The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult few years, but it has been a boon for green industries like nurseries and greenhouses, because gardening has become a new hobby for many people in recent years. Will the growth of the horticulture industry continue as society reopens post-pandemic?
Since a new wave of pandemics hit in March this year, "hoarding vegetables" and "grabbing vegetables" have become the top priorities of many citizens across the country. When the lockdown is at home and "one vegetable is hard to find", it is better to use local materials and grow your own vegetables! Many people have had this idea, and shallots, celery and bean sprouts have become popular.
For planting vegetables, you don’t have to worry about the venue. A yard, a terrace, a balcony, a window sill, or several flower pots can be used, and you don’t even need to care about the material and size of the flower pots.
Which vegetables are convenient for you to grow? First of all, green onions, coriander, celery, and leeks can regain their vitality as long as the roots are kept; secondly, leafy vegetables, such as chrysanthemum, water spinach, lettuce and chicken feathers, have a high germination rate and a fast growth rate. Suitable for all seasons, cuttings can live. Various peppers in melons and fruits and radishes and potatoes in rhizomes are crops that are easy to use and manage.
Most people would say that the coronavirus pandemic hasn't been a good one for the past few years. But for green industries like nurseries and greenhouses, it's been a boon. According to new research from the University of Georgia published in HortTechnology, once social restrictions are lifted in the post-pandemic era and society restarts, the growth of the gardening industry may not remain at the same level, but for many people, gardening may be positive. is a new hobby that they will continue to engage in.
The study surveyed more than 4,200 participants and found that about a third of respondents started gardening in 2020 because they were spending more time at home. Many also built new lawns and made garden renovations, such as installing new planting beds and other horticultural features.
The study pointed out that due to the current low interest rates, many people can invest in their own homes through financing methods such as borrowing. The pandemic has people looking for things to do at home, either on their own or with their kids, leading to a huge demand for gardening and plants.
Just under half of respondents said they did not plan to garden in the future, even if they had such an experience in 2020. But still one in 10 respondents said they started gardening in 2020 and plan to continue in the future, including 11% of Gen Xers (those born between 1964 and 1980) and 13% of millennials Millennials and younger.
A lot of younger consumers are getting into gardening because of the pandemic and having to stay at home, and plants are proving to be psychologically helpful in many ways. Gardening not only gives people something to do, it also brings them more joy. On the other hand, food insecurity has also pushed some people into gardening as a hobby.
Food prices in general are at an all-time high in 2021, partly due to inflation, which is another driver for people to start gardening. Fertilizers and plants are not immune to inflation these days, and their prices are also rising. While plants are not a necessity, if someone wants to build a bunker in their backyard, they buy seeds; if someone buys a tomato, they have to rely on inputs such as fertilizers to keep it alive.
Some participants in the study said there was a more practical reason for choosing gardening, food. About 14 percent of respondents said they plan to continue growing crops in the future because they are concerned about food shortages. Many food supplies may not reach pre-pandemic levels anytime soon, due to problems with supply chains and worker shortages.
This kind of worry is happening now in Shanghai, the epicenter of the pandemic storm, and most people are locked in their homes, suffocation, anxiety and boredom, almost simultaneously. Gardening is more than just growing vegetables, it is a healing remedy. Even if it's just a window sill, you can get a delicious meal, which is pleasing to the eyes, and can also reap the fun of a family's busy life.
Planting in the city is a real way of life, it is about beauty, about the experience of life, and about the relationship between people and nature. In the post-pandemic era, will you still insist on "growing vegetables"?
