As the COVID-19 pandemic forces many New Jerseyans to stay at home – some are turning to gardening as a new outdoor hobby.

“This is our first year doing a garden, so we're doing an herb garden and vegetable garden,” says Grace Vinokur, of Cranford.

Vinokur says that she thinks it will be a fun activity to do with her three children.

“Usually in the spring we are darting from sporting event to sporting event, so we’re going to try,” she says.

The owners of some garden centers in New Jersey say that Vinokur and her family are not alone. The staff at Dreyer Farms in Cranford says that they have been seeing a lot more customers since the pandemic began.

“May is our crazy time, but this is kind of next-level,” says general manager Justine Gray. “Everybody’s home. They are interested and I think there is a desire to provide for yourself right now, which is awesome.”

The uptick in an interest in gardening is keeping Dreyer Farms in business and is also allowing the staff to give back to the community, by adding new items to the store so that customers can do one-stop shopping.

“Usually we only do local New Jersey. This year we felt we should do things to make it easier for those who are not comfortable going to larger stores,” says Gray.

All of the registers at Dreyer Farms have been moved outside to allow for more social distancing.