Posted on 03/11/2009 9:47:53 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
I am thinking about that too. I've have a 20 X 16 area, but we have plenty of fresh veggies year round.
We have a stable close to us and get a pickup load of composted horse manure with about 40% hay or hardwood chips for $10.00. They load as much into your pickup as you want to haul. I filled up my furrows with that, so should use a lot less water this year.
WOW -— that sure sounds like a great deal!
Interesting site; the maps are quite impressive but still remain projections on the weather and the upcoming climate.
As such, one should be cautious in making judgments of their full value.
If you read to the bottom of the piece you will run into the meat of his argument as all that proceeds it is merely priming the pump for his delivery:
“The deflation debate should end now
The droughts plaguing the world’s biggest agricultural regions should end the debate about deflation in 2009. The demand for agricultural commodities is relatively immune to developments in the business cycles (at least compared to that of energy or base metals), and, with a 20 to 40 percent decline in world production, already rising food prices are headed significantly higher.
In fact, agricultural commodities NEED to head higher and soon, to prevent even greater food shortages and famine. The price of wheat, corn, soybeans, etc must rise to a level which encourages the planting of every available acre with the best possible fertilizers. Otherwise, if food prices stay at their current levels, production will continue to fall, sentencing millions more to starvation.
Competitive currency appreciation
Some observers are anticipating “competitive currency devaluations” in addition to deflation for 2009 (nations devalue their currencies to help their export sector). The coming global food shortage makes this highly unlikely. Depreciating their currency in the current environment will produce the unwanted consequence of boosting exports-of food. Even with export restrictions like those in China, currency depreciation would cause the outflow of significant quantities of grain via the black market.
Instead of “competitive currency devaluations”, spiking food prices will likely cause competitive currency appreciation in 2009. Foreign exchange reserves exist for just this type of emergency. Central banks around the world will lower domestic food prices by either directly selling off their reserves to appreciate their currencies or by using them to purchase grain on the world market.
Appreciating a currency is the fastest way to control food inflation. A more valuable currency allows a nation to monopolize more global resources (ie: the overvalued dollar allows the US to consume 25% of the world’s oil despite having only 4% of the world’s population). If China were to selloff its US reserves, its enormous population would start sucking up the world’s food supply like the US has been doing with oil.
On the flip side, when a nation appreciates its currency and starts consuming more of the world’s resources, it leaves less for everyone else. So when china appreciates the yuan, food shortages worldwide will increase and prices everywhere else will jump upwards. As there is nothing that breeds social unrest like soaring food prices, nations around the world, from Russia, to the EU, to Saudi Arabia, to India, will sell off their foreign reserves to appreciate their currencies and reduce the cost of food imports. In response to this, China will sell even more of its reserves and so on. That is competitive currency appreciation.
When faced with competitive currency appreciation, you do NOT want to be the world’s reserve currency. The dollar is likely to do very poorly as central banks liquidate trillions in US holdings to buy food and appreciate their currencies.
Monday, February 9, 2009
by Eric deCarbonnel
Source: Market Sceptics”
Keep working on your City Council. Many of them are seeing the value of people keeping laying hens. No Roosters, of course. (Worthless, noisy, unproductive mouths at the trough that they are!) ;)
(Hens will lay eggs without fertilization; one every 72 hours or so. A true miracle.)
You are 100% correct. :)
*SNORT*
Someone on another thread said that soon we’ll be growing pot, legally, out in our yards, yet hiding tomato and pepper plants in our closets. ;)
Wow.
We’ve had three flooding spring seasons here in Southern Wisconsin, followed by drought conditions the rest of the growing season, then a ton of snow and rain all winter long into Spring again.
I’ve had customers telling me they’re losing mature trees in their yards, and no wonder.
Stop it, Karl, or I’m going to bonk you on the head with a giant zucchini! ;)
One of our church members told me about that place last month. I went and got a load, but I wish I had something larger than my S-10. It holds about three scoops (3/4 yard), so that is enough for my garden. My neighbor got two loads in his regular bed Chevy for his garden and yard.
The guy doing the loading said that they sell the stable cleanings to a local nursery and they compost it a little longer, bag it and sell it. They have a 40 yd dumpster, but he said he is not filling it as quickly since word got out that they sell to individuals.
I get enough of the zucchinibergs around here. People don't seem to realize that just because they can grow that big doesn't mean they should be harvested at that size (unless you are letting them mature for seeds).
Chainsaws are for trees, not zucchinis.
LOL!
I had a zuke and a hard squash cross one time in the garden. That thing was the size of a baseball bat, and hard as a rock. It sat in the corner of the kitchen for a good six months before I threw it in the compost pile.
planted my first flat of starter seeds last week.
have two more ready to plant in a couple days.
Temps went from 70 yesterday to 20 today. Getting the green thumb urge bad!
About time, too.
I know! We went from the 50’s down to the 20’s with wind chills of 15 BELOW. It’s very sunny, but very cold today.
I started lettuces, radishes and spinach to grow on the cool porch under lights. I won’t start tomatoes and peppers and other stuff for another week yet.
I can’t wait! :)
The food safety act is dangerous. They know self sufficient people can feed the forming militia against marxist government dictatorship.
Lay in the food now. Stock up on canning supplies.
The government is here to “help”.
same here!
am wondering the best place to buy non-hybrid seeds.
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