Real Versus Perceived Economic Savings of Garden Vegetable Cultivation (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION An economic downturn, rises in the retail price of food and a sharp increase in the price of oil have led many commentators to steer gardeners towards back-garden vegetable production (e.g. Brooks Brown 2009; Cox 2008). Indeed, since 2006, the sale of vegetable seeds in the UK has exceeded that of flowers for the first time since the Second World War (Hoy 2007). For many years, cited advantages of home grown vegetables have included increased choice of varieties, freshness, reduced carbon footprint (mainly through reduced transportation) and control over pesticide and fertiliser use, a concepl frequently packaged in the term "provenance" (Kemp 1977; Halweil and Prugh 2002). However, today, although these ideas are still important, it is the potential for financial savings that is most commonly cited in the media (e.g. Brookes Brown 2008; Davies 2008)