The humble home garden is making a quiet comeback. Rising grocery costs and a renewed taste for practical self-reliance are pushing households to plant spinach, herbs, tomatoes, and chillies wherever sun and soil can be found.

The economics are simple enough. Food and non-alcoholic beverages have outpaced headline prices for much of the year, keeping pressure on household budgets even as overall inflation stays near the lower end of the target range. As a result, people are increasingly turning to simple gardening to supplement their needs.

Policy and civil society have moved in step. The Western Cape Department of Agriculture says it: “actively encourages citizens to start household and community food gardens” as part of a wider food-security effort that can be copied anywhere in the country. This is not a lifestyle fad. It is a practical hedge that lowers grocery spend, stretches nutrition and builds resilience into daily life.

Even the retail sector has noticed the shift. Stores such as The General Store in Roodepoort have expanded their ranges of pots, seeds, garden tools, and soil mixes to meet new demand from home growers. Staff there say customers are: “looking for affordable ways to grow what they eat,” a sign that gardening has moved from hobby to household economics.

The social upside is real. Gardens teach children patience and care. They connect neighbours who swap seedlings and advice. They also turn dead space into living space. For households watching every rand, small patches of green can make a measurable difference by cutting food costs.