(Home garden) Seed demand rises, driven by food costs (Maine)

[jpak]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=182867&ac=PHnws

WATERVILLE — The last time Nikos Kavanya saw such a spike in demand for vegetable seeds was in 1999, when survivalists bought up all they could in advance of the catastrophic events some were predicting would come on Jan. 1, 2000.

Back then, many people turned to seed suppliers to prepare for a Y2K computer crash that some mistaken thought would wreak havoc on the world, said Kavanya, the seed buyer for Fedco Co-op Garden Supplies.

This time around, the increased demand for seeds comes from rising food prices, said Kavanya. Seed sellers say more people appear ready to plant their own gardens this year in hopes of saving money.

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"A lot of people are saying they are going to grow vegetables at home as best they can to help with the cost of everything," said MaryAnne Bartlett, assistant retail manager of Longfellow's Greenhouses in Manchester.

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[formercia]

1. Fedco is a great place.

People with the right attitude. I buy most of what seeds I don't or can't save from them.

[jpak]

2. I'm going by there this week - gonna get some parsnip seeds and onion sets

if they have any left...

:)

[formercia]

5. You should try growing your own onion sets

Copra and Prince are two that grow nice sets. I've found that onions grown from seed in one year don't get big enough, so I started trying different varieties a few years ago to determine which varieties would produce good sets to be planted the following year and wouldn't bolt. Rosa di Milano is a good red variety for sets as well.
I plant the seed in the ground around mid May and have dried sets by late Aug. Cover the seeds with about 1/2 inch of clean sand and they will sprout close to the tested value on the packet.

[jpak]

3. All that snow may help gardens grow

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4979270.html

Snow for gardeners is a double edged sword.

While providing plants a protective cover from wind, frost and other would-be assassins, when you get as much snow as dropped on most of Maine this year that protective covering also tends to shield those plants from anxious gardeners.

"People are ready," said Ken Ellis, co-owner of Sunset Flowerland & Greenhouses in Fairfield. "Winter was way too long. They just want to see green."

Despite the 60-degree temperatures that made last week feel like early summer, much of the region is still dealing with the last vestiges of winter.

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[formercia]

4. The ground isn't frozen due to the heavy snow pack

and the noxious rhizomatious grasses didn't grow with the reduced light, so weeds are easier to pull, that is until the get down new roots and you have to dig them out.