EAST AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — As an unprecedented number of people stay at home to stay safe, many are finding peace in planting.
Chris Lavocat, co-owner of Lavocat Greenhouse and Nursery in East Amherst, said he’s seeing a lot of new customers who are looking for something safe and fun to do.
"We're seeing a big influx of people. Our sales are up over 100 percent," he said.
Vegetable and house plants are quite popular.
"Everything has different requirements, different light requirements and different watering requirements. In general, if you have a nice sunny window, it's usually a good spot for most of our houseplants that we carry," said Lavocat.
If you are new to gardening and planting, experts say the first thing you should do is make sure you have healthy soil for your plants.
Next is weather. Lavocat said as long as night-time temperatures stay above 40, you should be in good shape.
Also gaining in popularity right now are victory gardens.
The victory garden movement stared during World War II, when Americans would grow food using any space they could find.
"Months ago people were in here buying seeds, getting that started. Now I think you're going to see that influx of people that are looking for the established plants. Because it's a little late to seed some items," said Lavocat.
So as we head into mid-May, Lavocat suggests you start planting as soon as you can.
