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/ Courtesy of 1-800-got-junk |
By Rachel Lee
An increasing number of people are growing food at home for pleasure and health.
According to online retailer Gmarket, gardening tools and equipment have become more popular than they were last year. Sales of seeds and plants were up 79 percent last month from a year earlier. The sale of vegetable plants, in particular, was up fourfold during the same period.
"More people care about food safety and healthy eating, so they start growing vegetables," Lee Eun-hee, the company spokeswoman, said. "Indoor gardening also helps calm and relax your mind, which is one of the reasons that boosted sales."
The company also saw sales of vegetable seeds, gardening tool kits and cultivators increase robustly.
Seedlings and plant protectors were up significantly.
Retailer E-Mart saw the same phenomenon ― the number of gardening tool kits sold surpassed 15,000 last month.
"Vegetable seeds, like salad leaves and herbs, are getting increasingly popular and even some unusual ones like balloon flower roots as indoor gardening gives your home the look and feel of the countryside," a company spokeswoman said.