High prices at the pump and the produce aisle have sent home gardeners into their yards with a mission: Grow-it-yourself dining. Sales of vegetable seeds, tomato transplants and fruit trees are soaring as enterprising planters grow their own food. Burpee, the nation’s largest seed company, has sold twice as many seeds this year as it did last year, with half the increase from new customers.

Interest in growing fruits and vegetables picks up during economic downturns, people in the industry say. Seed companies say a dime spent on seeds yields about $1 worth of produce. Bad economic times can also mean more time to garden — people who cancel their summer vacations are around to water their tomatoes.

[Read](http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-05-20-grow-your-own-food_N.htm?csp=23&RM_Exclude=aol “Read the Article”) (AP via USA Today)