While many industries were weakened during COVID-19, home horticulture did not. It was one of the few industries that grew as more and more people stayed at home.
Funds for home gardening supplies and tree nurseries rose 8.6%, according to the US Census Bureau. The only sectors where more money was spent in the first six months of the pandemic were beer, wine and spirits, grocery stores, and e-commerce stores.
“I think it’s definitely a collective consciousness that I see around the world, especially here in the United States,” said Alkemia Earth, a health and wellness coach. “People were very receptive to going into the garden, planting something, and it was really inspiring.”
Together with her husband Ietef Vita, Earth helped boost the market by sending packets of seeds across the country. In 2020, they sent more than 20,000 to various households and businesses.
“I think culinary climate protection is important. I think the focus on using art for social change can easily change the way people consciously consume, ”said Vita.
The couple’s mission is to create an ecosystem of their own. What happens in the garden feeds their passion and what their passion feeds their art because Vita, also known as DJ CAVEM, produces eco-conscious hip-hop in his home studio in Denver.
“You know, we use music as a form not only to inform and involve new generations, but also to bring a new sound and a new vibration to communities that have no access without suffering from gentrification,” said Vita .
Vita includes seed packets with the purchase of his new album entitled BIOMiMICZ. He’s also helped start local farmers markets in the greater Denver area to get his message across to as many people as possible.
“It’s a trap album about gardening, let’s face it,” Vita said with a laugh. “I released my latest track on Earth Day.”
