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Garden Gate:  Just wondering  |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
 Posted - May 12 2010 : 10:20:38 PM
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if any of you have noticed this too. I've been doing lots of shopping at nurseries and garden centers in the past few weeks, of course. Is it just me or have any of you noticed that there seem to be more people shopping for plants and/or seeds that are new gardeneners? I understand why on so many levels. I'm sure most of them are concerned about the economy, our food supply and processed foods, health....all the things we talk about on here daily. Today I was looking at onion sets and a woman came right up to me and started asking all about onions. Is it the right time to plant them? How do I do it? Which is the top and the bottom?(I'm not kidding) From there we moved on to garlic. Later on I met her in the squash plants. She was looking for butternut squash plants. It was really kind of funny. She admittedly knows nothing about gardening but is determined. Right behind her there was an older couple that I know. They were shopping for seeds and haven't had a garden in many years the woman said.
And it's not just gardens. One of the scrub techs I work with asked me all about raising chickens two weeks ago when I went to get my chicks. I mean ALL ABOUT chickens and did I really think it was worth it to raise my own. I told him I believe it all comes down to whether or not you're at all concerned about the food you eat. Then this week we were asked again if we sell beef, by four different people. The question about the beef isn't too strange though, that happens all the time.
All these years people have told us how crazy we are to work this hard when we could buy it cheaper. Maybe we haven't been the crazy ones after all. So....just wondering if anybody else has noticed this 'trend?'
"Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other art follows. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."
Daniel Webster
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 04:19:05 AM
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Yes, Marcia, I have noticed this trend. I think it is just awesome! The only problem is when something like this spreads this fast the government always wants to regulate and control it. I am still trying to get the chicken ordinance changed in my city. We failed the first time. It is amazing how many cities are changing their chicken ordinances across the country!
Why not go out on a limb, that's where all the fruit is! "Mark Twain"
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922 |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 05:55:11 AM
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I think it's great. I too have noticed the trend and am thrilled to see people taking an interest in their lives/health/food again. It feels like it has been forever that people have looked to convenience foods for not just a meal every once and a while but every day everything. Hopefully as people become more aware companies will start re-evaluating the foods they sell us.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 06:18:48 AM
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Yes, I have noticed. Especially last year when the feed store sold out of all their seeds early. And said they couldn't get any more because everyone was buying seeds toplant gardens. So yes, I think people who have never done this before are really getting concerned about where their food comes from and how it's grown. Again, I'll tell about my DD and her fiance. They plowed up their front yard, both sides, to plant veggies. The neighbors think they are crazy. And they both have never done this. Abby has helped me in the gardens for years but never on her own. Now they are getting serious. And she asks questions all the time about when to plant and how and what to go where and with what. It's so fun. So I am finally able to pass on some knowledge to her! And my middle granddaughter loves to help in the gardens. She also helps her uncle up on the mountain with his. I think she'll have gardens when she grows up.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 06:28:43 AM
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same here in oregon. we even had a chicken coop tour last weekend. folks drove from farm to farm to see chickens and how they live.
kris how are you today? happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 07:03:12 AM
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Kristin-I read that when you wrote about your DD plowing up their yard. I love it. Three out of the four of my kids are gardeners too. The fourth will be when he gets out of college, I'm sure. He was probably exposed to it even more than the older three because he raised pigs in 4-H and FFA. Our kids have always been out there with us working and playing in the garden. We do the same with our grandkids. Last year for Mother's Day I gave my two daughters each the book Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy, a book about gardening with kids, and wrote in the front "Please continue to share your love of gardening with my grandchildren. Someday they may need to know these things."
I think that for two years now the feed stores and garden centers in Spokane that sell chicks couldn't keep them in stock. My friend Pierre (the French chef) keeps telling me that but he just wants me to raise more chickens. And the only store I found with red onion sets was sold out yesterday. I had to get white.
Sherry-A chicken coop tour! Too funny, but people are very interested.
"Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other art follows. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."
Daniel Webster
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Butterscotch Grove
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Melissa
Fairbanks
AK
196 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 08:04:34 AM
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I've noticed - I'm part of it! We are hoping to raise chickens next year. The thing that worries me, more than governmental interference, is that I suspect many newbies are rushing in without adequate thought or planning. I can say that, 'cause I'd have done so, without my steady-as-a-rock DH to rein me in. He grew up on a farm in upstate NY, and participated in 4H. My childhood experience in our suburban garden consisted mainly of making mudpies and throwing worms at my mom to see her jump. (I was evil, I know.) And keeping out from underfoot on canning days. So, thanks to DH's influence, our garden has been growing slowly, at a rate I can manage, and the chickens will wait until next year, when we'll have figured out how to keep them safe and comfy through our lovely winters.
Anyway, if things don't go well, at least some folks who didn't plan properly will believe it's the activity that is to blame, not the lack of planning.
Melissa
My blog:
http://ButterscotchGrove.wordpress.com |
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cheneygal
True Blue Farmgirl
503 Posts
Suzie
Cheney
Wa.
USA
503 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 08:20:43 AM
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Celticheart~~if you know anyone that is still looking for chicks and can't find them, send them to Del's in Cheney, we've had a tough time selling ours this year, and I can't understand it. I talk to more customers everyday about "the way things are", talked to an older gentleman Tuesday that said he and his wife sold their place in town, bought 7 tillable acres, a tractor and are going to grow their own everything. Really makes you think.
live, laugh, love |
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Candy C.
True Blue Farmgirl
823 Posts
Candy
Mescal
AZ
USA
823 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 10:15:18 AM
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Here in our area I think a lot of people have chickens now for their own eggs, or have friends and neighbors who have chickens. I have only sold one dozen eggs in the last two weeks at the Farmers Market!! Almost every vendor has eggs for sale but no-one seems to be buying them!
Candy C.
Farmgirl Sister #977
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. |
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 12:06:39 PM
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I would love to have chickens. But we live with my SIL and we live in a HOA. I can't hang clothes.
I notice plants and seeds are flying off the shelves. Even in a development.
I am so careful about the veggies that I buy. I am interested in finding local veggies and meat. How does one go about it?
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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graciegreeneyes
True Blue Farmgirl
3107 Posts
Amy Grace
Rosalia
WA
USA
3107 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2010 : 5:04:58 PM
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I saw more gardens last summer than I ever had - it was great!
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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FieldsofThyme
Farmgirl Guide & Schoolmarm / Chapter Leader
4928 Posts
USA
4928 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2010 : 04:30:27 AM
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Yes. We are one of them. Last year was our first vegetable/fruit garden and we are raising chickens for eggs. We had a nice offer for 2 goats already with milk, but need to be better prepared before we buy them. We have also been researching other animals. Our goal is to be self-sufficient and not have to rely on the grocery store. I just got so tired of our paycheck getting swallowed up at the store and by utility companies. It's a matter of survival now due to lack of work. My kids can't even find jobs right now.
"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind."
Author Unknown |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1160 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1160 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2010 : 06:57:00 AM
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Marcia,
Yes, it's true! Seed companies and hatcheries have been selling more than ever! I have heard this via my feed store connections, who have heard it straight from the source.
My belief is that we can only advance so far, before we look around and say, "You know, maybe the 'old' ways weren't so bad after all." We have industrial farming which is just disgusting. I seriously believe if they could figure out how to create meat in a test tube, they would! Animals are not seen as animals, but as things...things with no feeling. Crops are sprayed with millions of pounds of chemicals..why, the soil is even killed! Read about methylbromide used on our crops. BUT, Guess what? People are finding out the truth, one person at a time, and we're sick of it.
I think everyone needs to watch Food, Inc. for starters. I am also reading an excellent book: The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'd recommend both to anyone! :0)
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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KathyC
True Blue Farmgirl
583 Posts
Kathy
Gastonia
NC
USA
583 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2010 : 09:38:20 AM
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Amy,
You can look here http://www.localharvest.org/ for local farms and I think our cooperative extension service and a list by county also, you might check your area.
Kathy |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2010 : 8:05:37 PM
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Marcia:
I think it is a good thing that people are asking all the questions. I do believe people are worried about the economy. My grocery bill has went up a lot. I can't wait for our garden to start producing. I won't have to buy tomatoes, cucumbers, onion tops, parsley, etc... And- I'll have enough to share with the neighbors.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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arenecombs
Farmgirl at Heart
8 Posts
Andrea
McKee
KY
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2010 : 9:21:43 PM
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My mother is planting a garden for the first time in 20 years. Maybe it is catching :)
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
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just4karyn
True Blue Farmgirl
60 Posts
karyn
n.highlands
ca
USA
60 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2010 : 9:34:31 PM
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 If you all get a chance check out the new Mother Earth news it has a really cool article on how to start a garden in top soil bags for city or suburban homes or apts that don't have a lot of space to plant because I have noticed too that there are alot more people growning gardens for food not just as a hobby anymore I think with all our food being treated with JUNK Chemicals and really not knowing where the food is comming from we are all getting more concerned not only about our health but our enviorment.They are working hard to pass a law here in sacramento county that you will be able to have up to 3 hens no matter where you live for the use of food and eggs . So horray to all of you that are making a difference. |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2010 : 11:02:02 PM
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Our small town has started a community garden this year for the first time. There is alot of support for it so far. People have been very generous. We've started small and a large percentage of what it produces this year will go to the local food bank and the senior round table lunch program. The daycare/preschool kids are also having a small garden of their own. I'll have to get a copy of their list of what they want to grow. It's so cute. One of the things listed is a horse. The person that runs their program put together a two page proposal of what she wants to do with the kids. It included planning, shopping for seeds and starting their plants in the classroom and weekly field trips to work in their garden. I really believe the way to change things is to start with the kids.
"Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other art follows. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."
Daniel Webster
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - May 15 2010 : 11:00:47 AM
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Marcia- I think you are right! I think starting with the younger generation IS the way to go. I am not sure if it influenced how I think or not, but when I was in elementary my teachers did a great job of letting us know about endangered species, pollution, and recycling. I remember feeling the need to go out and do something then- the same way I feel about it now! I am just glad now I have the ability to act on it!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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Garden Gate: Just wondering |
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Just wondering
