[Pollinator] Will there be a shortage of vegetable seeds for gardeners in 2010?

[Ladadams at aol.com]

Thanks to Kim Flottum of Bee Culture for  this. 
Will there be a shortage of vegetable seeds for  gardeners in 2010? 
_Source:  freep.com_ 
(http://www.freep.com/article/20100128/FEATURES04/1280448/1025/Features/Vegetable-seeds-could-be-in-short-supply-this-year)  
It  is possible, says Barbara Melera, owner of the oldest seed house in the 
country,  D. Landreth Seeds of New Freedom, Pa.

"In 2009, we had the worst growing  season in 50 years," she said. Rain and 
disease destroyed crops and with them,  the seeds for next year's garden.

"Onion sets. And a cucumber seed  shortage," she predicted. "We are being 
told that the cucumber harvest was  catastrophic, attacked late in the season 
by woolly mildew. There was fruit, but  no viable seeds inside.

"We are being told that many, many varieties  simply won't be available."

Likewise, Europe had a terrible harvest this  year, and Europeans purchased 
much of their produce from the United States,  taking with it, the seeds.

And, as further proof that we are in a global  marketplace, Europeans and 
Australians have taken a fancy to eating  sprouts.

"When you grow vegetables just to get the sprouts, nothing gets  to fruit. 
And they are consuming gigantic quantities of seeds just for the  purpose of 
sprouts," Melera said.

Word of possible shortages must be  leaking out, Melera said, because 
retailers are telling her they had their best  December in years.

It is certainly true that vegetable gardeners are  ordering seeds earlier 
and earlier, but Melera said she thinks it is more likely  that gardeners are 
acting out of fear of shortages.  
This message  brought to you by 
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Laurie Davies Adams
Executive  Director
Pollinator Partnership 
423 Washington Street, 5th  floor
San Francisco, CA  94111
415-362-1137
LDA at pollinator.org

_www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 

_www.nappc.org_ (http://www.nappc.org/) 

National Pollinator Week is June 21-27, 2010. 
Beecome  involved at _www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 
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