Responsible Chemistry
Repelling Mosquitoes Naturally
It’s the busy season for The Home Depot’s outdoor garden department, and no one knows that better than Matt Elsey. He’s the Product Merchant in charge of fertilizer and seed. We’ve asked Matt to give Eco Actions some insight into the best options for organic gardeners.
EA: How big is organic gardening at The Home Depot? And can you explain what organic gardening looks like for most of our shoppers?
ME: The past few years have really changed the relationship that people have with their homes. Gardening is just one example where things have taken off as people have started to spend more time at home. If you think back to the beginning of COVID, there was a time when people were concerned about food shortages. Many people started gardening out of necessity and haven’t stopped. In fact, the biggest weeks we’ve ever had in our packed seed category were in the spring of 2020 when most of the U.S. went on lockdown. So many resourceful people turned to their yards and started growing their own food. It’s really impressive.
