Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
BTW, another good one to add to the list, if you get the seeds in the ground NOW is spinach.
I know my list favors cool weather crops but hey I’m near Seattle..
We were driving back from Basil last Sunday and a public service announce came on the radio. It was from the Department of Homeland Security. They asked if you were prepared encase of an emergency. They were talking about having a food storage supply in your home. It surprised my middle daughter. She's the last one of my grown kids who thought her parents train had ran off the track.(senility setting in) lol
Survival is many things, from being so simple, that now is a good time to buy extra shoes and warm coats, to storing food and medicine.
We've covered every base and scenario that we could think of.
bookmark
ROTFL.
Have you stored many spices? You'd be surprised how much spices would make a difference in hum-drum taste of food.
Make that Sunday before last. Last Sunday was yesterday, Easter. ;)
” She’s the last one of my grown kids who thought her parents train had ran off the track.(senility setting in) lol “
Just had a curious thought — what’s the demographics of this thread??
I’m willing to bet that the majority of us are of the pre-nanny-state generation...
I’ll start: 59 YO/ divorced, but still friendly with the (last) ex/as I previously mentioned, urban apartment dweller/not particularly high-paid hourly worker - retail.
In an age of genetically engineered crops and seed hybrids, scientists are turning to old-fashioned plant varieties that could hold the key to warding off devastating blights to Southern crops.
Loss of genetic diversity in food crops emerged as an issue in the 1960s. Based on concerns that population would outgrow food supply and millions would starve, scientists developed new “super” seeds by crossbreeding plants. These hybrid seeds, which were resistant to most insects and diseases, yielded millions of additional tons of grain a year.
But the miracle seeds weren’t perfect. Not only did the hybrids lose their traits of open pollination, but insects and viruses also mutated and foiled the genetic resistance of the new seeds. The pests sent scientists scurrying to find other genes that would help crops withstand the threats. Meanwhile, the old varieties and wild plants were disappearing from many places, replaced by improved - but genetically uniform - crops.<<<
An excellent article, thank you.
I try to not even buy hybrid seeds.
The seeds that the dollar stores sell, are the old varieties and about now, or in a week or two, they will put them out, at 15 cents per package, all that I have tried have been good growers.
Here, it cools off at night, goes to a hundred and above in the days and the soil is almost sterile, so it has been difficult finding seeds that would grow.
Another gardner and I kept at it, until we found that the old varieties would grow and also that the oriental plant sources had seeds that were not hybrid, Japan and some from China.
There is a farm in Iowa, a school teacher, who grows fancy poultry of the old varieties and crops for seeds, all that I bought were good and cheap. Sandhill, it is here:
Nichols, had many heritage varieties and oriental, I have bought from them over 30 years:
Pinetree I also bought from, I like their mixed variety packets, so I could try more than one variety.
I get carried away, when I see a seed catalog, they do not make a garden big enough for all the seeds I bought.
There are other heirloom seed companies, but they were priced over my pocket book’s limits.
If I were to order today, I would put Sandhill #1, he has tomato seeds that others charge extra for, for a very small amount, I think I went wild and ordered enough packets, that I paid about 25 cents or maybe it was 50 cents, for some rare breeds.
And if he says, not for full sun areas, he means just that, I did not listen, grew wonderful tomato plants and fruits, but like his catalog said, “not a leafy plant and the sun will cook the fruit”, which it did.
Thank you for finding the article, it is good to see the truth printed and it is as I thought it would be, when the truth came out.
” Have you stored many spices? “
Working on my third shoe-box full — the 2 fer $1 rack at Walmart is a godsend... (By the way, the ‘dried flaked onions’ in that rack are a better buy than ‘official’ dried ones.....
54.
Grew up dirt poor, ate scalloped potatoes till they were coming out of my ears.
Widower, homeowner, got about half an acre.
I’m 54 but, shhhhh, don’t tell anyone.
You're probably correct.
I'm 47, married with a 9 year old. We live in a rural comunity near the beach and have 2 acres. Our tilled field is about 1/2 acre and we'll start planting this week.
Great Thread. Thanks nw granny. If you start a ping list would you please add my name?
We have short and long term disaster plans. If the power is out for weeks/months then there will be no access to the computer to get information about how to purify water, how to build a solar still, how to create a portable toilet, first aid info, etc. I have printed many articles off the computer and put them in a notebook to have handy in the event of a major disaster. We always have a years supply of non-perishables (toilet paper, soap, trashbags) I buys these items on sale. I buy canned goods that don’t need water to prepare. Dinty Moore stew is very good as well as tuna and chili.
Please add me to your ping list for this thread. Glad I saw it!
After having 8 inches of snow over the weekend all I can do is dream about starting on my little garden.
My brother and I converted away from hybrid plants to to growing heirloom vegetables a few years ago so that we can raise and store our own continuous source of seeds. We try to keep a one or two year supply of seeds on hand in the event market seed supply is interrupted.
We pick and can wild blackberries each summer for pies and cobblers. We have a local blueberry farm where we can pick them for $7 a gallon. We do freeze those as they don't can well.
We have a free standing Fisher wood stove which we use for heat and can cook on when needed.
The key that I've learned over the years to minimize interruption and inconvenience is to diversify, i.e. don't rely on just one energy source (i.e. all electric - we use butane for cooking and wood for most of our heat), keep a well stocked pantry, be prepared for extended outages, have a sufficient stock of ammunition, and keep a few gallons of gasoline or diesel in stock in case of emergency (but you will need to rotate and use it periodically to prevent it from ruining).
58, married, rural, public service employment.
Hey Granny! Mornin!
Can you ping the gardening thread with this, please? I would—if I knew how!
Good thread, but I’m afraid you’re preaching to the choir! It’s like all the public service announcements when there’s a hurricane on the way. Most of us know the drill and keep plenty of supplies on hand anyway. Course, if the house blows away.... KNow a few extra tricks, too. Like get all the laundry and the dishes done—there may not be power or water for awhile. Fill a cooler with ice and put sandwich stuff and drinks in it—saves the frig being opened so much! Fill the bathtubs and washing machine with water. May not be drinkable but you’d be suprised just how much water you use in a day! As for the newscaster’s idea of using the water in the back of the toilet—she’s obviously never lived in eastern NC—more rust than water. LOL Fill the cars up—gas pumps won’t work without power. Get some cash—neither will ATM’s. Keep the tanks for your gas grill filled. We eat better during a hurricane than we do normally. We’re home, and the food is going to spoil anyway. :) You can fix awesome sausage gravy on the grill, eggs, bacon, you name it. The best biscuits—you wouldn’t believe how great they turn out on a grill! Maybe living in a hurricane prone zone gives you a different perspective, but I think one of the other posters was dead on—pre nanny state. That and growing up on a farm!
I agree. We have row on row of various spices. You know what else is good and can last forever(just about) beef and chicken bullion(spel?) cubes. I wouldn't use them now for anything but if TSHTF, those cubes will come in handy over rice and be mighty tasty.
Have you ever eaten a cold bacon grease sandwich?
If you start a ping list please add me to it.
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