Anderson’s Greenhouse employee and gardening enthusiast Olivia McNair says that business is still booming this year, between their curbside pick-up orders and in-store shopping.
Many young or inexperienced gardeners are dropping in to expand the gardens they started last spring, during COVID-19 lockdown.
Much like toilet paper, hair dye, and flour, gardening equipment became a hot commodity last summer. So much so that hardware stores and garden centres like Anderson’s Greenhouse had a hard time keeping up with demand.
The phenomenon, sometimes referred to as “panic gardening” or “victory gardening,” appears to be a lasting trend.
“It’s still gaining momentum.,” says McNair. “People seem to be trying new things. Last year people had some successes and failures. We’re seeing people returning again, trying new things in the garden, trying new techniques. We definitely see a lot more people interested in container gardening. People with small space or that don’t have a space large enough to accommodate a garden, they’re really thinking outside the box and trying out a container garden. It hasn’t really slowed down from last year, which is kind of incredible to have that kind of revival of Victory Garden style stuff.”
McNair says that many of the new gardeners are particularly interested in growing their own food rather than ornamental plants.
Vegetables grown in containers have become increasingly common among young people, on apartment porches or windowsills.
“I would recommend if you have a pot large enough, trying out cherry tomatoes,” says McNair. “A determinant variety, like Tiny Tim, so they kind of don’t take over your space. I would certainly recommend trying out lettuce… Spinach is a really easy green to grow in whatever container, I’ve grown them in milk cartons before when I didn’t have a planter. Peppers! Hot peppers, and sweet peppers do really well in containers. So my word of advice would be to just try to experiment for sure, because that’s how you kind of learn. Chat with somebody that has a bit more experience.”
McNair also recommends herbs as a way to get started with container gardening, which make a delicious addition to cooking or baking.
Visit Anderson’s Greenhouse at 19 School Lane Monday through Saturday from 9AM to 5PM.
[Correction: The audio of this story and a previously published written version mistakenly referred to Olivia McNair as Olivia Caldwell]
