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Community gardens are sprouting all over the United States.

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Amateur gardeners like Sean Sullivan in Los Angeles are driven by an urge to green the planet.

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Others farm their own veggies to save money amid the recession, exercise, and eat fresh.

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Sue Pringle is weeding her plot in west Philadelphia so she can grow lettuces and radishes.

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I've just been taken off the waiting list and have been admitted to the Garden Court Community Garden.

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I've been on the waiting list for a year, and I feel lucky to be in.

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That plot was formerly one of 30,000 vacant lots in Philadelphia.

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The National Gardening Association predicts community gardens in the United States

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could mushroom five-fold to around five million over the next few years.

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Experts believe this trend is sustainable because of the aging baby boomer population,

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the earth movement, and the greening of once-empty lots.

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Eva Monheim is a senior horticulture lecturer at Temple University Ambler.

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In most of the industrialized cities, you're going to see the derelict buildings,

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They're coming down. They're using the vacant lots for community gardens.

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Her campus turned this unused plot into a community garden.

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Horticulture supervisor Grace Chapman says the response was overwhelming.

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I just sent out a quick email just to our campus,

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but I think people started forwarding it to different people on main campus,

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so I have about 45 people who are looking for spots, and we only have around 30 that we have available.

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One woman emailed me and said,

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'I'm so glad you're doing this because, due to the economic problems that my family is facing

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we've lost a couple of jobs, and I have extended family living with me,

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so really, I'm counting on this as a supplement to our income

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hmm, and also, you know, to cut our grocery bills in half.

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Back in balmy Los Angeles, Sean says it's not just the environment

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 but the community environment that's satisfying.

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At community gardens, there's lots of people with lots of knowledge

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who I find to be very friendly and willing to share that information,

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And be part of a movement that has people returning to their roots.

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Fred Katayama, Reuters, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Reuters - Apr 15 2009