Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Stocking up: Hard times ahead?

Do you remember a year that seems so bad, garden-wise? All across the nation, gardeners are having trouble with failed or late crops. Too wet, too dry, too hot, too cold... bugs, fungi, bacterial and viral diseases... it doesn't take a genius to see that food prices are going up again.

What troubles the backyard gardener troubles agribusiness, too. National food stores are at a low right now and with low yields, increasing those stores may be impossible.

This means higher prices. Not only will there be less from the farmers, there will be more demand as those who would otherwise depend on their own produce, have to buy more store bought food.

Some people are stocking up more this year than ever, as this thread from the Dollar Stretcher forums shows. My advice? Follow their lead. Stock up, put up. Can, dehydrate, freeze, find a cool place to store winter squash, cabbages and potatoes when or if you can find them for a good price.

I'm not trying to scare you... well, maybe I am. I'm not trying to paint a doomsday picture, but all of us need to see the implications of a bad year almost everywhere in the nation. It's just practical good sense to do what you can to hedge against higher prices.

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for the thread you recommended in the Dollar Stretcher. Someone asked about storing dried fruit. If there is any doubt in my mind what-so-ever, I put the dried fruit in a container (I usually use a glass canning jar), remove as much air as possible, and then put into a freezer. If there is a space between the dried fruit and the top of the container, I fill that space with wadded up waxed paper. I've never had problems with frozen, deied fruit.

    Regards, Peg

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  2. Excellent advice Pat:)

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