Saturday, August 03, 2013

Ya Might Want To Pay A Bit Of Attention To This

I'm sure you have noticed the creeping inflation that producers have been trying to hide the past couple of years.
You know, the price doesn't really go up much but the sizes of the containers have shrunk considerably.

Inflation is real and it hits hard in countries that don't have the discretionary spending that the U.S. has.

" Across the Caribbean, food imports have become a budget-busting problem, prompting one of the world’s most fertile regions to reclaim its agricultural past. But instead of turning to big agribusinesses, officials are recruiting everyone they can to combat the cost of imports, which have roughly doubled in price over the past decade. In Jamaica, Haiti, the Bahamas and elsewhere, local farm-to-table production is not a restaurant sales pitch; it is a government motto.

“We’re in a food crisis,” said Hilson Baptiste, the agriculture minister of Antigua and Barbuda. “Every country is concerned about it. How can we produce our own? How can we feed our own?”

In a region where farming is still often seen as a reminder of plantations and slavery, the challenge runs deep, yet at regional meetings for years, Caribbean officials have emphasized that “food security,” primarily availability and access, is a top priority. Many countries are now responding, branding foreign food like meats and high-calorie snacks a threat, and locally grown food responsible and smart.

Jamaica started earlier than most. A decade ago, the government unveiled a national food security campaign with the slogan “grow what we eat, eat what we grow.” Grocery stores now identify local produce with large stickers and prominent displays.

Members of rival political parties have also been mostly unified in support of expanding agriculture by experimental means; Jamaica is now one of several countries that have given out thousands of seed kits to encourage backyard farming".

Much like Victory Gardens here in the U.S. during WWII, they are planting small gardens wherever they can.
There was a small burst of this same thing here a few years back but it kind of sputtered out.

With the price of everything going up, especially fresh fruit and vegetables,even a five gallon bucket growing a small basket full of tomatoes can very easily save you twenty bucks, all by its self.
One bucket.

For those who are growing their own gardens,the explosion of GMO crops and the consolidation of the seed industry is making it more and more difficult to find true, genetically pure seed to store.
Hybrid seeds do not reproduce the same quality of fruit or vegetable year after year. They revert back to the dominant parents features.

Heirloom varieties have been reproducing naturally for thousands of years without any man made interference and produce the genetically same produce year after year.


Unfortunately, Heirloom seeds are now getting harder and harder to find and the prices keep going up and up.

There is a one man outfit down in Texas who buys these seeds in bulk and doesn't jack the price up for the sole purpose of maximum profits.
Something EXTREMELY rare these days.

The name of this outfit is Jebadiah Fisher Garden Seed.

The proprietor's name is Bill Nye.

I have absolutely no financial incentive for recommending this to you.
No hand outs, kick backs or anything else.

Bill is as honest as the day is long and will customize an order just for your needs. He also has package deals he advertises at his site.

His pricing has caused an uproar in the seed selling world on the internet because he is exposing just how much markup the other dealers are charging.

If you want the best deal you are going to find on true, natural garden seed,herbs or spices, give Bill a yell.


You will save money up front and later down the road when you start to harvest the results.

Best of all, you can start saving mature seeds to keep propagating your gardens year after year.








4 comments:

  1. As a guy hoping to eventually spend my winters in the Carib, this is encouraging. When travelling, eating local has always been one way to reduce expenses.

    People have given up the cruising lifestyle because they can't get their favorite brands. Weird, but true.

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  2. Mahalo, OB, well said...! ;-)

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    Replies
    1. WOW!
      HI CTuttle!
      Long time no see my man!
      Thanks fer dropping by.

      Delete
  3. And here we are putting corn in our fuel tanks for no good reason. I am trying to save seeds but it is hard with things like beets, beans and tomatoes are easy. Thanks for the link.

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