Seed Shortages… First Step in a Special Gardening Series
Yesterday we spoke about the awful condition of farming in California. If you have not read that post please do so and please take some action. This is serious. Far too many still believe food comes from grocery stores. It does not, it comes from farms and home gardens. I mentioned in my newsletter yesterday the shortage of seeds for this growing season. I received a link to a story explaining the problem this morning from my friend Cindy. A portion of the articles follows:
“I suspect there will be some seeds you just won’t be able to buy if you wait 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 sugar snap peas we’re not able to get at all, and other companies that have it will sell out pretty quickly.”
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 seed
As I was ready to hit the post button I received this note, again from Cindy, (my new go to girl!) and thought I would also share the information in it.
I talked to Rick form Walton Feed in eastern ID. He said -
1) potato crops are OK. Sales of dehydrated potatoes are down 10% over last year.
2) milk expected to be OK too.
3) the sugar market is stressed because of shortages from foreign crops pushing our prices up.
4) wheat harvested in Australia may be short. Will know shortly if that’s a problem
5) Walton Feed is usually able to get gardening seeds in December, but have been told they won’t be available till mid to end of Feb. We should be able to buy them in March.
Not good news, especially when coupled with the mess in California and the destruction of crops in Florida due to a freeze.
At least 70 percent of southwest Florida’s winter crop of vegetables, including tomatoes and peppers, were destroyed by freezing weather, said Gene McAvoy, the director of the Hendry County extension office for the University of Florida.
Losses will be more than $100 million, McAvoy said today in a telephone interview. Tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers are the major crops in the estimate, he said. In the U.S. winter, Florida provides about 70 percent of the tomatoes sold in the nation, McAvoy said from LaBelle, Florida.
With all this bad news it seems a good time to begin a special series of article to help those of you who are considering planting a garden but just don’t know where to begin. This will also be a great reminder for those who have gardened before but have been inactive for awhile.
I asked Jim Kennard who is an expert, with all the answers, to help me out and share with you his advice and proven techniques.
How to Grow a Great Garden in 8 Steps – STEP 1
1. Choose the location and prepare the soil.
A. Direct sunlight all day long is essential for fruiting crops. Avoid all trees, shrubs, walls, fences, and even tall vegetable plants. Every shade-producing thing must be North of where you expect to grow a productive garden. You can put up with a couple hours of shade in the East, but to have real success with fruiting plants they must have at least 6, and preferably 8+ hours of direct sunlight.
B. Locate a water source near the garden for easy watering. While your garden doesn’t require potable water, it should be clean, and if possible avoid unfiltered surface water that brings weed seeds into your garden. A hose with a large rag fastened over the end will break the water pressure and allow the full flow of water from a residential source. Automating the watering system is a very good idea, and will be covered separately.
C. Level ground – a slight Southern slope is okay. The actual planting bed should be almost perfectly level, with a maximum of two inches fall in thirty feet. This allows water to flow slowly and gently to fill the bed without rushing out, and without taking plants, soil, or fertilizers with it.
If you are planting in containers, or Grow-Boxes as we call them, they should be perfectly level, but with drainage available out the bottom. Mittleider Grow-Boxes are constructed with sides only, and water drains into the sub-soil or out from beneath the sides of the box.
D. Clean ground – remove rocks and weeds – annual and perennial. If your garden area has perennial weeds or grasses you must dig them out, including roots, rhizomes, and runners. Do not till them into the soil, because you will end up with ten times as many weeds as you started with. With perennials each root segment left in the ground will become a new plant.
Using Roundup or other herbicides is not recommended. Tilling shallowly and then removing everything with a shovel and wheel barrow is the best way.
E. Outline perimeter of garden with stakes and string. Limit the size of your garden to something you are sure you can maintain throughout a long gardening season. Remember that you can grow twice as much in 1/4th the space of your previous traditional garden. But you must do it right and be consistent in your care.
F. Fence to protect against intruders. If you are troubled by rodents and rabbits you may need to have your fence extend 6 inches below ground and as high as 2+ feet. If raccoons are a problem it will need to be much higher. And if deer visit your garden even 6 feet will probably not be enough. The material needs to be a close mesh, like chicken wire, for small animals, and chain link works for the larger ones.
Next time we’ll discuss creating soil-beds – a nursery – in which to grow plants.
Jim Kennard
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