2000 mile spuds

[trof]

(cross posted from GD)
We were at our local Winn-Dixie in Foley, Alabama yesterday.
Potatoes were on the list.
I picked up a 10 lb. bag.
We've become very conscious about supporting local growers, so I turned the bag over to see who the supplier was.
Some farm in Simi freaking Valley California!
That's over 2000 miles away.
http://maps.google.com /
This is crazy.

We live in a farming community.
We're surrounded by farms.
Some of our farmers grow potatoes.
Are they shipping our spuds to California?
What gives?

I picked up a bag from a different pile.
Monte Vista, Colorado.
Well, that's only about 1400 miles from here, so I picked the CO spuds.
:-(

The yellow onions came from Monterrey, CA.
:wtf:

I wonder just how much fuel it took to get those basic foods from field to processor/packager to regional distribution warehouse to local warehouse to store?
:grr:

[Kolesar]

1. The author of "Solar Gardening" said that the energy return on plastic mulch is negative

Even if I reuse the sheet of plastic for several years. Wah!

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Plastic mulch ? What the heck ? That can't mean what it sounds like.

Please enlighten. TYIA.

[Kolesar]

4. It's a sheet of 1 mil polyethelene

I bought this product before I read Solar Gardening
http://gardeners.harrisseeds.com/cart/browse.asp?subcat=246

SRM Red Plastic Mulch, 4'x30' Roll
Description: • For early season (only) tomato growing. • Has been shown effective in Northern areas.

This bright red, embossed 1.0 mil. plastic mulch has been shown (in USDA tests) to increase production of first quality early tomatoes from 12 to 20%, relative to that of black mulch, in the cooler, Northern areas of the country. (SRM-Red mulch is not recommended for use in warmer, Southern areas, as no additional production increases has been shown in tests.) This dramatic increase has resulted from the film reflecting far-red light up into the plant. A color sensitive protein within the tomato plant that regulates plant growth and development is triggered during the reflecting period. We recommend that you use this mulch on a trial basis.

I had great tomatoes last year when using this product!

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Oh, OK, thanks. You're not literally mulching plastic, which sounds weird. nt

[XemaSab]

3. I don't have that problem in the supermarket

:hide: :P