“Seed shortages could imperil home gardens” is the title of the post from AP presented, via 2/3/10’s survivalblog.com, on msnbc. msn.com. This is the second significant post on possible home garden seed shortages we’ve seen in the last ten days. We’re somewhat concerned and here’s some of the “Why” presented in the article:
- “I suspect there will be some seeds you just won’t be able to buy if you wait (to order your garden seeds) too long on it,” said Bill Hart, the wholesale manager in charge of seed purchasing at Chas. C. Hart Seed Company in Wethersfield, Conn.
- “The problem is primarily due to soggy weather last year that resulted in a disappointing seed crop. European seed growers also had a bad year, leading to a big increase in orders for American seeds.” (Please note that this means that American home gardeners are competing with their European counterparts for available garden seed during difficult economic times both in the US and the EU/PH) Demand for seeds in the U.S. soared last year, as the poor economy and worries about chemical use and bacteria contamination prompted many people to establish gardens.”
- “Kathy Gocke of Bondurant, Iowa said she orders early for herself and her county’s master gardener’s program and advises others to do the same.”
- “Burpee Seeds in Warminster, Pa., bills itself as the largest provider of home garden seeds, and Chief Executive Officer George Ball said the company’s huge reserves mean it will have plenty of seeds. But Ball said he understands why others might have limited supplies after a big spike in demand in the past two years.
- “It was unlike anything I’ve seen in the past 30 years,” he said.
PH Comment: What if Mr. Ball’s estimate -“plenty”- of his company’s “huge reserves” of seed are wrong and/or demand from Europe and the US far exceed his expectations? What about next year? Have you noticed the weather in the US this year?
- “ Barbara Melera, owner of D. Landreth Seeds of New freedom, Pa., expects carrot seeds to be especially hard to find because of big orders from Europe, which had a poor crop last year. Also, fewer farmers are opting to grow seeds, she said. Many now have switched to growing corn for the biofuels industry. “In this country farmers who grow things for seed are becoming an endangered species,” Melera siad. “The farmers producing things for seeds is reduced significantly, and in the past two or three years they can get more money for growing corn for ethanol plants than carrots for seeds.”
At the end of a review and commentary on Chapter 4 of Steve Solomon’s book “Gardening when it counts – Growing Food In Hard Times” a short time ago, we recommended that the home/family gardener obtain their seeds from a regional seedsman or one with a climate similar to their own. Please let us amend that recommendation now to: buy seeds for your garden from any reliable seedsman – again with emphasis on those varieties that do well in your area (If you have any questions, check with your county ’Ag’ agent of state university), buy enough for two full gardens MINIMUM, and buy them NOW.
We plan a review with commentary on Chapter 5 – Seeds, of Mr. Solomon’s book next week. Please stay tuned.
Until next time; keep your eyes on the horizon as the weathers changing fast.
Posted in Weather Report.
By J.P. Redoubt
– February 7, 2010
A Geo-Political Heads-Up – Iran Again
Iran Again: A weather report attempts to give an idea of upcoming/incoming weather in order for its viewers/listeners/readers to have some advance notice of the coming weather conditions and events, especially those that could produce dangerous results, and prepare accordingly. Here’s a bit of weather PrudentHome thinks is worth watching for:
- “Tension between the US and Iran heightened dramatically today with the disclosure that Barak Obama is deploying a missile shield to protect American allies in the Gulf from attack by Iran. The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries — Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait — and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. Washington is also helping Saudi Arabia develop a force to protect its oil installations.”
- KEY POINT: “Washington is also concerned at the threat of action by Israel, which is predicting that Iran will be able to build a nuclear missile within a year, a much faster timetable than assessed by the US, and is warning that it will not let Tehran come close to completion if diplomacy fails”
In an economically/financially fragile world, a major war in the Middle East, with its almost certain effect of reducing oil availability, could/would be devastating to the industrialized nations of the world and their peoples: that includes the USA and us.
Until next time; keep your eyes on the horizon as the weather’s moving fast.
Posted in Geo-Political, Threats.
Tagged with Economics, Economy, food, Iran, oil, oil prices.
By J.P. Redoubt
– February 3, 2010
“Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)
” by Steve Solomon. Book Review, Chapter 4: Garden Centers
It is because of the serious nature of gardening and providing food in hard times that the author wants to provide information on the gardening center. His goal here is to aid the home gardener avoid the pitfalls and mistakes abundant in dealing with these centers. He’s very aware that most of us family gardeners get our seeds and vegetable transplants from this/these sources and with that in mind he reminds us:
“… the garden has to be given the same degree of attention that other enthusiasts give to selecting the right fishing lure, modifying their automobile, or refining their golf swing.”
Mr. Solomon begins with the topic of “Transplants ” and by identifying some of the vegetables that are very difficult to transplant and some that transplant relatively easily.
He continues his presentation by discussing the problems of seedling mislabeling and poor variety choices along with what to look for when choosing seedlings for transplant. By way of further guidance he offers this; “… make sure you can trust the seller.”
The author then moves on to the topic of growing your own seedlings and presents an easy way to do so; beginning with having the right soil for growing seedlings and then proceeding on with how to use it in various containers.
Fertilizer for seedlings comes next, in a careful discussion combined with recommendations that include the all-important “whys and how’s”. Here’s a brief example concerning the use of coffee grounds:
“Used coffee grounds are a seed meal that hot water has been passed through. Judging by how coffee makes leap forward, I would reckon the grounds to be about half as strong as chicken manure. … They could also be put in a compost heap in place of chicken manure.”
“The garden center seedrack” gets its own section with this critical seed-choice guideline: “… I learned that every product or service could be compared to a three-legged stool with the legs being price, quality, and service. If lowered one leg, you had to lower the others accordingly or the stool tilted…”.
Commercial quality seed is discussed as well in this chapter along with the critically important aspect of vigor. These areas of discussion are enhanced with an excellent two-page “Germination standards” chart that shows a number of common garden seeds with their germination standards/rates from the USDA, a high quality seedsman, and commercial quality seeds. Also presented is a column that gives seed-storage longevity graded in years.
Lastly, “Regionality” is presented as an important aspect in seed choice that allows the home/family gardener another way to improve gardening results.
PrudentHome Comments: Mr. Solomon’s Chapter 4 reminds us, directly and indirectly:
- Choose your garden seeds from a regional seedsman or one with a climate that is similar to yours.
- One of your gardening reference BOOKS should be geared to gardening in your climate and your micro-climate if possible.
- The serious gardener/food producer must keep good records. Like all long-term sustainability: it has to begin, operate, and end with a pencil and a notebook.
Until next time; keep your eyes on the horizon as the weathers changing fast.
Posted in Book Reviews, Food Security, Gardening.
Tagged with Book Review, Gardening, Regionality, seeds, Steve Solomon, Transplants.
By J.P. Redoubt
– January 31, 2010
