To plant or not to plant--THAT is the question...

At one time, anyone who had access to even a tiny portion of land, was just expected to plant a garden. Many of those people planted enough vegetables to last through the following winter. The excess was either frozen, canned or kept in underground cellars. In recent years, fewer and fewer gardens have been planted for a variety of reasons. Some people no longer found it to be a necessity since they could run down to the local grocery and purchase whatever they needed at home. Now that more amd more women are having to be a part of the work force, they had no extra time to devote to raising a garden. Then, of course, the price of water has been on the increase causing people to question whether or not it was financially a good idea to garden.

But, now with fuel prices at all-time highs that are causing food prices to soar, more people are choosing to produce any and all food that they possibly can. This Spring, I have been conversing with people who sell vegetable plants about what kind of trends they are seeing in their current market. Everyone who I have talked with on the matter tells me that they are seeing major increases in vegetable plant sales. One person told me that their supplier has recommended that they pre-order more vegetable plants than they have in the past few years so that the producer knows in advance just how many seeds they should be planting in time for spring sales.

This is the first time since 1981 that we have planted a vegetable garden. When we planted the first time, we were too lazy to water and weed the garden. This time, the girls were very excited about planting vegetables so they, hopefully, will be interested in taking care of the garden also! LOL!!! But, now, more than ever before, I fear that we may have theft problems. It seems that theft around the country has climbed significantly for everything else. Years ago when crime was beginning to climb in our neck of the world, we asked Wheatland Electric to erect a street light in our backyard. We have never had any regrets for doing so! If you are interested in having your "very own" light that comes on at dusk and goes off at dawn, call Wheatland at 375-2632. They will come and put one up for you. There is a small monthly charge approximately $10.00. To us, the added security is well-worth the money!!! Our light is right east of where we planted our garden so our veggies should be safe! LOL!

Anyway, just thought that you might be interested in all of this...

VLE-B