Home gardening offers ways to trim grocery costs [Survival Today, an on going thread]

Dallas News.com ^ | March 14th, 2008 | DEAN FOSDICK

[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."

[nw_arizona_granny]

Not a bad haul for composting this week. I hope this continues for a long while, it will help to keep get us stocked up for bad times.<<<

Sounds wonderful, I am proud of you and all your efforts.

[nw_arizona_granny]

I absolutely love Firefox.<<<

Now you can understand the nightmare it was to attempt to go back to a 98 Explorer....LOL

Maybe it kept crashing, because, I tried to make it act like Firefox.

[nw_arizona_granny]

If I had been forced to use IE all these years, there would have been less time spent on the internet.

I get bored waiting for IE to do something.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Cleaning out an old purse and there in the bottom-a lone penny. Sis just knew how tired and down hearted I was today and she had to tell me she loved me.<<<

Of course she loves you, still.

It makes me smile to imagine how you felt when you found the penny.

If you think about it, we rarely see pennies that are lost.

I had one fly over my desk one day at work and before I could get it, clients came in.

It taught me a lot about people, must have been 30 or more people sit at my desk and not one of them picked it up.

I was careful to put it back in the same spot when I vacuumed, and at last a little lady from a southern farm background, saw it and and picked it up, she said “this is my lucky day, I found a penny.”

I made sure she kept her lucky penny.

Even more scary to me, I had a full grown Samoyed dog, who went to work with me every day, she would curl up under my desk and remain there as long as I sat at the desk or didn’t leave the room.

Her full bushy tail would be under the clients chair.

Very few people even acknowledged that there was a big plumed tail almost under their feet.

But let a kid come in the office and Sheba was up and ready for her loving.

She did her job well, the kids would love her and I could then talk to the parents.

For some of my best real estate clients, the dog, cookie jar and coffee pot was worth stopping for.

My kind of folks that is.

[nw_arizona_granny]

If I don’t find an article that works, soon, then I may just go with part of the title.

LOL, the beginning article for this was puny, but it worked.

Thanks and a hug to both of you for caring.

[JDoutrider]

Just ordered my tobacco seeds from the "seedman.com" source. Reasonable prices, will be my first attempt at growing it and should be a super barter item. Wondering if one of our old paper shredders will do a good job on seasoned/cured tobacco leaf!

Lots to learn on this project...

[TnGOP]

Almost everything gives me food, tea, healing or something.

That's interesting. Could you explain in a little more detail? I am rather new to gardening(Two years growing tomatoes in buckets, and my first small veggie garden last year). This year it'll be bigger, but recent back surgery may hamper my efforts.

My front yd is tiny, and I just do shrubs, roses, perennials, etc. The back yard is about 1/2 acre, and I have a 20 x 30 plot ready to plant. What could I plant in other areas? "Flowers" that are pretty and useful, like echinacea, and dill, mint come to mind. What else could I plant in these areas? (I'm in Tennessee - hot and dry, but I water as they need it)What about plants that attract bees and butterflies, to increase pollination?

Thanks for any help. I'm ordering heirloom seeds today.

[Wneighbor]

This exhibition will show how the design of cities and buildings is enabling the production of food in the city.

That would be a project I might could be enticed to go back into an office for. It's an idea that makes sense. Just goes to show the short-sightedness of people to *not* make space for food production. And I'd be good at that.

[Wneighbor]

Laughing at how hard the Police to catch granny growing the wrong herbs.........Good, that is what they are hired todo, find it and get rid of it suits me fine.

My thoughts exactly. I'm doing nothing wrong here and the officer (we only have one) here in town is one of those who is truly a public servant. He is riduculed by some and probably not given a thought by most but I have found him very helpful and kind. As I said we are currently in the house that was my Grama's before she died. There were some times I had to call the officer for help in the last 4 or 5 years and I am very thankful for his kindness.

I'm tickled pink to hear about your box of tuna. That's a good little stock pile item not to mention that I love it. I worry about what they say about the mercury in the fish - but I still love it.

Since I grew up in this area I'm all too familiar with our warnings. We are close to Ft. Hood, the largest military post in the country. We did not have those nuke drills like I hear other people had growing up, the teachers in elementary school told us that in the event Russia sent Nukes that Ft. Hood was one of the places that would get hit first. Lovely thought for 6 years olds but I've just heard it all my life. Doesn't mean I don't prepare to survive though. LOL I've been through too much not to think I've got to give it my best shot.

[Wneighbor]

I agree and you might be surprised at the response to a few vegetable seeds tucked in here and there.

The first year Lloyd wasn't too happy to hear I was mixing my vegetables in with the "flower beds." But, he loved the results. He wasn't familiar with a lot of my flowers cause I had pot marigolds, bee balm, borage, several sages, and other such things. He was used to nursery bedding flowers. He liked the new flowers and *finally* agreed that "yes the squash does have a pretty flower and fit in nicely." LOL I converted him on that score that first year. He likes roaming out and finding a cucumber or ripe tomatoes.

OH! And he has found that he likes tea. He wasn't accustomed to drinking herb teas but he's hooked now. And he likes the jellies and herbed wine I make with them. He's a convert. LOL

Then, it was so funny because last summer we were driving down Main Street here and one of the stately old historic homes, which has beautiful formal looking landscaping, had 2 squash plants in a nice symetrical formal bed by the street. And up by the house in a bed in front of the house they had some beans growing up a trellis which fit in perfectly with the formality of the landscape.

I told Lloyd, "See, I'm not a weirdo, I'm a trendsetter!" ~grin~

[Wneighbor]

There must be something wrong, when one can find a good spot to sit a flower pot and does not do so. LOL

I most heartily agree. And after working on preserving for 3 days this week I am finishing up my morning tea and letting the sun warm the chill out of the air and the next 2 days are devoted to gardening. :-)

We are even going to the next town up the road tonight to each fish so I don't have to stop and come in to cook dinner. Okay, there's an added reason of taking my widow friend out, just to get her out of the house this week, but it coincides nicely with my alloted gardening time. ;-)

[Wneighbor]

Do let us know how you like it and more importantly, how the goat likes it.

Yes, please tell how this works as I *want* to get some goats and will have to learn all about everything from scratch. I'm storing all the knowledge I can get in the mean time.

[Wneighbor]

Bill was shocked the first time he gave me money for me and I went to the book store, a new thing in his world.

So, you have also seen how Lloyd is reacting. He has relaxed *so* much in the years that I have known him now. When I first met him I thought he was a really formal tense guy. He's much more relaxed now.

[Wneighbor]

he was busy and I was not chipper, with the storm on the way.

Prayers for chipper todays and tomorrows. Added in are prayers of thankfulness for Bob.

[Wneighbor]

Just ordered my tobacco seeds from the "seedman.com" source. Reasonable prices, will be my first attempt at growing it and should be a super barter item. Wondering if one of our old paper shredders will do a good job on seasoned/cured tobacco leaf!

I had a co-worker who grew tobacco on the Texas-Oklahoma state line about 5 years ago. It grew well up there, he dried it and then had some kind of little portable shredder that did a little bit at a time. Seems the co-workers thought it was a might strong to smoke but kept at it. Guess the store-bought cigarettes must be of the "watered down" variety.

[WestCoastGal]

Here’s an interesting article.........

http://www.forexhound.com/article.cfm?articleID=124917

Poised for a Comeback
Michael J. Panzner
Published 02.06.2009 11:41 GMT

During World War I and later in World War II, food shortages and difficult economic conditions spurred efforts that encouraged the public to grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs at home to help supplement traditional supplies. These gardens were known as war or victory gardens.

With hard times making a comeback, will we see a resurgence of such activites? If the following Financial Times report, “Seed Merchants Benefit from Urge to Dig Deep,” is anything to go by, the answer is “yes.”

Americans are turning in increasing numbers to their back yards to save money, with leading US seed merchants reporting a dramatic surge in early sales of carrots, tomato and pepper plant seeds.

Snip~

[WestCoastGal]

another........

Here’s a month-by-month vegetable-gardening calendar for central Pennsylvania on what to do when: [I think those in the south can move up the planting schedule 1 or even 2 months]

JANUARY: Plan what crops you want to grow. List them by types to grow from seed vs. those to grow by plants to help organize buying. Hit the garden-center seed racks or order from seed catalogs. Best seed selection is now.

Five good catalog seed vendors: W. Atlee Burpee Co. (www.burpee.com), Park Seed (www.parkseed.com), Territorial Seed (www.territorialseed.com), J.W. Jung Seed Co. (www.jungseed.com) and Pinetree Garden Seeds (www.superseeds.com).

FEBRUARY: Early in month, start seeds inside of cold-weather transplants: cabbage, broccoli, leeks, onions, lettuce, cauliflower, parsley. Bone up with a book (try Mel Bartholomew’s classic “Square-Foot Gardening” or Edward C. Smith’s “The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible”) or visit Lower Paxton Twp. gardener Kenny Point’s excellent online veggie site at www.veggiegardeningtips.com. Buy supplies you didn’t get for Christmas (fertilizer, plant labels, nifty new trowel, etc.).

MARCH: Start seeds inside of warm-weather transplants. Start slow-growers (peppers and eggplants) early in month, fast-growers (tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and basil) later in month. St. Patrick’s Day is traditional outdoor planting date of season’s first crop: peas.

Late in month, February’s transplants can be gradually adapted to the outside and planted. Direct-seed other cool-season crops: spinach, carrots, lettuce, radishes, mesclun, orach, shallots, onion sets, leeks, parsnips, turnips.

APRIL: Early in month, plant remaining cool-season crops: cauliflower, Swiss chard, collards, kohlrabi, potatoes, red beets, celery, endive, radicchio, pak choi, mustard and more lettuce, radishes, carrots and spinach. Scatter granular organic fertilizer over beds. Examples: Espoma’s Vegetable-tone or Hoffman’s Super Manure. Lay 2 inches of fresh straw as mulch in paths to prevent weeds.

MAY: Around mid-month (or when you think frost is done), plant warm-weather transplants: tomatoes, peppers, hot peppers, cucumbers, melons, eggplants. Direct-seed into the garden: okra, beans, lima beans, corn, cucumbers, pumpkins, Malabar spinach, sweet potatoes, squash. Harvest radishes, lettuce, spinach, mesclun, parsley.

JUNE: Keep plants damp. Best time to water: early in the morning. Second best time: early evening. Pull weeds. Be alert for bug and animal problems that need to be addressed. Harvest peas, broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, spinach, orach, radicchio, parsnips, turnips, Swiss chard, collards, kohlrabi, endive, pak choi, parsley, mustard.

JULY: Harvest potatoes, cabbage, carrots, red beets, corn, celery, collards, onions, leeks, garlic, shallots, Swiss chard. Continue to keep garden and paths weeded and plants consistently damp. Stay on guard for bug and animal woes. Fertilize tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other fruiting crops with fish emulsion or similar liquid organic fertilizer.

AUGUST: Harvest tomatoes, okra, peppers, eggplants, melons, cucumbers, basil, beans, lima beans, corn, Malabar spinach, squash. Plant crops of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, spinach, carrots, red beets, rutabagas, turnips, collards. Continue to weed, water and monitor for pests.

SEPTEMBER: Harvest sweet potatoes. Continue to harvest tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers, basil, eggplants, squash and other warm-season crops. Plant fall crop of quick-to-mature radishes, spinach, mustard, mesclun and leaf lettuce. Build a compost bin if you don’t already have one or more.

OCTOBER: Harvest squash, pumpkins, the last of the tomatoes and peppers before frost, and the August-planted fall crops as they’re ready. Columbus Day is the traditional time to plant garlic. As the garden empties, begin topping all bare soil with an inch of compost. Dig it in if the soil is poor. Otherwise, let it on top.

NOVEMBER: Harvest anything that’s left. Pull and compost frost-killed remnants, except diseased plants. Toss them. Stow away stakes, cages, fencing, ornaments and such for winter. Jot down successes, failures, ideas and top-performing varieties to help next year’s planning.

DECEMBER: Sort through your seeds. Toss old ones unlikely to germinate another year. Clean and sharpen tools. Give them an oil rub-down. Accidentally “lose” list of next year’s garden needs where spouse will see it before Christmas.

http://blog.pennlive.com/life/2009/02/over_the_garden_fence_growing.html

[Wneighbor]

Flowers" that are pretty and useful, like echinacea, and dill, mint come to mind. What else could I plant in these areas? (I'm in Tennessee - hot and dry, but I water as they need it)What about plants that attract bees and butterflies, to increase pollination?

I know you addressed this to Granny, and she will answer much more thoroughly than me, but I have some suggestions. You are on the right track to get some echinacea, dill and mint. Keep in mind the mints are *extremely* invasive so if you have some ground enclosed with 2 or 3 feel of concrete that's a good place for mint. I had a home for about 4 years where there were several places that the concrete for driveway and sidewalk made 4 to 6 foot square patches of ground. I put a different kind of mint in each space. But, some of the mint roots even managed to climb under 18 inch wide sidewalk....so watch that.

If you plant dill and fennel both you must keep them at opposite ends of the yard... they cross breed and it doesn't work if you want to keep the true flavor.

Try lavenders, sages, lemon balm, lemon verbena, bee balm, borage, calendulas aka pot marigolds, different varieties of basil, flat leaf parsley is wonderful, catnip, catmint, horsemint, horehound, salad burnet, nasturtiums (these do require a water regiment but I put them near an outside water hydrant that drips on it's own, why fix it? it waters things like that.).. oh, and one of the prettiest shrubs in the world is rosemary!

Well, I was kind of addressing the shrubs and flowers that are double useful as pretty bedding plants as well as things you get some good out of. I am sure I've left a lot out as it's almost time to go out and work today.

But, for the garden plot, all the foods that you names that you normally eat are great but remember things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, maybe parsnips or horseradish, which keep well. If you google "plants that attract bees" or "Plants that attract butterflies" you get lots of results.

I know I listed a lot of plants just above. They are all good for a food, tea or health help. I keep all of those for one reason or another, if you have any question about why you would use any of them let me know and I will explain.

Have a GREAT time ordering your seeds today. That is one of my favorite days of the year, though I tend to do it more than once since I'm probably an addict about that. HAVE FUN!!!

[Wneighbor]

Hey, I was at WalMart yesterday and they had some packets of seed for 20 cents. I haven’t seen that in a long time. Even though I started buying open pollinated a couple of years ago I picked up 6 packets just because you can’t find seed at that price! Figured I’d grab it while I found it.

[Wneighbor]

Accidentally “lose” list of next year’s garden needs where spouse will see it before Christmas.

I like that one!!!!