Paul Bibby
Hundreds of locals are starting home veggie gardens or expanding existing ones, amidst lingering fears of a coronavirus-related disruption to food supply, and a desire to improve their physical health.
In a trend that is somewhat reminiscent of the home gardening movement during the Second World War, backyard food gardens are spawning like mushrooms across the Shire and beyond.
Local shops selling seedlings and other garden supplies are struggling to keep up with demand, while a number of online seed sellers have had to suspend operations due to the huge back-log of orders.
‘People are buying seeds, seedlings, potting mix, soil, fertilizer, compost mixes – you name it,’ a staff member at a local gardening and farm supplies business said.
‘We’ve had to put a three-punnet limit on seedlings [a total of 18 seedlings]. Before that people were buying 10, 12, 15 punnets at a time.
‘Half the time they didn’t have the space or didn’t really know how to plant that many and so the survival was next to zero.’
The staff member said demand for laying hens was also through the roof.
‘The chook guy is getting hammered…and we’re selling a tonne of fencing wire and that sort of stuff.’
Queensland based organic seed producer Eden Seeds recently announced that it was so inundated with orders it could not meet demand.
‘We have had to disconnect our phones lines and close our website from accepting new orders so that we can focus on dispatching existing seed orders,’ the business said in an announcement on its website.
‘We are planning to re-open for new business after Easter, though we expect there will again be delays.’
Local ecological gardener and educator Ian Thomas said he believed the upsurge in people growing their own food reflected fears about a disruption to food supply, as well as a desire to be healthier.
‘With all the news and speculation about COVID-19 people haven’t really known what to believe,’ said Mr Thomas, who grows spray-free fruit and vegetables on the property he manages in Mullumbimby.
‘Will the supermarkets keep providing good quality food at a reasonable price? Will they have my favourite fruit and vegetables? Yes, there’s an increased risk of exposure if I go shopping, but is there a risk that the food is contaminated?’
He said there was also a growing awareness of the health benefits of homegrown food, including its immune boosting properties.
‘Obviously the food from your backyard is going to be a lot fresher and therefore more nutrient rich than anything from a shop, even if you’re eating it on the day of delivery,’ Mr Thomas said.
‘What people may not be so aware of is that healthy plants are home to microbiomes [communities of micro-organisms and bacteria that protect the plant from disease and pests] that are specifically related to their immediate environment.
‘So when you not only consume but handle plants that are growing in your own backyard, you are absorbing microbiomes that are tailored specifically for the environment in which you’re living.
‘So you’re getting an amazing immune-boosting dose of microbiomes on top of the nutrients you’re getting from these fresh, spray-free vegetables and fruit.’
Mr Thomas and his wife have started the Gourmand Gardener Facebook page to share tips and tricks for growing better quality food for less effort and cost.
*This story was amended on April 13, 2020 to reflect that Queensland based organic seed producer Eden Seeds had been inundated by orders and had not ‘shut down’, as previously published.
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