KEY POINTS:
Shoppers reduce bills by hoeing into their gardens
More people are growing their own food as petrol prices and rising living costs bear down on household budgets.
The food price index rose 10.6 per cent in the year to August, the steepest climb since 1990.
August also delivered the sharpest GST-exclusive monthly jump in almost 30 years.
The price pinch is driving more and more people to their local garden centres.
"There is growing awareness of the health benefits of growing your own food but it really comes down to the economic conditions people are living under," says Kings Plant Barn's general manager Chris Hall.
"I talk to other garden centres across the country and it is nationwide."
Mr Hall said the surge in sales started in autumn and continued through winter despite growing being more limited in the colder months.
"We're expecting a very busy spring."
Mr Hall said fruit tree sales were 300 per cent higher than in previous years.
People who had not gardened before were coming in to buy seedlings and get advice on starting their own vege patch. Kitset gardens with timber framing were flying out the door.
Mr Hall said framed gardens are perfect for patios or when space is limited. Inexperienced gardeners like them because they are easy to maintain.
Nursery worker Michael Rosieur said: "It is just incredible the increase. I haven't seen anything like it in my nine years. People are buying vegetable seedlings and fruit trees and they're even going to seeds.
"There is a whole generation that got lost to planting."
He said popular seedlings for spring were lettuces, capsicums, tomatoes and herbs.
Dwarf species of fruit trees were proving fashionable because they can be potted, which is ideal for tenants.
"Parents of young kids are growing their own veges for the first time. It's quite good fun educating people."
Palmers Browns Bay owner-operator Roger Butt has also noticed a correlation between the pinch of high living costs and burgeoning green fingers.
Mr Butt said vegetable seedling and fruit tree sales have skyrocketed over the last 12 months.
"It's phenomenal. The interest in growing your own has improved overall, in direct relation to the economy slowing.
"More people want to build their own gardens and more are looking for kitsets."
He said ready-to-use vegetable gardens, which are set up and planted for customers while they are at work, are also proving popular.
Demand is up for tub planters which suit people with the inclination to grow their own food but do not have much space.
Music teacher Lorraine Parnell says she knows the advantages of growing your vegetables and often finds herself feeding her extended family "and anyone who comes to the door".
"I would hesitate at buying a cauliflower for $3 when I can get a whole punnet of plants for the same price."
Create your own Eden, a national composting programme sponsored by various city councils, is also noticing the home garden trend.
Attendance is high at the free workshops offered to people wanting to learn how to turn household waste into plant food, said Auckland City Council's waste education officer Lindsey du Preez.
Ms du Preez said the main aim of Create your own Eden is to reduce the food waste taking up 50 per cent of space in household rubbish bins and ending up in landfills.
She said increased demand has led to the Auckland City Council running 24 free workshops a year.
Create your own Eden offers $20 vouchers for people to use at Palmers and participating garden centres to buy the equipment needed to start compost heaps or worm farms.
"You can't put a price on this," said Ms du Preez.
"You are teaching someone how to do something which then gets passed on to other people. And it's good for the soil.
"It has initiated a behaviour change. We did a survey and a year later 83 per cent of people who did the course are still composting their food waste," she said.
Growing tips for new budget-conscious gardeners
- Don't bite off more than you can chew. A small garden is easier to manage and will yield enough to feed the average family.
- Choose a sunny spot, preferably north facing.
- Examine your soil. You will need to determine whether your soil is heavy with clay, sandy or loam. Just squeeze a handful of dirt _ ideal soil should crumble.
- Prepare your soil. To use compost, sprinkle a thin layer over your soil and mix into the top layer with a gardening fork.
- If your soil has a lot of clay, well-rotted manure is a good remedy.
- The easy option is to build a kitset garden and buy ready-to-use soil from your local garden centre.
- Select good quality seeds or seedlings. Seedlings are less fuss and ready to plant.
-Spring is the time to plant capsicum, lettuce, peas, carrots, radishes, broccoli and chives. Make sure you read the back of seed packets for spacing.
-You can sow seeds directly into the garden but planting them in seed trays is the best way to avoid clumping.
- Keep seed trays moist and sheltered until they germinate and are ready for planting.
- Remember beans and tomatoes will need to be staked and if you plant corn, position it so it doesn't shade the other plants.
- Tubs are a great option for the single person or apartment dweller. The same rules apply but on a much smaller scale. Be careful not to let the soil dry out.
- King's Plant Barn recommends derris dust as a safe pest control. Hardline organic gardeners can pick caterpillars and insects off their plants and squash them or throw them over the neighbour's fence. Liquid copper is good for controlling fungus or blight.
