Features
Back to basics
The credit crunch may be hitting our pockets, but it seems to have us hitting the garden too, with demand for vegetable and fruit seed skyrocketing over the past year.
The Irish Times recently reported that vegetable seed is outselling flower seed at DIY chain Woodie's by three-to-two. In 2007 they were tied, while in 2006 flower seed was ahead. Suffolk-based seed specialists Thompson & Morgan have reported a similar story, while in the entire UK, vegetable seed now outsells flower seed for the first time since the Second World War.
Economic motive
While growing-your-own had become somewhat fashionable before the credit crunch hit, more people than ever are now picking up a spade. Bruce Durell of Dublin Food Growing believes the international food crisis earlier this year kick started the trend. Dublin Food Growing is a network for those committed to increasing the amount of food grown in Dublin - be it in back gardens, balconies, allotments, community gardens or commercial farms.
"The food crisis implored people to search for alternatives. People might not have thought about the relationship between money and food before," says Durrell, who thinks the trend will continue to strengthen as the economy enters recession. "Everybody I talk to is talking about wanting to grow more food. It might have been seen as a healthy and green thing before, but now the money argument is coming into it more."
Renewed interest
Peter Bourke of the Irish Seed Savers has also seen demand for seeds soar over the last year. "We've found this year that the number of enquiries about growing techniques, about what to sow at what time, has increased dramatically. I think there's a movement by people towards growing their own food, and towards growing healthy food," he says. The Seed Savers' principal aim is to conserve and distribute the seeds of endangered Irish vegetable and fruit varieties.
Bourke isn't convinced the trend is being driven by economic factors though - he believes that people's desire to spend time outdoors, keep physically active and eat healthily are key factors. "I would think that people are focusing more on the positive aspects of growing their food, rather than on any apocalyptic fears," he says. Whatever is behind the current trend, there are certainly historical reasons to think that as the economy worsens, more people strive to become self-sufficient. In the early 1980s, almost 40 per cent of people with gardens grew some of their own food, but the figure has since fallen to around 10 per cent. During the first and second world wars 'victory gardens' planted in the US produced around 40 per cent of all the vegetables consumed nationally.
Waiting list
Just like seed, demand for allotments appears to be growing. Fingal Council already has a waiting list of 500 for the 448 allotments that it will open next year - tenants face a waiting list of up to two years as the existing 100 allotment holders will get first priority. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown council is no longer taking names for its waiting list, which is full, while South Dublin County's Council's waiting list has doubled in the past year.
With local authorities struggling - or unwilling - to satisfy demand for allotments, Bruce Durrell says private allotments could become increasingly common on farmland near urban centres, and on land earmarked for future development.
In fashion
So how much can those wanting to grow food - be it at home or on an allotment - expect to save? It will obviously depend on how much land you have and what you want to grow, but one UK study found that every 5kg of tomatoes grown at home saves about £20 (as well as 45kg of CO2). A couple in the US found that, over the course of a year, they'd spend $313 on growing food, but yielded $607 worth of fresh produce in return.
Durrell says home growers can save even more by adapting their diet to the seasons, and to local conditions. "If you eat salad, you can go out into the garden and pick it for virtually nothing," he adds. "I spend very little money on food. If I have a couple of friends over we can have a meal and apart from the oils and spices almost everything can come from the garden. You can entertain five or six people for very little cost."
Durrell believes there have been gradual shifts in the types of food that is seen as fashionable - from organic food to market-bought produce to exotic food. "Now it all about growing it yourself," he says. "It's becoming socially and culturally acceptable, and being seen as a cool and interesting thing to do."
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