Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[CntryBoy777]

I continue to be amazed at all the "chicken littles" running around these days....I don't mean to offend anyone, but there is a difference between "concern" and "panic"......

 

[Baymule]

Our Tractor Supply has been swamped. People standing outside to get in. Manager at the door, taking a head count, only 40 people at a time allowed inside. Every body wants to be a farmer. Haha, reckon how long that white hot heat of enthusiasm with a side order of panic is going to last?

 

[Bruce]

Every body wants to be a farmer.

Why not, it is so EASY! Just stick a seed in the ground and you are a successful farmer

They still sell seeds in bulk and we spent $25 for 15 different seed varieties and that includes 1 1/2 lbs of green beans.

That is a LOT of beans!

 

[farmerjan]

Long enough for them to find out how hard it is, and when the food becomes more available the "real ones" will be left standing. If nothing else, the "wannabe's " will all peter out when the weather gets cold, and the waterers start to freeze, and they are putting more into the hens than the value of the eggs are.....

And when the gardens actually need to be weeded, and maybe watered, and then the whole row of green beans needs to be picked and then processed and frozen or canned right then because they won't keep for a week until they get around to it..... or that the plants look real good and then the next day the squash plants have all wilted from the squash vine borer killing them.... or the tomatoes all get blossom end rot......
The ones that do stick with it will be the ones who remember that grandma or uncle joe, or that nice lady down the road used to share some really good food..... and the ones who learn by trial and error will appreciate what goes into their food and will strive to a better job next year.... and some will realize that getting in and working the garden is relaxing mentally and a very good way to get exercise and good healthy air.....

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah @Bruce someone should have shot that dumb @@###@@ for saying that.... But he's made enough money that he will never have to worry about sticking a seed in the ground to get an ear of corn...... or get his hands dirty. He can just pay some dumb worker that he is paying little more than minimum wage to that he can convince how wonderful a person he is and how smart he is because he IS smarter or he wouldn't have been able to make so much money....

 

[CntryBoy777]

Better yet...waiting for the "days to harvest" to drag by and they begin to fruit will drive them crazy or they will get bored....they'll starve by that time....also figuring out how many it will take to feed the family....I don't think teach that in school anymore....

 

[Bruce]

Gee Jan, seems like you've got a bit more farming experience than Bloomberg

I have no doubt that the vast majority of the new "bakers/farmers/gardners/chicken raisers" will drop the task as soon as the food shows up in the grocery stores and they can go out to eat any time they want. It still floors me that apparently a LOT of people eat out most of the time or have food delivered. Didn't grow up that way and as far as I know, I don't know anyone outside the forums that lives that way. But apparently folks like us are the odd ones.

Well, actually, I guess I DO know some people like that. My Dad lives in a retirement community in So. Cal.; dinner nightly in the "restaurant" is part of the monthly fee. In-laws and DW's aunt live in a similar place here. But I guess after 65 or more years of cooking dinner nightly (80 years in DW's Aunt's case) I can see being done with that, especially if you are cooking only for yourself.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We all know how hard farming is. The newbies don't - yet. We all started somewhere and I sincerely hope that some of them succeed.

 

[Bruce]

True! Could be some will get the "bug".

 

[farmerjan]

I didn't intend to sound mean. I do hope that some do "get the bug" and become more self sufficient and able to take care of themselves. They are also the kind of people that are more conservative in their general thinking and day to day actions.... and show some COMMON SENSE in life's activities in general.
Unfortunately, so many will try it for awhile, and it will be too hard, too time consuming, their crops will get attacked by bugs, the yields will be small or non-existent, the weather will not co-operate, and any one of a dozen other things and they will gladly give it up for the comfort and ease of "someone else" doing it.

But if one gets it out of 100 we are still better off and so are they. It might at least make some more appreciative of what all goes into actually feeding people.....