yates of Park Seed says his company's sales are up 20 percent this year and tells the news provider that the increase in home gardens is typical during a recession.

The rise in home gardens can also been seen on a governmental level as the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently broke ground on The People's Garden which will remove 1,250 square feet of paved surface and return it to grass.

This is the first of a number of community gardens the USDA plans to grow at its facilities around the world.ADNFCR-2034-ID-19041042-ADNFCR