It’s Not Just Toilet Paper, Seed Shortages Spread As Locked-Down Americans Turn To Growing Their Own Food

Alt News ^ | 4-19-2020

[blam]

Americans are panic hoarding plant seeds as the coronavirus outbreak confines millions to their homes, crashes the economy, and disrupts food supply chains. This has resulted in people questioning their food security. A Google search of “buy seeds” has rocketed to an all-time high across the US in March to early April, the same time as supermarket shelves went bare.

We’ve done a pretty good job of documenting the evolution of panic hoarding over the last several months. Americans started buying 3M N95 masks in mid-January, then non-perishables in February, followed by toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and guns.

Now apparently, plant seeds are the next big thing… Seed companies who spoke with CBS News said they have stopped taking new orders after unprecedented demand. George Ball, chairman of Pennsylvania-based Burpee Seeds, said the recent increase in new orders is “just unbelievable.” The company will start accepting orders again on Wednesday after it stopped taking new ones for several days to catch up on the backlog.

Americans in quarantine are becoming increasingly concerned about their food security. What has shocked many is that food on supermarket shelves that existed one day, could be completely wiped out in minutes via panic hoarding. Some people are now trying to restore the comfort of food security by planting “Pandemic Gardens.” “If I had to put my thumb on it, I would say people are worried about their food security right now,” said Emily Rose Haga, the executive director of the Seed Savers Exchange, an Iowa-based nonprofit devoted to heirloom seeds.

“A lot of folks even in our region are putting orders into their grocery stores and having to wait a week to get their groceries. Our society has never experienced a disruption like this in our lifetime.”

(snip)

[blam]

It's Always Something. (IAS)

[Ciaphas Cain]

First it's teaching their own children and now it's growing their own food.

Coronavirus has become quite the catalyst for self-sufficiency. Are the libs SURE they want to keep this going?

[Sacajaweau]

I ordered my seeds in the fall. Have plenty. We have a community garden to play in...it’s great cuz there’s only a few of us.

[virgil]

I went to the store yesterday, and there were plenty of seeds everywhere I went.

[farming pharmer]

Serious market gardners and vegetable farmers order their seeds sometime in February.

BTW, Try Johnny's Selected Seeds . That's where I get a lot of my stuff from.

[Sacajaweau]

I was at Lowes...lotsa packets of seeds. Walmart usually has a huge selection. Bought my onion bulbs a month ago...100 for $3. Planted last week.

[HighSierra5]

Seeds are one of the first things I thought of. I’ve always wanted to get some chickens but my wife says no. So I said if I brought some chicks home she’d fall in love with them. I love the look on my wife’s face.

[Sacajaweau]

Grow your own food...but here in NYS....the State feeds your children....and you get food stamps, too.

We're up to 3 meals a day in our area...and snacks, too.

[yarddog]

My Daughter and family have moved to a remote cabin they own.

She planted a small garden in their flower bed. Tomatoes, peppers and basil. I suggested she also add a couple of stalks of okra.

[Old Yeller]

I still can’t find yeast. I found toilet paper though.

[4yearlurker]

I see plenty of seed packs here in SW Pennsylvania. I'm going to make a few more raised bed boxes and make my daughter a few and Ill show her and the granddaughters how to plant.

[9YearLurker]

After Gov. Halfwit’s move, all the supply chain disruptions, and threats that we’ll be in lockdown until a first-ever successful vaccine for a coronavirus is conjured, what’s to be expected?

[tflabo]

Not related to the ‘panicking doomsayers’ but those who grow veggies or herbs can harvest seeds in the Fall for the next season’s planting. Let a few stems bolt and the seed pods fully mature. Store in a cool, dry place and presto- free seeds. Tomato seeds are a bit trickier tho. I’d have a little greenhouse too if I lived on larger property.

[Buckeye McFrog]

So THAT’S Whitmer’s game. Hold back every seed in Michigan and then sell them on Ebay.

[jmcenanly]

I wonder if people are going to start attempting to propagating vegetables from cuttings? It seems like something that you could teach a child to do in grade school. You don't have to be the greatest botanist on the planet to do this.

[KosmicKitty]

Johnny’s Selected Seeds - no orders for home gardeners until April 28. Same thing at High Mowing

I forgot to order broccoli seeds. Now I can’ find them anywhere

[blam]

"Not related to the ‘panicking doomsayers’ but those who grow veggies or herbs can harvest seeds in the Fall for the next season’s planting. Let a few stems bolt and the seed pods fully mature. Store in a cool, dry place and presto- free seeds. Tomato seeds are a bit trickier tho.

Are there really people who don't know this already?

[RegulatorCountry]

There’s at least one FReeper who thought you had to buy soil to grow a garden and argued strenuously that it wasn’t cost effective because of that. So, I’d say yes. Especially city dwellers and even moreso in dry climates.

[Mercat]

Seed vault

[windowdude]

We put in an online order fairly early on in this thing and it was cancelled by Amazon.