Here comes the food shock!

[Thor]

The tomatoes I started from seeds (a week ago), along with the pepper seeds I started, still haven't sprouted yet.  I bought a "container" cherry tomato plant yesterday at Home Depot, along with some spinach and broccoli seeds, and just planted some of the spinach in the window box I also bought.  Everything's out on the patio today, as we get a fair amount of sun on the patio in the afternoon.

We found out, for the parish community garden, that there's some sort of cable running through there.  Don't know which--high-speed internet, electric, some sort of gas line--we don't know what.  One of the original 7 is making calls this week.  We hope to have the field disked sometime soon, once we figure out whose it is and how deep it is.

If it's cable TV or phone, it will be from 4-18" deep. If it's gas it will be 12-24" deep or deeper, depending on the type of gas line it is. (to a building/ house or a more main supply line) Electrical is required to be at a minimum of 18" deep in most states. Sometimes, if the utility companies have their shit together, they will all be buried together, but that's rare if the line is of any age. Water lines will be below the frost line.

[BlueStateSaint]

Does your state/city have an information line?  We're required by law to call 811 and tell them of any digging that is planned.  They will come out to your place and mark all electrical/communications/gas lines at no charge.

One of the original 7 is making the calls this week, as she's off (she's a teacher, and NYS schools have the week off) this week.  I'm fairly sure that Time Warner Cable will be out to mark things, and maybe lay cable around the perimeter of the plot.  I'm going to be doing Russet Banana potatoes in my plot, and they require at least a foot of depth.  I just hope that I'm not in the cable's path, that's all.  The church is undergoing a complete grounds change--we have to, as we have SRO 11 AM Sunday Masses.  (Yesterday, for Palm Sunday, we had people out in the foyer of the church, and down past the sacristy.  We had 1200-1300 people there.)

And, I had to bring in the tomato/pepper seeds and the spinach seeds last night.  They went back out on the patio this morning . . . and will likely be back in on tray tables tonight.

[IassaFTots]

BSS, to jumpstart your seeds, you might want to buy some Thrive.  It works wonders.  I can get mine at a local hardware store, and at feed stores as well.  I imagine your area has more hippie dippies than me, so you might even find it easier than I can. 

[LC EFA]

The soluble fertilizers available from most K-mart stores are great for getting stuff going. I use an old spray'n'wipe bottle and foli-feed plants. Make sure the NPK ratio of the product is appropriate for the crop and phase (grow , fruit , etc)

[BlueStateSaint]

BSS, to jumpstart your seeds, you might want to buy some Thrive.  It works wonders.  I can get mine at a local hardware store, and at feed stores as well.  I imagine your area has more hippie dippies than me, so you might even find it easier than I can.  

I looked yesterday . . . nine of the 35 tomato seeds had sprouted.  A .257 average--not bad for a middle infielder. I looked again this morning, and the sprout count was up to 16 of the 35 tomato seeds.  Up to .457--a great average, no matter where on the diamond you play.  But, on the pepper seeds, I'm still batting .000 . . . Maybe this week.  It's supposed to be in the low- to mid-70s in the middle of the week, so maybe the increase in temperature will help.

As for the parish community garden, we had one of the seven agencies get back to us Thursday.  The other six are required (by law) to let us know by this Thursday.  We've got almost 3/4 acre to play with.  Once we break/disk the ground, things will start moving rapidly.

[BlueStateSaint]

At the risk of being accused of bumping my own thread, a la DUmmies, now there's this:

"Massive crop losses" feared from South drought

By Carey Gillam Carey Gillam – 1 hr 17 mins ago
KANSAS CITY (Reuters) – A devastating drought intensified across Texas over the last week, with high winds and heat causing "massive crop losses," and weather experts said Thursday that little relief was in sight.

The latest report from a consortium of national climate experts, dubbed the Drought Monitor, said drought worsened along the Texas border with Oklahoma, and in western, central and southern Texas.

Ranchers were struggling to feed and water cattle, and farmers were left to watch their crops shrivel into the dusty soil. Some experts estimated that producers were giving up on up to 70 percent of the state's wheat acreage.

"There are some scary things going on in Texas," said Brian Fuchs, climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center, which released its weekly drought analysis Thursday morning.

Fuchs said the drought in Texas was one of the worst in decades. The dramatically lower-than-normal amount of moisture in the soil has caused widespread crop failures, including to the state's hard red winter wheat crop.

The rest is here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110428/us_nm/us_usa_drought

As if the rise in food prices wasn't bad enough.  On a topic I alluded to in the posts immediately above, I found out that I had planted 40 tomato seeds, 25 of those being of a medium-sized variety and the other 15 being a cherry variety.  However, as of this morning, I had 38 very tiny tomato plants.  The 10 pepper seeds haven't sprouted yet, and neither has the window box-full of spinach I seeded last week.  Seeded a couple of broccoli plants in a small window box this past weekend.

We have gas lines and high-speed Internet lines running through the plot that we want to plow up for the parish garden.  I don't know how deep.  I'm going to go over there soon and plot out where we can tear it up.  I'm thinking a plot that will be bisected by the gas line/'Net line rights-of-way.

[IassaFTots]

I have had no luck with my spinah, much to my dismay.  I am going to try it in a hydroponic setup to see if that will work better.  Takes a while for the peppers, so have faith!

Your article is a primary reason why I am starting my own garden.  I won't be able to afford it.  Water restrictions concern me though.

[Thor]

We have gas lines and high-speed Internet lines running through the plot that we want to plow up for the parish garden.  I don't know how deep.  I'm going to go over there soon and plot out where we can tear it up.  I'm thinking a plot that will be bisected by the gas line/'Net line rights-of-way.

It's pretty unusual for a utility to vary from the easements. Standard is 10 ft front and 5 ft, sides and rear. I'd have to wonder if that easement was legal or if they just plowed in the line without regard to standard easements. (It has happened.) Gas supply lines are going to be 12-24" down. High speed internet can be as shallow as three inches. When I worked CATV, we usually buried longer runs as deep as we could go with the plow, usually about 12-18" depending on the plow. Some installers would lay the cable just barely under the sod, especially if they had to hand dig it. It IS possible that they did a "joint trench", where the gas and internet lines were laid at the same time.

[IassaFTots]

It's pretty unusual for a utility to vary from the easements. Standard is 10 ft front and 5 ft, sides and rear. I'd have to wonder if that easement was legal or if they just plowed in the line without regard to standard easements. (It has happened.) Gas supply lines are going to be 12-24" down. High speed internet can be as shallow as three inches. When I worked CATV, we usually buried longer runs as deep as we could go with the plow, usually about 12-18" depending on the plow. Some installers would lay the cable just barely under the sod, especially if they had to hand dig it. It IS possible that they did a "joint trench", where the gas and internet lines were laid at the same time.

When I bought my house, and had FIOS installed, it was done before I had moved in.  The dude just lifted the sod, and barely laid it down.  My neighbor was so pissed, he told me I should make them pay for the dead sod.  They also hosed up his sprinkler head, by stepping on it when they were doing my cabling.  Now, you can't see the dead sod, it got overrun by nutsedge and henbit.  When ya mow it, it looks green.   

[Thor]

When I bought my house, and had FIOS installed, it was done before I had moved in.  The dude just lifted the sod, and barely laid it down.  My neighbor was so pissed, he told me I should make them pay for the dead sod.  They also hosed up his sprinkler head, by stepping on it when they were doing my cabling.  Now, you can't see the dead sod, it got overrun by nutsedge and henbit.  When ya mow it, it looks green.   

You should have made them replace or pay for the damage, if it was significant. It SHOULDN'T  have hurt the sod except for a small line.

[BlueStateSaint]

It's pretty unusual for a utility to vary from the easements. Standard is 10 ft front and 5 ft, sides and rear. I'd have to wonder if that easement was legal or if they just plowed in the line without regard to standard easements. (It has happened.) Gas supply lines are going to be 12-24" down. High speed internet can be as shallow as three inches. When I worked CATV, we usually buried longer runs as deep as we could go with the plow, usually about 12-18" depending on the plow. Some installers would lay the cable just barely under the sod, especially if they had to hand dig it. It IS possible that they did a "joint trench", where the gas and internet lines were laid at the same time.

TYVM for the info, Thor.  I'll probably go over there tomorrow evening and take a gander at where these things are.  I told one of the other people that I want to go over and stake the plot out; I may just look at where the lines are and go from there.

[IassaFTots]

You should have made them replace or pay for the damage, if it was significant. It SHOULDN'T  have hurt the sod except for a small line.

I didn't.  I should have.  They were crazy, and lazy.

[Thor]

Oh Lord......... wanna talk about anal people; the last cable company I worked for was the "new kid in town". The customers took advantage of them. Burying cables from the pole/ pedestal to the home demarcation point is going to do a little damage, but not enough to cause much more than a "line" in the yard, even when done by hand. Machines can do a little more damage, but if the operator is careful enough and KNOWS WTH they're doing, it's also minimal. These people would call and complain for the most trivial reason. Of course the company, being new, would kowtow to their customers and had actually hired a crew to go do lawn repairs.    We did have unparalleled customer service, but sometimes I think they went a little too far.

[BlueStateSaint]

Well, I went over there and looked at the markings . . . the gas line is 7 feet off of the main driveway.  We were going to go 30 feet off of the main driveway, so that's not bad.  But the CATV line is 35 feet off of the main driveway . . . so we'll go 40 feet off of the driveway, and extend the other dimension 10 feet further.  Plowing time is real soon--one of the other three head honchos has to make the calls.

[BlueStateSaint]

Again, I hate to pimp my own thread, but here's something this morning from Bloomberg, which should have those that aren't doing a garden reconsidering that idea:

Food Prices Rise to Near-Record as Inflation Accelerates

By Rudy Ruitenberg - May 5, 2011 6:44 AM ET

World food prices rose to near a record in April as grain costs advanced, adding pressure to inflation that is accelerating from Beijing to Brasilia and spurring central banks to raise interest rates.

An index of 55 commodities rose to 232.1 points from 231 points in March, the United Nations’ Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report on its website today. The gauge climbed to an all-time high of 237.2 in February before dropping 2.6 percent in March.

The cost of living in the U.S. rose at its fastest pace since December 2009 in the 12 months ended in March, the same month in which Chinese consumer prices rose by the most since 2008. The European Central Bank raised interest rates on April 7, joining China, India, Poland and Sweden in a bid to control inflation partly blamed on food costs. Costlier food also contributed to riots across northern Africa and the Middle East that toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia this year.

“There seems to be some easing for a lot of commodities, but whether this is demand rationing, we have to wait and see,” Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist at the FAO, said before the report. “If the weather is good, if plantings expand, I think we could see some relief in food prices.”

Sugar prices slumped 18 percent in New York last month, while milk futures fell 1.8 percent in Chicago, U.S. wholesale beef prices dropped 3.4 percent and pork declined 2.2 percent. Wheat prices rose 5 percent in Chicago after falling the previous two months and corn jumped 9.1 percent.

The rest is here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-05/food-prices-approach-record-high-as-grain-prices-fuel-inflation-worldwide.html

Anotehr reason to plant food crops wherever one can.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Bu-bu-bu-but Bernanke says there isn't any inflation!   

The weather for the last two weeks was gruesome and bad news in one way or another for a Hell of a lot of US farmers, from late freezes in the northern plains to record floods in the entire Mississippi basin to fire and drought in Texas/Oklahoma...then there is the energy prices involved in production across the board on top of that.  It's shaping up to be a rough year on food prices, I think we may just be seeing the foreshadowing at this point with the real impact a couple of months away.

[BlueStateSaint]

Bu-bu-bu-but Bernanke says there isn't any inflation!   

The weather for the last two weeks was gruesome and bad news in one way or another for a Hell of a lot of US farmers, from late freezes in the northern plains to record floods in the entire Mississippi basin to fire and drought in Texas/Oklahoma...then there is the energy prices involved in production across the board on top of that.  It's shaping up to be a rough year on food prices, I think we may just be seeing the foreshadowing at this point with the real impact a couple of months away.

I continue to stock up on canned vegetables.  It makes sense.

[Thor]

Bu-bu-bu-but Bernanke says there isn't any inflation!   

The weather for the last two weeks was gruesome and bad news in one way or another for a Hell of a lot of US farmers, from late freezes in the northern plains to record floods in the entire Mississippi basin to fire and drought in Texas/Oklahoma...then there is the energy prices involved in production across the board on top of that.  It's shaping up to be a rough year on food prices, I think we may just be seeing the foreshadowing at this point with the real impact a couple of months away.

Food & Fuel prices conveniently do not figure into the inflation rate.  Which I think is 

[IassaFTots]

Food & Fuel prices conveniently do not figure into the inflation rate.  Which I think is 

Agreed!   

[BlueStateSaint]

I saw something linked on SurvivalBlog.com yesterday about using wooden pallets as vertical planters.  This might work for herbs, I would think.

Nothing new on the sprout count--still batting 1.000 on the broccoli, .975 or 1.025 on the tomatoes depending on what standard one is using, .300 on the green peppers, and .250 on the spinach.  Our next meeting for the parish community garden is tomorrow morning at 10, right in the middle of the plot.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Food & Fuel prices conveniently do not figure into the inflation rate.  Which I think is 

Also the fact that no matter what happens to prices, he isn't going to call it 'inflation' until there is also wage inflation, a paradigm that seriously breaks down logically when the unemployment rate goes above 7%.

Keeping food and fuel out of it makes a bit of sense to eliminate short-term and seasonal fluctuations, but that model also is operating far outside the parameters it was designed for these days.

[Thor]

Also the fact that no matter what happens to prices, he isn't going to call it 'inflation' until there is also wage inflation, a paradigm that seriously breaks down logically when the unemployment rate goes above 7%.

Keeping food and fuel out of it makes a bit of sense to eliminate short-term and seasonal fluctuations, but that model also is operating far outside the parameters it was designed for these days.

Most definitely. Fuel prices may shift some 50¢+ during some seasons on the norm. Instead, they've shifted some $1.50+. Food prices are directly tied to fuel prices because it takes fuel for everything from the farmers to the getting the food to the store. Also, while some food prices appear to have remained steady, in fact, they have not as the manufacturers are downsizing retail food portions.

[Odin's Hand]

The wheat fields are not looking so hot here. The stalks are about half of where they should be. The corn is just now starting to sprout too. Kansas is fine, but the OK and TX crops will be shaky in a few months if the drought holds. If it does, expect a surge in grain prices due to shortage.

[BlueStateSaint]

The wheat fields are not looking so hot here. The stalks are about half of where they should be. The corn is just now starting to sprout too. Kansas is fine, but the OK and TX crops will be shaky in a few months if the drought holds. If it does, expect a surge in grain prices due to shortage.

And bread prices.  And anything that is baked.

[CG6468]

Farmers in Illinois have planted only about 5% of their normal crop. And the fields will be too wet for a long time to come.