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.”
It was! I opened and closed the greenhouse three different times. You could look out and it was snowing, then ten minutes later” Full sunshine!
Glad to hear your family is still able to be up and running. It would be awful if they or Jung’s or Klein’s or The Flower Factory were forced to close.
I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to hitting all of the area greenhouses like I am this season!
BTW, got a message on wife's phone from Home&Mart advertising TP, thermometers, and sanitizing wipes, only. No such place. BEWARE. There are Home Marts, but not Home&Mart.
Do those cows renting your pasture pay you in milk?
LOL, ok, sorry I wasn’t paying attention. You’re ping with the beautiful colored vegetables kept drawing me back to it.
““A 10 x 10 plot is plenty big for a beginner,”
I wished I had read this. I started with a 40 by 60 Garden, along with 4 ir 5 raised beds. After 4 years of that I’m thinking of just doing the raised beds this year. I get tired just thinking about all the work. This may not be a good year to Slough off though.
“I picked up about 10 extra packets of seed so I can do more progression growing this season”
What is progression growing?
“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.”
Same here. I only grow non-hybrid vegetables, and I harvest their seeds every year for the following year. I started it just to practice, in case we get in a prepper scenario. But now I find that my favorite thing to harvest is the seeds! So much easier than the produce. I just have to dry them and then put them away. And it’s nice to know I am continuing the cycle of growth.
Looks like I might get some kale seeds this year! I have four or five kale plants that made it all through the winter. They just needed covering a few times. Now I see a stalk coming up through the center and I assume flowers and seeds will be next.
“Those of you in or near rural areas, keep an eye on Craigslist. I’ve noticed a lot of farmers are trying to deal with this by selling directly where they’re allowed. If I was ready for a milk cow or some feeder hogs, now would be the time to buy!”
Thanks for the heads-up about what’s happening out there. I don’t know much about the distribution, but I assume there’s a lot of people involved through the whole process and that if any of those don’t show up to work, we won’t get choices in our grocery stores.
Are you still growing beans to supply companies with the seeds?
Those are interesting tomatoes.
Nope. Cold, hard, CASH. Their ‘Dad’ writes us a check 2x a year. ;)
“What is progression growing?
Things you can plant multiple times during the season. Also known as Succession Planting.
“The best vegetables for succession plantings include: arugula, basil, beans (pole), beets, broccoli raab, carrots, chicory, cilantro, corn salad (mache), dill, endive, green onions, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mizuna, mustard, bok choi, radish, rutabaga, spinach, swiss chard, tatsoi, and turnips.”
https://www.thespruce.com/succession-planting-1403366
I’m in Zone 4, so pretty much everything I plant in the Spring can also be planted again in late summer (factoring in enough time for growth before the hard freeze of mid-October) with some prior planning (like starting more broccoli plants in July for a fall crop, etc.) and I have a shady spot to keep lettuces going even in the heat of summer (and I buy heat-resistant varieties.)
Bush beans get planted a number of times in my garden; the pole beans are usually such great producers that I only plant them once.
It’s good if their volume is up. There was concern that do to the lock down, not as many people would be planting gardens and there might be extra demand for vegetables leading to shortages.
3 of the bean types are for Baker Creek, plus 2 that I’m hoping to convince Baker Creek that they should carry.
I planted a little coffee tree years ago - it finally started producing then died this last Christmas. Other than that I have a guava, lime, lemon, wild old Florida grapefruit (wonderful flavor 30 seeds or more per fruit) some pomegranates, and a 25 foot sea grape... My orange trees got the greening disease years ago and had to be taken out. You’re right - lots of good reasons to have a garden and lots more to plant trees. Thanks for sharing.
I’m a container gardener, as that’s all I can manage at near 80. I have 10 gorgeous foot high tomato plants, started hardening off 2 warm days this week, but now S. MO.3 nights 30 or below in the next week so they’re under house arrest like I am. Too tall to go back under grow lights, which are crowded with peppers, eggplant, etc anyway. Will setting them under ordinary light for a week keep them healthy? Never had this happen before.
I got a coffee tree once. Tried to grow it in a container i brought inside over the winter.
It died :(
At this point, get them some natural light from the SOUTH if that’s possible. Worst case scenario is that they’ll get ‘leggy’ from less light, but once they can get a good dose of sun again, they should be OK. I don’t think a week will harm them all that much if you can give them a southern exposure.
I would water and not fertilize at all during their week in Solitary. ;)
That sounds like such a fun job! And i never realized where companies got their seeds from.
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