http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2416197/posts?page=53#53
Drug-resistant urinary tract infections spreading worldwide
Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine ^ | Dec 28, 2009 | Unknown
Posted on Monday, December 28, 2009 6:19:14 AM by decimon
A sudden worldwide increase in an antibiotic-resistant bacterium is cause for concern, according to a review in f1000 Medicine Reports.
Black eyed peas with New Years dinner?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/599613/posts
Hopping John (Black-Eyed Peas On New Year's Day)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1760967/posts>
Wishing you all a very Happy, Prosperous and Safe New Year!!!
Happy New Year to everyone!
Seed Shortage in 2010?
December 31, 2009
By Susan Reimer
Baltimore Sun
Will there be a shortage of vegetable seeds for gardeners in 2010?
It is possible, says Barbara Melera, owner of the oldest seed house in the country, D. Landreth Seeds, formerly of Baltimore and now of New Freedom, Pa.
xxxxLandreth just published a beautiful and historical catalog to celebrate 225 years of teaching gardeners how to garden.
(The making of the catalog is the subject of my Baltimore Sun gardening column today. The catalog is a collector’s item, and even if you don’t garden, you should order one by calling 1-800-654-2407 or going to http://www.landrethseeds.com)
After back to back good years — 2008’s salmonella scares and 2009’s poor economy send homeowners into the garden to grow their own food — you might expect a backslide in seed sales, Melera said. New gardeners get discouraged or bored.
But, she said, “In 2009, we had the worst growing season in 50 years.” Rain and disease destroyed crops and with them, the seeds for next year’s garden.
“Onion sets. And a cucumber seed shortage,” she predicted. “We are being told that the cucumber harvest was catastrophic, attacked late in the season by woolly mildew. There was fruit, but no viable seeds inside.
“We are being told that many, many varieties simply won’t be available.”
D. Landreth Seed Co.Likewise, Europe had a terrible harvest this year, and Europeans purchased much of their produce from the United States, taking with it, the seeds.
And, as further proof that we are in a global marketplace, Europeans and Australians have taken a fancy to eating sprouts — tons of sprouts.
“When you grow vegetables just to get the sprouts, nothing gets to fruit. And they are consuming gigantic quantities of seeds just for the purpose of sprouts.”
Word of possible shortages must be leaking out, Melera said, because retailers are telling her they had their best December in years.
It is certainly true that vegetable gardeners are ordering seeds earlier and earlier, but Melera, who attended Dulaney Valley High School in Baltimore County before MIT, said she thinks it is more likely that gardeners are acting out of fear of shortages.
It would be a shame, she said, if the young gardeners for whom it is just becoming a passion should face such a setback.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/gardening/2009/12/seed_shortage_in_2010.html