The Economy's Other Green Shoots: A Gardening Boom
By: 
"A lot of people don't have a lot of space for a garden," says Tom Prichard, Backyard Leisure's president. He estimates that gardeners can plant just as much in the Oasis as they could in a conventional 30-foot by 40-foot row garden.
Prichard got the idea for the gardening system from Lisa Singer, a lawyer turned gardening expert, who was custom-building similar systems at a cost of between $2,000 and $3,000 each. (Watch Singer's own garden grow and get tips at her blog.)
With Backyard Leisure well on its way to reaching its sales goals for the Oasis gardening system, the company is setting its sights on other versions that are smaller or modular, which would be better for gardeners with more limited space.
OnAmazon.com, products that promise to make gardening easier are selling well.
"We are seeing trends toward easy-to-use, environmentally friendly products," said Matt Dean, director of Tools and Home Improvement at Amazon.com. Some of the popular products include aerator shoes, weeders, pruners, folding shovels and garden tools for kids.
And when it's time to harvest, you may want to look into canning. Apparently, more people are looking at that as well. Sales of home canning supplies are up 30 percent in 2008, according to a spookeswoman for Ball, a unit of Jarden. This trend has continued for the first three months of this year, and may keep going in the months ahead as Ball is seeing more traffic to its website.
More from Consumer Nation:
- Kitchen Bailout: Food Companies Go Retro
- How Flu Fears Will Crimp Spending—And Where
- A New Pepsi Generation
- McDonald's CEO: Consumers Still 'Skittish'
Questions? Comments? Email us at consumernation@cnbc.com
