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Post by gardendmpls on Oct 26, 2021 7:04:00 GMT -5
in part b/c of the problems with the supply lines, but also b/c the prices are already moving up at the stores. Prices are going up in the stores because the price of fuel has gone up. Fuel is used to run all those tractors, harvesters and other equipment, but I believe transporting of food to processors and the stores is the main cause of the price increases. Several months ago I read that stores were absorbing the differences for a short time and then were going to raise the prices in increments over time. They hope that will prevent angry reactions from consumers. I don't think there is enough time to sneak the increases by us. I know I am paying almost double to fill up my car with gas compared to last year, when the average cost of gas was $2.17. Today it is $3.38. It went up $.06 the past week and has been gone up every day for the past 27 days. gasprices.aaa.com/ghastly-gas-prices-haunt-consumers-at-the-pump/
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Post by gardendmpls on Oct 26, 2021 8:04:38 GMT -5
perhaps another factor is the large number of Afghanis now living in the US The number of at risk Afghans that have arrived through mid-September is around 64,000. The number of illegal immigrants is 1.96 million. Of these 1.74 million were intercepted at the southern border. Some of those were repeaters, sent back and then attempting again. Three out of four single adults were sent back, while 1 out of 4 families were. That leaves a lot of people, especially since there was no estimate in the government report of those who were not caught. Still, definitely a lot more than the legal Afghani refugees. I've never really thought about their effect on food supplies, but there isn't a food shortage right now; rather more of unavailability of some foods while others are available. www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/immigration/u-s-officials-come-across-nearly-2-million-unauthorized-migrants-in-fy-2021/
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Post by gianna on Oct 26, 2021 8:14:51 GMT -5
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Oct 26, 2021 11:10:45 GMT -5
gianna, I like the variety in the Painted Mountain Corn "palette". As many times as I've salivated over the varieties of corn, I've never seen that one. Guess that's a mandate to spend some more time reviewing garden catalogues.
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Post by heirloomfan on Nov 3, 2021 15:29:36 GMT -5
I'm planning on growing more of certain things this upcoming growing year. Part of what I grow goes to my daughter's family of 3, my husband and I also eat what is fresh and in season and I try to can/preserve as much as I can and then give some away. May be buying a dehydrator soon too.
I also save seeds from heirloom varieties as much as I can, this year did more than normal since the price of seeds keeps rising for lesser quantities in the packets. Fortunately I have a friend who also gardens and we also share seeds.
Have a friend who is a master gardener and he said that his county now required their demonstration and research garden to grow and donate all of what was harvested. In the past the emphasis was to record what did and did not work well in our climate and they donated a lot of it anyway but he said this year they even changed the name of their garden to say it's focus was a donation garden.
It is a concern about many more people coming into our country who may not have jobs and will want food to eat and how the government plans to handle that. Will they start to regulate home gardens in order to have more food available? We are seeing some things in smaller stock in the grocery stores and also "shrinkflation" where it is the same product as before but smaller amounts for the same price so you paid the same as six months ago but getting less now.
If more land is used up to put up housing, then less will be available as land to grow on too.
When I was growing up in rural Kansas, all of the neighbors had gardens and we often would swap one thing for another and it was fun and productive. My parent's generation remembered what a victory garden was and why it was so important.
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Post by emmsmommy on Nov 3, 2021 16:43:24 GMT -5
Guess that's a mandate to spend some more time reviewing garden catalogues. That's a mandate I can live with. Now if some catalogs would arrive. Will they start to regulate home gardens in order to have more food available? I believe that's exactly what happened in Great Britain during WWII. Before the war they were largely dependent on imported food. During the war there was an emphasis on utilizing available land for food.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Nov 3, 2021 20:44:25 GMT -5
It is a concern about many more people coming into our country who may not have jobs and will want food to eat and how the government plans to handle that. Will they start to regulate home gardens in order to have more food available? You raise an important and interesting question, and one which I think has been an issue for decades. There's also the issue of jobs for immigrants, as well as housing. I think this would really be a frightening move though, if governmental entities enforced regulations on our private gardening. I doubt that would happen in the city in which I live; unfortunately, the city government is still obsessed with lawns. But your query raises some really frightening concerns, and some interesting uses of land as well as the issue of using pesticides to "manage" and "control" unwanted insects to maximize productions, such as in the massive corporation gardens. I can't imagine that this would sit well with residents though; there's such a swell of protests on other issues, and people are I think, for better or worse, becoming more vocal and willing to challenge governments.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Nov 3, 2021 20:45:48 GMT -5
emmsmommy, I still marvel at the way Great Britain's residents adapted to the horrible challenges they faced.
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Post by heirloomfan on Nov 5, 2021 11:02:24 GMT -5
I agree and I hope that regulations don't happen. I am a master gardener so our state would already know that I typically garden. There was some interest several years ago, think it was about 2008, where there was talk that the government was going to regulate seeds to the point where people wouldn't be allowed to even trade or swap seeds. Heard the idea to regulate seeds was that sharing seeds could spread plant bore diseases. Nothing came of it but a lot of people who garden and shared their seeds were concerned. I know so many gardeners who are generous with what they grow and share it without being mandated to do it, so hope that can continue.
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Post by emmsmommy on Nov 11, 2021 18:04:26 GMT -5
Our area seems to have a shortage of TP, canned cat food and Coca-Cola. I'm basing this observation on shopping trips within the last month. Could be other shortages as well, but these are the ones I've noticed.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Nov 11, 2021 18:48:16 GMT -5
I just heard that there will be a "possible" cranberry sauce shortage, for Thanksgiving. How will people survive???
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Post by emmsmommy on Nov 11, 2021 19:01:09 GMT -5
pepperhead212, my mom makes a cranberry salad with apples, mandarin oranges, pecans and marshmallows which doesn't really help kill the cranberry taste. I can eat a few bites but that's about it. It however will live in infamy after an incident involving my aunt's new haircut, a Flowbee and my husband. Now I can occasionally do cranberry juice but usually opt for a blend with apple or grape juice. If either juice or sauce wasn't available I don't think I'd miss it much.
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Post by desertwoman on Nov 11, 2021 20:16:19 GMT -5
I make my own cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries, orange juice and zest, honey, and some spices but I have yet to see fresh cranberries in the grocery stores (and they're usually here by end of October at the very latest) and I've checked 4 so far. I do have 2 packs in the freezer left over from last year. They'll do if I can't find fresh.
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Post by Mumsey on Nov 12, 2021 5:21:21 GMT -5
We can survive without cranberries, however, I discovered a new "snack". Dark chocolate covered cranberries.
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Post by reuben on Nov 12, 2021 7:07:28 GMT -5
A local grocer has chocolate covered cherries, which, as it turns out, are addicting. Not to mention peanut butter malt balls and other goodies.
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