\n<\/p>\n
In the UK it is a similar picture at the Seed Co-operative, a business that is owned and run by its members.<\/p>\n
Due to what it says is “exceptional demand”, at a time when staffing numbers are lower, it is having to limit the time its website is open for online sales to a window of just two hours every Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
David Price, the Seed Co-operative’s managing director, says that orders had been as much as six times higher than a year ago.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had good levels of stock, but lots of others are now running out,” says Mr Price.<\/p>\n
He is concerned that current demand for seeds could mean that supplies are limited in the coming years.<\/p>\n
“We’re running on multi-annual production schedules, so it could become a real issue in a few years, when seed supply hasn’t had time to replenish.”<\/p>\n
While the UK historically had hundreds of farming companies that specialised in seed production, the industry has dwindled. As a result, Mr Price says UK firms like his have to source most of their supplies from the Netherlands and Germany.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands is, in fact, the world’s largest exporter of seeds for cultivation, followed by the US, France and Germany.<\/p>\n
While people who have their own gardens obviously have an advantage when it comes to growing their own crops, windowsills can work fine for smaller plants and vegetables.<\/p>\n
In Berlin, Alica Ferrer and her friend Lena M\u00fcller launched their indoor gardening box business Gruneo just two weeks before coronavirus hit Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n