Discussion » Questions » Food and Drink » Are the farmers able to go out and work the fields or are the celery and lettuce prices going to continue to climb?

Are the farmers able to go out and work the fields or are the celery and lettuce prices going to continue to climb?

Posted - March 26, 2020

Responses


  • 10641
    It's the plant I'm concerned about.  With the nurseries shut down, I have no place to buy my plants.  What will the rats eat this summer?
      March 26, 2020 5:56 PM MDT
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  • That pisses me off, too, I need a drip pan for my 20 gal. container. :P
      March 26, 2020 7:43 PM MDT
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  • 10641
    I meant tomatoes and such.
      March 26, 2020 10:53 PM MDT
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  • of course
      March 27, 2020 2:39 PM MDT
    3

  • 13277
    Better pissed off than pissed on.
      March 31, 2020 3:14 PM MDT
    1

  • 10026
    RATS!!!
    A wicked word around the Merlin household these days.
    I don't know which thought is worse.
    They have lived under our house for years without us knowing or now we know and they want to come in and make themselves our roommates.
    Trust me.  They Will Not Starve!  Some seem to have hitchhiked and made it to our neighborhood.  They are fat and sassy!
    AHHHHHHHHH!
    We are trying to relocate them but I know this is useless.  I say, let's finally finish our, "never-ending remodeling," and sell the damn house, rats and all. 
    Don says, "Bring out Bertha!"  Bertha is a pellet gun he has that is so big, she got the nick name, "Bertha."
    I don't want to kill them per say.  I just would like them to invest in property elsewhere.
    Grrrrrr.  A small battle we have going on over here.  Sending them back to the fields might not be the answer either.
    Any suggestions?
      March 31, 2020 11:58 AM MDT
    2

  • 10641

    I wish I could shoot them!   But, alas, that would prove to be very dangerous... for both me and any neighbor within shooting distance (I kind of have poor aim).  I can't poison them due to pets and other wildlife (some of which decided to go on a strict no-rat diet (stupid vegan foxes!)).  Between the neighbor’s garbage pile (they don't seem to believe in taking trash to the dump) and the wooded areas (very rural area), rats proliferate.  Oh, and they can't eat just one tomato at a time.  Noooo, they have to nibble each and every one of them... and only if they are just about ripe.  They won’t touch a green tomato.  They can eat an entire bell pepper in 2 days and hollow out a cantaloupe in just 1 night.  They love beefsteaks and will only eat a pear tomato if it’s the last thing out there.  They tried my zucchini once but after just one tiny bite they never touched it again. Smart rats.  What’s worse is that my bedroom windows are by my garden and are open at night in the summer.  That means I get tpo heat the rats eat my garden all night long!

    In the summer of 2018, I had a very annoying rat (Houdini?).  That thing could set off any trap without being caught and then steal the bait.  It could even move traps around - without springing them. On one early evening in August, I had just set 6 rat traps in my garden - complete with fresh tomatoes for bait – and was heading back towards the house.  I had no more than closed the gate (a cyclone fence gate) and taken a few steps, when I heard 3 of the traps go off in succession.  I turned only to see an arrogant blackish/brown rat calmly stroll out of my grapevine, climb up to the top of the garden gate, and mock me!  It was barely an arm’s length away from me!  It then casually climbed down from the gate and strolled through a hole in my neighbor’s solid wood fence.  I hate rats!!!

      March 31, 2020 1:00 PM MDT
    3

  • 11112
    There is a safe way to get rid of rats with a water bucket if you Google  - rats  + water bucket  traps  -  you can learn how to make them. Cheers!
      March 31, 2020 1:19 PM MDT
    3

  • 10641
    I've tried just about everything!  No sooner do I get rid them, then they move back in from the neighbors yard.
      March 31, 2020 3:06 PM MDT
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  • 10026
    I'm going to look that trick up right now Nanoose.
    Thanks for the tip!
    :) :)
      April 1, 2020 8:44 AM MDT
    1

  • 34283
    I would think farmers are considerer essential workers so no restrictions and cheap lettuce. 
      March 26, 2020 5:57 PM MDT
    2

  • It's kern season right now.  Farmers are growing like every year, just to watch it burn up in the summer heat for a fat tax write-off.   Then they'll bale it up and sell it to fuel companies.  They're not losing anything. 
      March 26, 2020 7:46 PM MDT
    1

  • 4624
    Yep.
    Here in subtropical Aus, I'm planting my autumn crops and sowing the seeds for the next lot in six weeks - home use only - but I know this is true of the professionals.
    The Farmer's Markets are remaining open and doing excellent trade because the cafés and restaurants have closed. Truckies are still at work and will remain so because they're an essential service.
    WOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) and others who've lost their jobs are having an easy time of it getting work picking the autumn harvests.
      March 26, 2020 8:09 PM MDT
    2

  • 10026
    Such a healthy fountain of knowledge you are, bookworm.
    It truly is a pleasure to be your friend.
    :) :) This post was edited by Merlin at March 31, 2020 12:01 PM MDT
      March 31, 2020 12:01 PM MDT
    0

  • 16781
    They are, but following a prolonged drought followed by catastrophic wildfires and then flooding, Australia's produce prices were skyrocketing anyway. Crop destruction.
      March 26, 2020 11:25 PM MDT
    1