Cassandra Feeley finds it hard to manage on her husband’s income. So this year she did something more than a hobby: She planted vegetables in her yard. For her fist garden, Ms Feeley has put in 15 tomato plants, and five rows of a variety of vegetables. The family’s old farm house has become a chicken bourse, its residents arriving next month. Last year, Ms.Rita Gartin kept a small garden. This year she has made it much larger because, she said, “The cost of everything is going up and I was looking to lose a few pounds too; so it’s a win-win situation all around.”

卡桑德拉·费利发现靠她丈夫的收入很难维持生活，因此，今年她做了一些业余爱好以外的事：在院子里种菜。在她的第一个花园里，费利女士种植了15株西红柿和5排各种蔬菜。家里的旧农舍已经变成了养鸡场，居民们下个月就会入住。去年，丽塔·加廷女士经营着一个小花园。今年花园变得更大了，她说，“所有的东西都在涨价，我正好也希望减点肥，所以这是一个双赢的事情。”

They are among the growing number of Americans who, driven by higher living costs and a falling economy, have taken up vegetable gardening for the first time. Other have increased the size of their existing gardens. Seed companies and garden shops say no since the 1970s have there been such an increase in interest in growing food at home. Now many gardens across the country had been sold out for several months. In Austin, Tex., some of the gardens have a three-year waiting list.

在生活成本上升和经济下滑的推动下，越来越多的美国人开始第一次种菜，另一些人则增加了现有花园的面积。种子公司和花园商店表示，自20世纪70年代以来，人们对在家种植的兴趣从未如此高涨。现在，全国各地的许多花园已经卖光了好几个月。在德克萨斯州奥斯汀，一些花园甚至要等上三年。

George C.Ball Jr, owner of a company, said sales of vegetable seeds and plants are up by 40%, over last year, double the average growth of last five years. Mr.Ball argues that some of the reasons have been building for the last few years. The big one is striking rise in the cost on food like bread and milk, together with the increases in the price of fruit and vegetables. Food prices have increase of higher oil price. People are driving less, taking fewer vacations, so there more time to garden.

一家公司的老板乔治·C·鲍尔说，蔬菜种子和植物的销售额比去年增长了40%，是过去五年平均增长率的两倍。鲍尔先生认为，过去几年来积累了一些原因。最大的原因是面包和牛奶等食品的成本大幅上升，以及水果蔬菜价格的上涨。食品价格随着油价的上涨而上涨。人们开车越来越少，休假越来越少，所以有更多的时间种菜。