Financial Times FT.com

Seed merchants reap benefit of need to cut bills

By Jonathan Birchall in New York

Published: February 5 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 5 2009 02:00

Americans are turning in increasing numbers to their back yards to save money, with leading US seed merchants reporting a dramatic surge in early sales of carrots, tomato and pepper plant seeds.

George Ball, chairman of W. Atlee Burpee, which sells directly to gardeners and via retailers such as Home Depot, told the Financial Times that sales of vegetable seeds had grown 20-30 per cent this year.

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