At least some folks are catching on...

[methusaleh]

I guess I feel a mixture of relief (that there may not be lots of fighting between the "haves" and "have nots") and fear (that something big is indeed coming) with this revelation, but...my fiance is a manager at a huge agricultural business that runs the gamuts from retail flower sales to contracts landscaping giant high-tech industrial complexes. She said the past three days of this weekend, their retail sales were almost unprecedented. The sales on Saturday and Sunday were five to six times as high as any day in the last pre-holiday gift-buying rush, which is when they traditionally do their busiest retail days. She will know tomorrow if, as a more seasoned co-worker of hers suspects, the sales this past weekend were the highest ever in the history of the store.

What was selling out as fast as hotcakes? Heirloom seeds, sprouting seeds, sprouting kits, and grow lights. The clientele was not their typical knowledgeable gardener type people, rather it was clueless newbies with zillions of questions-- many of them regarding shelf life of seeds and various supplies. Of course, many grow light sales can be attributed to people starting their seeds right now, but the overall sales of the lights was astronomically higher than usual for this time of year, and most of the people buying them were the same people asking about long-term storage of seeds and supplies.

She said they started the weekend with all of the shelves full and about 48 cases of heirloom seeds in the back room. They ended tonight with seven packets of the seeds on the shelves!

I found this all extremely interesting and just had to share it...

[herbalpagan]

WTF? I saw nothing wrong with the OP's post, so I have no idea what Kenno's reply was about...

I agree with the OP, many seed companies are relating the same thing. I have heard from more people this year who are really starting to garden in a big way. I think I'll pick up more canning jars while I'm in town because these too, will be gone once the new gardeners figure out that they need something to put all that produce in.

I think it's going to be interesting to see how the Farmer's Market people do...it could go either way, with people wanting locally grown produce in enough quantity to put up some or people could stay away because they are growing their own.

[methusaleh]

Updating this...

As of a few weeks ago, their sales of things that could be considered "preparedness oriented" took off so much that the store now has an area approx. 700 square feet, featuring larger quantities of the things they had trouble stocking before. Heirloom seeds, sprouting kits, canning supplies, solar items, vacuum and nitrogen packing supplies, etc. I saw it for the first time today and was very impressed!

Someone out there is creating a larger market for these types of items...I have no problem with that!

[Visinedrops]

Quite interesting to see the mobs of clueless randomfolk who have decided that they'll try their hand at something that's completely foreign to them, not because they want a new hobby, but because they deem it a new necessity.

Just curious though, if these people are starting to spend their money on this stuff, I wonder what it is they're NOT spending their money on anymore.

[herbalpagan]

Well, I know that when I went to replace my green peppers (due to an attack by a hungry porcupine or something)...there were none. A trip through the garden centers showed that veggies had been snapped up fast and furious. Talking with people revealed that there were a LOT of first time gardeners (or first in a long time) and those that had regularly kept gardens had increased the size of those gardens. It happens when people don't trust the economy.

What are people spending their money on? Besides gardening supplies, I know that we are only spending money on practical stuff. Chickens and a chicken coop, tools, a generator, stuff that will last and do multiple jobs. I'm seeing people doing more and better upkeep and improvements on homes.

[methusaleh]

Ha, it is indeed difficult to gauge what the aren't spending money on. Hopefully the sheeple may (miracle of miracles) have cut down on spending the things they consider "important" like video games and American Idol CDs!

Yup, most are first-timers, but at least they have the brains to ask tons of questions and sometimes purchase books as well.

I am kicking myself because I missed a seminar and walk-through on identifying wild edibles, that was held on Sunday at a local park. I hear it was very well-attended. Although I am pretty knowledgeable about such things already, it always helps to practice, practice, practice...although the person who did the seminar is a friend of mine and he said the demand is so high that he is already planning another class...fingers are crossed...IMHO he should do it seasonally, as the edibles in this region are not the same as they are in the colder months.