Price increases and shortages

[Rhodie Ranch]

I was thinking of stocking up on more general fertilizer for our foundation plants. But with little rain and the specter of less water, I'm not sure that is the right thing to do. Even the irrigation district is discouraging the planting of home gardens this year.

 

[flowerbug]

I was thinking of stocking up on more general fertilizer for our foundation plants. But with little rain and the specter of less water, I'm not sure that is the right thing to do. Even the irrigation district is discouraging the planting of home gardens this year.

can you collect rainwater?

 

[flowerbug]

Gas in San Jose CA this week: $5.50 for premium, $4.99 for regular

Gas in Medford OR this week: $4.39 for premium, $3.99 for regular

This is Costco pricing.

i didn't check gas prices when i went out today for the library, mail and a small shopping run. it was probably around $3.75 for unleaded.

at the store everything was well stocked, prices were high but it is a local small store where prices are usually high anyways. they did have a few bargains that i would have picked up had we needed things. 5lbs of unbleached flour for $2.29 and some other staples that would have been ok to get stocked up on. i didn't though because i think i can find even better prices at a few other places we'll visit next week.

 

[AMKuska]

We're sitting tight... and planting more beans.

Unfortunately if everyone runs out to 'buy now!', it will cause the prices to increase and create shortages; it's kind of a double-edged sword.

eta: I practice long-term food storage

I see your point, but at the same time if I didn't nip out to buy my toilet paper supply (no more than the usual amount) the second I saw the writing on the wall, we'd have been wiping our butts with leaves. I think it's sensible to stock up the chickens, refill gas tanks, and dig in for the long haul.

yes, also start a local gardening group and seed swap. today i finally talked to the director of our local library and i'm going to have a monthly meeting and see how it goes. mini-seed-swap too. she will do the paper advertisement with her weekly library lines and also put it on the library facebook page. so we'll see how many people will show up. at the worst, i sit there and read for a few hours. this will be so good for me too just to get out once in a while. i really miss the people i used to see all the time.

This might be the best long term solution. If everyone has a backyard garden, it will be less pressure on grocery stores and less costs too.

 

[meadow]

yes, also start a local gardening group and seed swap. today i finally talked to the director of our local library and i'm going to have a monthly meeting and see how it goes. mini-seed-swap too. she will do the paper advertisement with her weekly library lines and also put it on the library facebook page. so we'll see how many people will show up. at the worst, i sit there and read for a few hours.

That is so awesome!

this will be so good for me too just to get out once in a while. i really miss the people i used to see all the time.

I can relate. Kudos for taking the steps to put this into action!

 

[meadow]

I was thinking of stocking up on more general fertilizer for our foundation plants. But with little rain and the specter of less water, I'm not sure that is the right thing to do. Even the irrigation district is discouraging the planting of home gardens this year.

Besides rainwater as flowerbug mentioned, there are also ways to collect water that would otherwise be wasted... like rinsing your vegetables over a bucket, then use that water in the garden.

I know that we have some hardware cloth in the barn, so I'm going to ask DH to make a 'table' out of scraps with a hardware cloth top. Then when I rinse my garden produce, I can use that table with an empty tub underneath to catch the waste-water and soil. (I just saw an online video class last week on ways to conserve water for the garden and thought it was a great idea)

Another idea from the video was to collect the 'warm up' water (like in the shower as you're waiting for it to come up to temp).

 

[Zeedman]

Even the irrigation district is discouraging the planting of home gardens this year.

So I suppose next they'll just suggest you start eating less? They'd best cut off water to lawns, golf courses, and anything else inedible before asking people to give up their food plots. Outrageous.

 

[meadow]

I see your point, but at the same time if I didn't nip out to buy my toilet paper supply (no more than the usual amount) the second I saw the writing on the wall, we'd have been wiping our butts with leaves. I think it's sensible to stock up the chickens, refill gas tanks, and dig in for the long haul.

Absolutely! One needs to have supplies.

I do not consider myself a prepper, but learned at a young age to have at least a three day supply of food and water on hand. From that I expanded to longer term. There was a major earthquake where we lived when I was a teen and it made a lasting impression on me about the fragility of our supply chain.

When the pandemic first started, it was common (in a forum I belonged to) to see A LOT of criticism doled out to people that went to stock up and negative comments about 'preppers' in general. I thought it ironic that some of those same people developed a new outlook about being prepared.

So, um, yeah. I'm all about being prepared. Sadly my stocks are running low because reasons and it makes me uneasy.

 

[meadow]

There was a major earthquake where we lived when I was a teen and it made a lasting impression on me about the fragility of our supply chain.

See the girl in this photo? That is me. My mom was on duty at one of the hospitals that was severely damaged, and we went back to get her car.

 

[flowerbug]

in recent times there seems to be a pretty thin line between stocking up and hoarding for a lot of people and i think that is where a lot of the negativity can come from (warranted or not). like, i mean, keep your hands off my beans unless i say you can have some.