Posted on 04/10/2020 11:46:02 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
A seed catalog coming in the mail is enough to get a gardener’s heart pumping.
Now more than ever people are expected to return to the earth, as they get weary of the COVID-19 indoor restrictions and foresee the punch the pandemic will have on their wallets.
Call volume has spiked at Jung Seed Company with longer wait times as people place their orders for Wisconsin 55 Tomato and Butter and Sugar Sweet Corn seeds.
Nathan Zondag, the company’s VP, has a theory on the demand.
“More people are at home now with COVID-19 orders and looking at the seed catalog and getting ready for spring and, unfortunately, more people are gearing up for a recession,” Zondag said.
The company’s business went up 30 percent during the 2008-2009 recession, Zondag said.
The family-owned business has been around since 1917, and through wars and recessions, the company has seen people turn to gardening during troubled times.
Garden shops, seed companies, and community gardens are essentials under the COVID-19 emergency orders and can remain open and operating while other businesses have had to shut down.
Jung Garden Center stores, including the Sun Prairie location, are open for customers to buy seeds, potting soils, supplies, bare roots, and nursery supplies. Zondag said retail shops have curb-side pick-up for people who don’t want to go inside the store during the COVID-19 emergency.
Zondag said even though most people have moved away from gardening, it’s important for everyone to know how to produce their own food. That allows control over how it’s grown, what chemicals, if any, are used. It’s also usually less expensive than going to the grocery store.
“It’s healthy, convenient, and cheaper,” Zondag said. “And you get a lot of tomatoes off one plant and those can be turned into spaghetti sauce, salsa or any other canned goods you might want to help sustain you over winter.”
Gardening know-how
More demand means more newbie gardeners may be entering the field, so Lisa Johnson, a UW-Extension Horticulture Educator has some advice: Plan ahead and don’t get overwhelmed.
“Starting small is a good idea,” Johnson said. “If you are an apartment dweller, you can use pots and containers, and plant lettuce or spinach, if you don’t have a lot of light.”
Homeowners can stake out a little plot, use raised beds or be creative with other options.
“A 10 x 10 plot is plenty big for a beginner,” Johnson said. “Or if you have an old kids pool you can use that if you drill holes in the bottom.”
Leaning on an expert for advice is a good tip. UW-Extension is starting up its Horticultural Help Line in mid-April, by email at horticulture@countyofdane.com or by phone (608) 224-3721 from 9 a.m.- noon Monday through Friday.
Johnson said there is still time to start seeds indoors if done immediately. If that’s not possible, she said to concentrate on planting vegetable seeds in the ground, usually after May 20.
“We are bit warmer than normal, so we are on track to do that,” Johnson said.
Easy-grow crops are lettuce, chard, mustard greens, green beans, she said. Other crops like tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables have to be monitored for disease and pests.
Johnson promotes gardening at any time, but especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when people can suffer from depression and isolation.
“There is a lot of uncertainty out there,” Johnson said. “So having a connection with nature, and being outside away from the COVID-19 news is good. There are a lot of mental and emotional benefits to gardening.”
Gardening is also a good task for families to do together.
“Even before the COVID-19, there has been a resurgence and interest in producing grow-your-own food, and teaching younger folks these types of skills is important.”
Community gardens
Sun Prairie community gardeners are preparing for the season with more than a dozen new gardeners joining its ranks.
But there are still around 30 lots left, Sun Prairie Community Garden organizer Tom Kinney reported on Tuesday.
“We expect to sell out of plots this year based on the early interest that we’ve received so far,” Kinney said, as the garden’s May 1 target opening date draws nearer.
A half-plot costs $20, full plot $35, with even bigger plots available. The garden also offers no-fee flower plots around the border to enhance the garden’s curb appeal on Linnerud Drive.
Information and application material can be found on the City of Sun Prairie website, www.cityofsunprairie.com/429/Community-Garden.
Community gardening is essential under Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at home” orders according to Dane County officials at UW-Extension and the Dane County Circuit Court.
Sun Prairie Community Garden officials are consulting with the Dane County Garden Network to put new regulations in place to keep gardeners safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. That could mean limiting the number of people in the garden at the same time and requiring gardeners to follow social distancing guidelines. Rules on shared tools and other resources will also be reviewed, Kinney said.
“Community gardens are exempt from the (COVID-19) order but we will still need to take the recommended precautions,” Kinney said.
Spring is always an exciting time for gardeners, but Kinney said the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the enthusiasm. Like so many, he is especially eager to plant a plot this year and reap the benefits.
“There is nothing better to have a fresh tomato that you have grown yourself,” Kinney said. “I look forward to that.”
Each One, Teach One! :)
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Well, I have started my herbs,
and Easter Lilies out in front!~
Most seed companies are sold out of the popular stuff.
Some of those companies are shut down for the duration to deal with backlog.
I’m just hoping the cpl I still want (want, not need :) ) to buy from are open until we get our ‘plague check’. They’re small businesses & we will try to spend what we get at small businesses. Putting some up until everything else opens.
Guy up the road from us, has 2 teens, just plowed up what looks to be 1.5acres for a garden. I know what THOSE teens will be doing this summer ;)
Right, in Mi it is illegal to go into the garden center at Home Depot.
Here in Michigan Reichsfuhrer Whitmer declared all plant nurseries closed.
Because, screw you little people, that’s why.
Luckily, I had everything on hand already, since I grow a vegetable garden yearly.
Got over 400 seedlings ready to go in the ground as soon as it warms up a bit.
people can grow things in containers too if they don’t have much space- we grow tomatoes in the topsy turvy containers upside down and they do really well- grow carrots, potatoes etc- many htigns can be grown easily in containers-
Our town has a community plot- it’s small, but maybe 15 gardens or so- very small 10x4 plots or so- nice to walk by them and see families tending to them- so far people respect the plots and don’t raid them- but we’ll see what happens this year as folks don’t like going to grocery stores right now- hopefully people won’t raid them-
nothing like picking a fresh sun ripened tomatoe off a vine and making a toasted tomatoe sandwich- just wish my stomach could handle them better- Fresh cucumber sandwiches are good too- very much looking forward to those-
Territorial Seed Company has suspended taking orders for the next two weeks to they can restock and get out the current orders that are backlogged.
I ordered mine around the beginning of the year.
I learned the hard way one year that if you wait they may be out of the seed you want and I do not like them substituting another variety. I pick the ones I want for a reason.
So fortunately, I am well stocked and as soon as I can, the garden in NH is going in.
I just got back from town. I stopped at Farm & Fleet just to see what was up. Seed supplies there are good, but this IS Farm Country, so we all have kitchen gardens, anyway. No one is buying in a panic because we all have seed to use up from last season!
I picked up about 10 extra packets of seed so I can do more progression growing this season and also extend the use of my greenhouse on the back side of the growing season. I had one order delayed, and I got it, but it had a few substitutions and some ‘freebies’ throw in there to soften the blow. Having been in ‘The Seed Biz’ for 18 years, it’s not easy to judge which varieties are going to be your top sellers from year to year. Who thought KALE would end up as such a Garden Superstar? Not me!
We’ll see how well I do. By the time October rolls around, I am usually sick to death of gardening. But I recover every Spring and do it all over again! :)
One place I’ve actually found good deals on seeds is the Dollar Tree or some other Dollar store.
Often they are 10 packets for a dollar and they have traditional varieties like Purple top Turnips and Black seeded Simpson lettuce. Stuff that will actually go to seed so you can save and harvest your own seeds for next year.
Love this man. He says he rather have the governors make their own decisions. That’s the way the constitution wants it.
All those voters that doubted him four years ago, they have to be on board with this election. It will be a landslide. He has more than proven himself.
And one of the best things I've learned, is the uglier the tomato the better the taste....
Too true! I dread the last home grown tomato getting eaten.
“Dad, what did you do during the Chinese Virus War of 2020?”
“Son, I bootlegged starter trays full of vegetables.”
I haven’t seen the name Lewis Grizzard in a long time. He was a funny guy.
Sorry, wrong thread, pull it if you can.
That’s completely insane.
Drove by our local nursery on Wednesday. We’re in ‘lockdown’ but she’s considered essential. She was open with ‘curbside dropoff’ signs out front. Had several customers in their cars waiting for their purchases to be brought out.
You want panic? Tell people they can’t grow their own food if they want...
This has got to be newbies.
I order a few of this or that every year, but I’ve got a freezer full of saved seeds and unused bought seeds. No biggie if I can’t buy any one particular year.
I want a cpl more fruit trees, including the nectarine that a certain company has for sale to match the one I got last year. That one bloomed this year (10 blooms!) and was *gorgeous*. 3 or 4 baby nectarines now. Still deciding if I’m going to let it make this year or not.
Plus I need another bay laurel. I managed to kill the one I had.
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