The End Of Agriculture In California?

...
Wow, more doom and gloom.

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu:
"I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen," Chu told the newspaper. "We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California.
"I don't actually see how they can keep their cities going," he added.

Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told California's farmers to prepare for a third straight year of drought due to low Sierra snow levels and some of the state's top farming counties may get little or no deliveries of water.

Entire REUTERS Article:
Climate change could end California farming

Maybe instead of proselytizing, they should actually start doing something? I know, I know, how dare I suggest such a thing. Yes, I slapped my wrist for having such an outrageous thought.

...

WinterSowing on TV . . . Again

...

Well, well.
Wintersowing has made the news. Again.

Trudi Davidoff, of WinterSown.org fame, was featured on one of the national morning shows last year (I think it was last year - I posted about it somewhere on the blog.)

Anyway, it has made news again as a segment on KARE11:
WinterSowing video segment.

Although the guy went waaaaay overboard on the amount of tape he used and didn't mention to leave the caps off, it was a pretty good 'beginner' introduction.

It obviously took a few takes to get it right as they already had footprints tracked to the spot in the snow, as well as depressions in the snow where they'd previously placed the jugs.

And I wish they'd gone into more discussion about the depths (why he was measuring and marking before cutting) and that perennials aren't the only choice for this technique - some veg and annuals are also good choices.

There was also an article in Northern Gardener about WSing, but if you're not a subscriber . . . well . . .

It's about time WinterSowing started catching on like a house afire and getting the attention it truly deserves.

Go Trudi!

Cacti Seedlings And WinterSowing

...

A month ago, January 11, I started some mixed cacti seed.
I was hesitant to mention it as I figured it would be a dismal failure.
Wrong!
Every single one of those seeds sprouted within days - and there were a lot of them.
They've reached almost an inch high and have the cutest little spines on some of them.
So, yay for me growing cacti.
Well, so far. I still have my fingers crossed.

I also got some wintersowing done. 15 jugs were tossed out into the snow on February 2.
I had to right two of them yesterday that the wind blew over, but they'll be fine. They always are.

I still have a lot of jugs yet to do, but I'll get there. At this point it seems that winter will never end.

And we put the Plant Stand up for this year and it has lots of cuttings on it as well as the onion seed. I just need to reign myself in so I don't get antsy and start the rest of the veg seed too soon.
I suppose The Grow Guide is worth another mention at this point. lol.

...

Fabulous Plant Information Site

...

"PlantLinks is an index to web pages describing plant species. It is different from a web search in that only pages from websites relevant to gardeners are included."

It might be a 'work still in progress', but wow, what a ridiculous source of information he has up there already. I especially like the fact that the links will open automatically in a new window so you don't lose the list of sites you're checking out. Very user friendly.

Need info on a plant? Check it out.

Rob's Plant Links

Good job Rob!

...

Reason # 8,000,000,000 To Have A Veg Garden In 2009

.
Yeah, I'd guess that's enough 0's?
The number of reasons to grow your own this coming summer just keeps getting longer:

California drought may raise vegetable prices
Like they aren't high enough already?

More than $300 Million in crop losses due to drought
And I'm betting it isn't going to get better any time soon.

If you're one of those people who are still on the fence about starting a veg garden, here's hoping you tumble gently when you finally tip to the happy side.
:)