Sales Rocket for grow your own veg

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A Cornish business is reporting a 600% rise in sales of its organic vegetable, herb and fruit plants, as Britons turn to self sufficiency in these troubled times.

As Covid-19 causes chaos for the UK’s food supply chain, Rocket Gardens is providing people all over the country with the ability to grow their own.

The plant nursery says it saw a staggering 600% rise in sales and a 700% increase in new customers within the first two weeks of ‘lockdown.’

Mike Kitchen, founder of Rocket Gardens, and his team sow and grow thousands of organic vegetable plug plants, herbs and potted fruits ready to be delivered from the farm straight to gardens across the UK.

This year, Rocket Gardens, which is based on a farm just outside Helston, will be shipping plants to over 20,000 gardens, vegetable patches, allotments and window boxes in big cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and London to rural areas such as the Scilly Isles and Inverness.

As a result, Rocket Gardens has been able to offer employment to people in the local area who have found themselves out of work, whilst ensuring a safe working environment in-line with social distancing guidelines.

The farm has more than doubled its workforce and is offering paid work experience opportunities to students back at home during the lockdown. In 2020 Rocket Gardens will have sown well over 2 million extra seeds to keep up with the additional demand.

Kitchen said: “The whole team here at Rocket Gardens has been hugely motivated by the increased interest in the grow your own movement since the outbreak of Covid-19.

“Our primary goal has always been to educate and empower the nation to grow their own and eat seasonally. We hope that this dramatic peak in interest will continue to rise beyond coronavirus. We would love to see the nation make some permanent changes to their mindsets with regards to becoming more self-sufficient.”

In addition to the comprehensive growing guide that accompanies all orders, Rocket Gardens is supporting families facing the challenges of homeschooling during the lockdown. Kitchen and the team have turned gardening into an educational tool by creating lesson plans. These are available to download from the Rocket Gardens website.