Backyard veg patch blooming
THE humble vegie patch is enjoying a suburban renaissance, as cash-strapped households adopt green thumbs to save money.
The cost-of-living crunch has spurred one in two Aussies to start growing their own food and left a further third considering it, data shows.
Of 1036 people surveyed by YouGov, 56 per cent said they had installed fruit and vegetable gardens – one-third of them in the past six months.
Families with children under 18 were more likely to grow edible food (68 per cent) compared with those without kids (48 per cent).
Across the country, Queenslanders embraced the trend most actively (57 per cent), followed by South Australia (56 per cent), Western Australia (55 per cent), Victoria
(53 per cent) and NSW (45 per cent).
“Whether you have a balcony, a backyard or even a couple of acres, the small investment to set up a successful, contained garden bed will see you and your family reap the significant health and financial benefits of growing your food,” said Simon Holloway from DIY vegetable kit company Vegepod, which commissioned the study.
A separate report from hardware business Bunnings found a surprising uptake in edible gardens among younger Aussies.
Eighty three per cent of 18to-34-year-olds had begun growing their own fruit and vegies.
A recent Food Corp report found 56 per cent of households had begun only shopping for seasonal vegetables because of financial pressures.
Respondents cited groceries as having the most noticeable price increase, ahead of rent, energy bills and mortgage repayments.
“Better quality and taste are the main reasons Australians have been developing their green thumbs, yet as the cost of living continues to rise, saving money is another key motivator,” Bunnings gardening category manager Belinda Rakers said.
Bunnings general manager of home and lifestyle Adrian
Pearce said: “With the weather warming up and plenty of spring produce to choose from, we’re seeing lots of customers stock up on gardening supplies, including seedlings, seeds, raised garden beds and soil.”
Father of two Liam O’Toole says he has made big savings since he started growing his own leafy greens, herbs and tomatoes.
“The cost of produce throughout the pandemic and in particular the last few months was a really big thing for us, we wanted to be able to grow our own and save some money,” he said.
“We would have easily saved $500, some plants grow very quickly and with those leafy greens you can just pick as you go, it is like a neverending fruit and vegie shop.”
Bunnings said the best vegetables to plant in spring were tomatoes, lettuce, corn, strawberries and zucchini.