It becomes pretty obvious how monumental a shift in home gardening we are seeing if you take a look at the seed holders in most department or agricultural stores. All those dusty old packets have been completely swiped by home gardeners. We’ve seen this phenomenon before. After the Second World War, there was a huge resurgence in suburban produce gardens all over the western world. At first this feels to me like a good testament to the resilience of humankind, but it also makes me realize how reactionary we tend to be. After all, most of those post-war gardens have disappeared over the years. My hope is that these gardens will be here to stay, ready to help offset food needs during future disasters, and that they won’t fall back into obscurity once the memory of COVID starts to fade, and convenience tempts once again.
