A recent report from the USA says that seed sales are up by 20 percent in that country.

The reason? In response to the economic crisis, people are buying seeds to grow own vegetables. Whenever bad times loom, humans tend to turn back to Mother Earth.

South Africans are feeling the tremors of the global economic upheavals, but the crisis does not seem to be as desperate here as it is in some developed countries. Perhaps that is why the general domestic gardening population still favours the seeds of enjoyment over the seeds of necessity: South Africans are buying seeds, but mostly seeds that will grow to give pleasure to the eye, as opposed to serving for human consumption.

How else to explain the fact that out of over 1700 different listings offering seeds in the bidorbuy Gardening section only one (yes, one) advertises a vegetable – green creeper beans, to be precise.

bidorbuy sellers would probably do well to watch the domestic economic trends. The idea is to stock up on seeds of vegetables and other edibles if the the freezing winds of recession turn towards the (relatively) sunny South Africa.

In the meantime, it is unlikely that any but the most resolute organic food enthusiasts among the South African gardeners will replace flower beds with vegetables patches – even though the latter can be as decorative as the former.

If the view above persuaded you to dig over your flower beds and plant beans, carrots, cabbages and other beauties instead, be warned that a variety of little creatures (with wings or without) will also find those veggies irresistibly attractive. To prevent them from getting to your produce before you do, scare them away with the help of old and damaged CD and DVD discs.

You need to build a scare-crow type of contraption (two crossed pieces of wood should work well) and hang the discs from it. The discs will move with the slightest breeze. The reflection of the sun on them is guaranteed to send both rodents and birds running (or flying, as the case may be) for dear life.