Posted on 05/09/2020 10:53:29 AM PDT by thecodont
Spring is always a busy time for garden centers. But during a nationwide lockdown, the season is a whole different animal.
"We are 500% busier than we normally are this time of year," said Mario DiGrande, owner of Oakland's Thornhill Nursery. "I've already sold as much soil in six weeks that I do in an entire year. It's just crazy."
Considered essential businesses by California's stay-at-home order, many garden centers have opted to stay open for the past few months - albeit with reduced staff and social-distancing measures such as curbside pickup or appointment-only shopping.
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Herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, citrus trees, soils and fertilizers are all especially popular items. At Thornhill Nursery, DiGrande, who is currently running the whole operation by himself, says they’ve had to limit customers to one basil plant per person. (And if people aren’t buying edible plants, they’re at least stocking up on houseplants, he added.)
From stockpiling canned and dry goods at grocery stores, to cultivating sourdough starters and baking bread, growing vegetable gardens seems like the natural progression of quarantine clichés.
“It’s survivalist, first and foremost,” explained Melissa Smith, who recently started a garden in her San Leandro home with her family. “People have gone generations without knowing where food comes from and how to provide for themselves.”
There’s even a bit of a history behind this urge to start a garden. During World War I and World War II, various countries, including the United States, were encouraged to plant victory gardens: vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks to supplement rations and boost morale.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Hit YouTube for tried and true homemade weed and grass killers. A lot of vinegar and salt. (Round-Up is a super-high concentration of salt, actually.)
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=organic+weed+killers
I, myself, am not against using a spritz of Round-Up here and there between my raised bed rows. ;)
I manage a housewares department at a high traffic hardware store. Canning jars/supplies are flying out the door. Same for bakeware, cookware, kitchen drawer organizers, fridge bins, storage totes, Brita pitchers and filters, Swiffer mop accessories, Mrs Meyers hand soap, patio umbrellas, pizza stones.....
Not to mention cleaning chemicals of all kinds.
We are having a record year. It’s crazy.
Thanks! That was sweet. :)
Through proper planning and a little luck, I was able to retire at 56. (I’ll be 60 this summer.) My Dad retired at 55, my Grandpa at 53! I learned from The Masters. Grandpa’s lessons about survival in The Great Depression were taken to heart.
We all just crammed a helluvalot of paid work and side jobs into our earning years (20-50), invested wisely and always lived WELL below our means. I was also in the military, so I have VA Healthcare pretty much for free. For me, having healthcare was the key factor; I can’t afford 0bamacare! ;)
That makes total sense. I think I’ll order additional canning jars for later this season. Thanks!
Restaurants are delivering margaritas and other drinks in canning jars purchased from my store.
Vinegar with a touch of dish soap works well. Some recipes include Epsom salts, too. Spray enough to coat the leaves, and the plant will start to shrivel and die within a very short time.
If it’s an area where you never was anything growing, AND you don’t mind critters coming up and nibbling at it, you can use water softener salt. But critters will definitely enjoy the taste!
I’m looking at weeding torches right now, and noticed that there’s one available that uses electricity and acts as a heat gun, rather than an actual flame. It needs to plug into an outlet or extension cord, but for stuff near the house it might help. The heat kills leaves within a few seconds. Repeat every time the leaves re-sprout and eventually the root runs out of energy and dies.
Gardening by the immediate gratification generation isn’t going to work out well. They can’t wait 60 minutes let alone 60-90 days required for for most plants’ maturity.
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Quite deservedly for you.
I saw your picture ….. beside the words, “My garden kicks ass” ("Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House"?) lol ..... and beyond that, I think I could pick you out of a line-up.
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Have a great day, Diana.
I am spending this morning (soon) and afternoon, bolting vines back onto the bricks of our home. Wind, birds, and squirrels worked them away from the house over the winter. THIS is no fun.
... not our home, our vines are MUCH thicker.
That DOES look like quite the job!
It’s raining here (SW corner of WI) with possible SNOW this evening and freezing temps tonight and tomorrow night. :(
Then, a nice warm up and we’re back in business, again. I will tend to all of the indoor chores I’ve been ignoring since I’ve been ‘playing outside’ most days for the past few weeks. ;)
Interesting. I’ve heard of people removing vines from their houses, but not of bolting them on.
I like the look of vines better than bricks.
But what have the usual night temps been? It is not supposed to get above the mid 40/s at night till Friday here and I do not want to put the toms out till yearly, yet some have been in 20 oz. cups for 2 months. Most have been hardened off somewhat in 50 degree weather.
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LOL...... sounds SLIGHTLY like the principle that unhappily worked when deer kept eating my hostas each year ...... so many times they eventually were gone. We lost thousands of plants to the deer.
I like the look of vines better than bricks.
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Yes the vines are green here all year long. I am so "vine illiterate" that I don't know what they are called .... but they are very hearty.
what is it about Mrs Meyers soap anyway?....I notice that those shelves are empty quite a bit....is it superior to other soaps?
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I'll bet that I could.
I bought a bottle of Meyers dish soap on a whim and was really impressed by the quality of its fragrance. That’s not something I usually pay attention to but it made an impression on me. The scent was something unusual like “radish” and it had a great, subtle, realistic vegetal smell that was a nice change from the blaring synthetic or perfumy smell of most soaps. I’m guessing the scents are what others are finding appealing in the Meyers line.
“What is it about Mrs Meyers soap anyway?....I notice that those shelves are empty quite a bit...is it superior to other soaps?”
It’s a little pricey, but they use all natural ingredients, the dish soap makes scads of bubbles and the scents they offer smell AWESOME. I LOVE their ‘Basil’ scented anything!
Makes washing dishes (or any cleaning - they have a whole line of products) a more pleasurable chore.
‘Caldrea’ produces the line, but it’s actually owned by S.C. Johnson and PRODUCED IN THE USA! :)
https://www.mrsmeyers.com/about-us/
I’ve used it for years and I’ve given their ‘packs’ as gifts to my Mom and Sister (we try to give only ‘consumable’ gifts) and they both like the products, too.
Ping to post #79. I’m a big fan, too!
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