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.”

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[Cloverfarm]

I got mine early ... have been keeping an eye on supplies. Seems like still plenty around here. It’s been cold, tho.

[SheepWhisperer]

Boooo

Buddy in KY got caught in that freeze too.
He’s upset. So many seedlings gone =o/

Hope you recover the crop

[Rebelbase]

We’ll just wait another couple of weeks for the soil to warm up and plant from seed.

[farming pharmer]

I don’t buy seeds at all. Well I did once obviously. But I got non-hybrid seeds and I have been harvesting them yearly. Unless I add to the list of plants I want to raise, I won’t need any seeds. I’m excited because the kale I planted last year has wintered over and I will get seeds this year! It’s the second year seeds that are a little more difficult to get. But I have gotten carrot and onion seeds also so it’s possible. It’s just not something I can count on like the ones that produce seeds annually.

Cool. I actually conserve some garlic for re-plating ( 330 cloves this year, 1000 next year if everything does okay), but that's it.

Growing for seed takes focus and dedication, and most people I know don't have it.

I'll have to give it a try as my 'market garden' experiment progresses.

[SaveFerris]

Just bought another round of cheap seeds at WM. 20 cents a pack. I’ve already got several packages. But, the last two nights, I bought 13 - green pepper, watermelon and the rest of them, 2 kinds of tomato - Beefsteak and another type.

I’m set for awhile - all of my starters are going except maybe a few snacking peppers of another kind. I may still try to get some of those going. I’m usually OK until late October in the Midwest here, temperature-wise.

Yeah, the 20 cent pepper and tomato seeds work OK. The squash work well, make big plants but very little yield. I was not planting in optimal conditions for those, frankly.

But since the Democrats want to limit seed purchases, I thought, well, grab a few more right now.

[SaveFerris]

[Bought my onion bulbs a month ago...100 for $3. Planted last week.]

I do like to try those. They’re not at my local WM. There’s one more I can try. I like those too. I put them in soil that was too hard last year. Oops.

[SaveFerris]

I need a good basil plant. Might try for another WM one. They did alright for me several years.

[Sacajaweau]

Mine had to be cut every day. I had two 5 ft rows on the edge of the garden.

[SaveFerris]

[Purchase a variety of tomatoes. Eat them but save the seeds]

This I do. Works on all my store-bought tomatoes (the majority of what tomato plants I’m starting this year), works great on G/Y/O/R bell peppers (moist seeds right out of the bell into the Jiffy starter works best for me) and even jalapeno and sweet snacking pepper. Then I harvest the seeds out of the plants I grow for following years.

[SaveFerris]

[Koolaid tastes much better with half the sugar.]

Yes it does. That is exactly the way I do it. 1/2 of what they recommend is perfect for me.

Celery goes on sale for 29 cents around here at Thanksgiving - I froze some but it got thrown out (I wouldn’t have done it!) - I just froze some more - made soup with some, gave some away, froze the rest).

[SaveFerris]

They worked OK when I put them in big pots (don’t have those anymore) with loose soil - I planted too many.

Yeah, the ones in the regular soil got REAL tall - I think I left them out there too long. Oops.

[Sacajaweau]

Just clip them and they'll keep growing. Wash & cut them with scissors into 1" pieces and froze them in a container....shook the container so they stayed loose. Just grab a handful.

My favorite breakfast all summer long was spinach omelet, My favorite lunch was fresh stewed tomatoes with bacon and scallions and slices of cheese on top. Dinner....meat and whatever...

I'm 76 and watch my protein. Weigh the same as when I was 17.

[SaveFerris]

You’re using the tops of the onions for scallions? Sounds good.

Maybe I can get to that other WM Tuesday and see if they have the onion bulbs this year too.

[Sacajaweau]

I never use the onion part until the end of the season and they stay little cuz I clip the greens. By LATE fall, I'm tired of cutting greens every day.

This year, when I pull them, I will put the still little onions in my chicken soup and stew which I freeze. My freezer is packed by mid-September.

[greeneyes]

I make bread quite often. I have never use vital wheat gluten. When I use the Wheat berries, I usually grind enough for half the flour and then use all purpose white flour for the rest.

I have made 100% whole wheat sour dough biscuits, as well as sour dough bread using just the whole wheat. Hubby thought the bread was too sour, but he liked the biscuits ok.

[SaveFerris]

I’m VERY limited on my planting space this year. I may only have enough for tomatoes, peppers and jalapeno/sweet snacking peppers.

We’ll see how things go. I had bigger pots in prior years.

[Sacajaweau]

You can plant scallions along side any of these crops. Just stick bulbs in all over the place.

[Ellendra]

Working on that. The first thing I did when I bought my land was plant fruit and nut trees. I try to add a few more every year.

Last year, the black cherries I planted bore fruit for the first time.

This year I’m growing a few different kinds of berry bushes from seed, hoping for a kind of multi-function privacy hedge.

[GOPJ]

You’re making the right choices... black cherries? YUM!

I have a small key lime tree that’s fruiting now - - second time in several years - - must have a hundred limes on it. I’m a happy camper.

[SaveFerris]

Thanks - I just might do that. Might buy some more. Thinking about a cheap steak for tomorrow. Hmmm...