Due to High Prices, Growing Lettuce and Green Onions at Home... Home Gardening Followed by Home Farming Craze

Fresh Vegetables Up 17% in a Month... Prices Expected to Rise Further Due to Heavy Rain Damage
Seedlings and Seeds Sales Increase Amid 'Home Farming' Boom

Photo by Pixabay.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] # Oh Jeongmin (30, pseudonym), an office worker living in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, created a small garden using her apartment veranda. Growing herbs and lettuce, Oh often picks them to use as ingredients when cooking at home. She said, "Living alone, I often end up throwing away vegetables because I can't finish them all. When vegetable prices are high like these days, it feels wasteful to throw them away. Growing them at home allows me to pick only what I need, and it is not affected by inflation, so there are many advantages."

As the number of 'frugal consumers' tightening their belts due to high inflation increases, interest in 'home farming' is also rising. Home farming refers to harvesting crops such as lettuce and perilla leaves directly for consumption. The 'Patech' (green onion + investment), which became popular last year when green onion prices soared, is also a type of home farming. Sales of related products are also showing an upward trend amid this craze.

Recently, on social networking services (SNS) such as Instagram, photos of 'home farming enthusiasts' growing various vegetables at home can be frequently seen. They utilize small spaces such as verandas, rooftops, and yards as gardens to grow crops like lettuce and cherry tomatoes. Searching the hashtag 'veranda garden' on Instagram yields about 61,000 posts. The hashtag 'rooftop garden' also returns about 30,000 posts.

Accordingly, sales of home farming-related products are also increasing. Wemakeprice analyzed sales data over the past month (July 10 to August 9) and found a sharp increase in the sales of seedlings and seeds. Sales of lettuce seedlings and green onion seedlings rose significantly by 98% and 197%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. During the same period, radish seeds (27%) and chili pepper seeds (67%) also increased. Sales of auxiliary materials such as potting soil (34%) and gardening scissors (176%) also rose. Wemakeprice speculated that the 'no-spending challenge' (extreme reduction in consumption) due to inflation influenced the home farming craze.

Recently, posts related to 'Home Farming' have been appearing on Instagram. Photo by Instagram screenshot.

As inflation continues, vegetable prices are soaring rapidly due to abnormal weather such as heatwaves and heavy rains. According to the 'July Consumer Price Trends' announced by Statistics Korea, fresh vegetable prices rose 17.3% compared to the previous month and 26% compared to a year ago. In particular, with recent heavy rains causing flooding damage to crops, there are forecasts that vegetable prices will rise further.

Yoo Seulhye (27, pseudonym), an office worker who is growing cherry tomatoes at home, said, "I started growing cherry tomatoes last month because they are relatively easy to manage. It is amazing and rewarding to see them grow well with the care I put in. Above all, the fact that they can be grown easily at a low cost is attractive."

Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged and people spent more time indoors, 'home gardening'?decorating spaces by growing plants?also gained attention. Home farming is an extension of this trend but differs in that it involves cultivating edible plants like vegetables rather than ornamental ones.

Professor Lee Eunhee of Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies said, "As prices rise, a 'frugal investment' craze (combining frugality and investment) is spreading mainly among young people trying to save on living expenses. Growing vegetables directly to eat is part of this effort. It is expected that more consumers will grow and eat their own vegetables in the future."