Should probably post this in the appropriate thread of price increases and shortages but here I am so I'll put it in here, since it's all sort of related. Found out tonight that 3 more of Canada's long-time OP seed companies are calling it quits. I just can't believe how many we have lost even in the short time I've been saving seeds, about 5 years. It seems there's 2 reasons why this is happening; the first that most of them started up 30 years ago or more. They are entering their retirement years at this point, and seeds are a lot of work even on a relatively small scale. Compounding this, the last years spike in seed sales is beyond what many can comfortably manage even as a retirement hobby. With limitations in staff and land to grow the seed, the writing is on the wall. The sad thing to me is there are not many companies out there to begin with, just a handful. So losing these longtime 3 is significant, especially combined with the many others before them. It's like a generation of people, the gardening generation, are disappearing and a hole is left not just in seeds but more so the significant contribution to culture they make. These people were not just keepers of an important knowledge, they lived it.
While there is an uptick in gardening right now, it's remains evident that my generation is not a generation of gardeners. There are many spokes to that wheel of why, but food has become the near exclusive job of industry. I am so sad to see the end of my parents, and grandparents culture. The winds of change are sweeping it all away. Even in my town, always driven by mining, we had a mining community magazine for decades, with gardens and gardeners always prominently featured. Heck, they even gardened in the mines themselves, a huge greenhouse was set up underground when I was a small child and the man running it became somewhat of a local celebrity for growing tree seedlings and various things in there as well as being on the radio regularly. It is truly the end of an era.
We'll see what the future holds. Talk of inflation is rampant, fuel just shot up to 154.9/litre. Butter is now $6 a pound. Coffee at Costco has gone up quite a bit. The medicine I need to keep my dog alive went up 30% over the last 2 months. I'm not feeling confident right now about where things are headed, but you don't know until you know. I imagine Canadians will have to begin seeking out US seed sources and cover the exchange rate, as well as find companies willing to ship over the border as not all of them are.
I zap myself frequently, when I've built up a static charge & accidentally touch one of the screws near a light switch.
and I should be, I've just been surprised by how many have folded. We lost The Cottage Gardener a few years back, and Upper Canada Seeds, and we had a wonderful tomato seed company in BC who held thousands of varieties but she's been closed now for a few years. She may open back up this year, so I'm crossing fingers for that one. I ordered from her for years.
