Renewed interest in grow your own food

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Americans are planning to grow their way out of the recession by making use of their gardens and greenhouses to produce their own food.

According to the National Gardening Association, around 43 million people across the US plan to add some home-grown fruit and vegetables to their diets this year.

The figure, reported in the East Valley Tribune, represents a massive 19 per cent increase on 2008s figures and is a measure of gardeners faith in the potential of their produce.

One gardener who plans to use his skills to transform his life is father of four James Scott.

After being laid off by Freescale Semiconductor recently, Mr Scott, 43, told the newspaper that he is now searching for ways to save cash.

"Were really putting more effort into our garden, and this is definitely a strategy to save money," he said.

"Anything I can grow out of the ground is free," he said.

"The water you pay for, but its pretty cheap. (For) 20 bucks more of water a month, you can raise all of your own vegetables and any of the fresh produce that you would normally get from the supermarket."

Aside from the economic reasons, environmental concerns may also have played a part in the renewed interest in using the garden or greenhouse to produce food.

Food grown at home helps cut carbon emissions from shipping vehicles and supermarket refrigeration units.

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