Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
It is, but he’s working very hard to keep his sugar low. I’m very proud of him. :)
New post from FerFAL:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2009
Reply: Debts and devaluated currency
Chris said...
Hi FerFAL, I am going to re-post a question I asked a few blogs back.
I had to ask this question:
Based on your experience in Argentina, when the currency collapses, what happens to debts denominated in that currency?
Like say I had a $20,000 debt, and the currency became worthless.
Could I take some gold and exchange it for huge sums of the failed currency and pay off that debt just like that? Essentially paying the debt of for a fraction of what it was when I took out the loan?
What if a family member has a large debt and they can't pay? Is there any risk there for other members of that family?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks Chris, sorry I missed it before.
It happened here, and yes, your assumptions are correct.
I’ve heard and saw a lot of cases.
People that where just about to pay a debt with dollar, and just the day before they did, the economy crashed, and a few weeks later they just had to pay ¼ of what they had borrowed.
Same happened to others but the other way around. They paid for the debt and a few weeks later realized that if they had waited they would have saved ¾ of their money.
People that got into debt in dollar for a house, machinery, where lucky because since the problem was so big, all accounts and debts where “pesified”, means they were turned to pesos which at the times was 4 pesos =1 USD. Their debt was suddenly reduced to 25% of the original amount.
Of course you no longer got paid in a currency that was 1 to1 with the USD, but yes, it was a sweet deal for some.
But don’t expect the USD to become worthless any time soon, it wont.
Yes, expect it to loose value, while as you well say, gold maintains it.
About risks for other family member, cant tell. At least here, everyone is accountable for their own debts ( them and they wives) in some cases if the person isn’t solvent they can go against their parents. But I haven’t heard of too many cases like this, though it has occurred.
Anonymous said...
Ferfal, could you tell us which kinds of guns are available in Argentina and where to buy them?
At gun shops of course :) You can buy from another gun user if both of you have all your papers.
You can have any handgun, bolt action rifle, pump shotgun, lever action rifles and carbines, semi auto 22LR box fed mag carbines. Semi auto box feed centerfire long arms are nearly impossible to get, require a collector’s license. You need a legitimate gun user card, you’ll need:
Legal source of income
Pass a physical and psychological exam (I passed, met some people that didn’t)
Pass a basic handling safety course.
Prove you have no previous criminal records.
Norcal said...
Chris, that is a great question. Say you buy something on your credit card now for $20,000 or $30,000. Then hyperinflation hits in a few months. Then you pay it off in hyperinflated dollars?
Yes.
The guy that saved money all his life gets robbed, while the guy that had a big loan benefits. Life is unfair. Sue it. :^)
Anonymous said...
I enjoy reading your blog. You offer practical, common sense, and intelligent advice and have "been there, done that, and got the T-shirt." As a spoiled American, I look about at the enormous wealth in my country, and think that "it can't happen here," but I know that it can. In your opinion, if the American dollar crashes, what do you believe will happen in the USA? A Mad Max scenario? Total locked down Police State? Or, would Argentina be more of a societal model?
No man, not Mad Max, not even close.
Things will get worse, pretty bad for some ( specially those that have a hard time finding a job again) And the crappy situation will likely last for years. This is hard to avoid or to speed up the healing process.
But USA is still USA, the economy wont be utterly destroyed like it happened here ( we only have a mock of what a real economy should be, every serious non gov fund economist says so) It’s going to get tougher, specially regarding everyday security. Not zombies or gang of biker looters, but everyday stuff.
“Billy got mugged” “The guy that lives across the street got attacked” “The girl that lives next door was robbed last night” “The Smith’s got robbed at their home, they tied them up and picked the house clean” And yes, people will get killed more often to.
You guys have race related problems and internal conflicts. Expect that to escalate some.
I know it already happens in USA but my point is it will happen much more as things follow their post-crash natural course.
You’ll hear these things a LOT.
It wont be on the news (news will show just part, and foucs on other things so as not to spread panic), it will be happening to you and the people around you, it’s going to be what you talk about when you pick the kids from school, and the teacher will chip in with HER robbery (this actually happened to me, the teacher had been carjacked at gunpoint in front of the school at 7 AM, in spite of the private school’s hired security)
So crime and insecurity will be something you live with, and the big “other” thing you’ll have to worry about besides the economy, your job, and making enough money.
Mmmmm KFC. I miss it so much, even with the MSG.
Marking Post 9531 which reflects my own changing habits too (I’m using frankincense and geranium at the moment), thanks, and quoting you granny,
‘... something about counter interaction of drugs, there are a couple of good books on it, and 25 years ago, when I read the first one, I gave up on the drug store over the counter meds.
‘About the only thing I use is the Essential oils, peroxide, alcohol and have kept a tube of cortisone for bad bites.’
And thanks for reminding me to take my kelp !!!
I feel GREAT when I remember to take it.
[No synthroid for me, thank you very much.]
I have about an acre and a half in garden and would have had to have bought 10 packets for what I planted in the garden, let alone the plants I sold.
For the last 3 years, I have bought almost all my seeds from a very nice family business in Missouri. Heirloom and Organics are all they carry.
http://www.heirloomacresseeds.com
I grow Amish Paste tomatoes for canning and drying, and Beefsteak for eating - this year I am trying some Greek tomatoes - Thesaloniki.
I already have my seeds for the entire year, and some to store for out years too.
Does kelp help with thyroid problems? I’d like to recommend it to my stepdaughter who used to take Synthroid.
Did you guys know Granny is back on FR? The survival thread is going strong again!
Iodine helps thyroid. I was eating sheets of seaweed everyday for a while, but one time recently when I was at a health food store, I asked for iodine capsules and the expert there gave me kelp which provides iodine. The bottle says “iodine (from kelp) 225 mcg, if my eyesight is accurate. I don’t have my reading glasses handy, but I think that is what it says.
I close at work today so am heading out now.
Have a good day.
“iodine (from kelp) 225 mcg”
Thank you Joya, have a great day at work!
“Many of them moved here from California and are busy getting all the Calif. laws on the books here.”
That explains it. SoCal types I would imagine.
You know all these reports you send out are very important.
Nobody on the news reports this stuff regularly, only as an exception or unique incident. FerFAL said in Argentina the media ignores crimes even though everyone he knows has been robbed or worse.
The same thing will become the case here, if it isn’t happening already.
Way to go! Hurray!
I have a copy of that video on my Infield Parking space if you ever need it. It will definitely make people still tear up. :(
Tree-killing pest leads to firewood warning
By Angelica Martinez
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
12:39 p.m. February 2, 2009
SAN DIEGO — A beetle that feeds on healthy trees is contributing to the death of oak trees in the county and creating a fire hazard, officials warned Monday.
The gold-spotted oak borer has been in the county for several years but officials recently discovered that existing drought conditions and the beetle’s attacks have led to the death of more than 10,000 oaks in the county. Experts think the pest may have spread to San Diego County under the bark of firewood. County officials are urging the public to stop the transportation of firewood in or out of the county until more is known about the pest.
[Deleted]
The county’s Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures is working with the Department of Planning and Land Use, the Farm and Home Advisor, CalFire and the U.S. Forest Service to education the public and prevent the pests from spreading, officials said.
For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/cleveland
Source: http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/02/bn02pest123917-oak-borer-kills-trees/?zIndex=46777
So crime and insecurity will be something you live with, and the big “other” thing you’ll have to worry about besides the economy, your job, and making enough money. <<<
He is so wise and correct in what he has seen.
Scary future we have facing us.
Marking Post 9531 which reflects my own changing habits too (I’m using frankincense and geranium at the moment), thanks, and quoting you granny,<<<
Good for you, I think with all the chemicals, some of them have in interact and in my mind, I see how sick I was when as a young wife, I decided that a mix of ammonia and chlorine bleach would clean the tile shower stall.
Your kelp reminds me of our country doctor, in Wellton.
I asked Dr. Kline about a bunch of vitamins and minerals that I was planning to take.
He said “For years I would have told you that you are wasting your money, but today all I can say is Katie gives me mine every morning and I take them.”
For the last 3 years, I have bought almost all my seeds from a very nice family business in Missouri. Heirloom and Organics are all they carry.
http://www.heirloomacresseeds.com
I grow Amish Paste tomatoes for canning and drying, and Beefsteak for eating - this year I am trying some Greek tomatoes - Thesaloniki.
I already have my seeds for the entire year, and some to store for out years too. <<<
Good for you, I am glad you have seeds for the future.
Thanks for the link, good ones are wonderful and when someone knows from experience, that is even better.
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