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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><EM>Thanks to Kim Flottum of Bee Culture for
this.</EM></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=4><FONT color=#0000ff>Will there be a shortage of vegetable seeds for
gardeners in 2010?</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=4><FONT color=#0000ff><SPAN style="COLOR: black">
<P><A title=http://www.freep.com/article/20100128/FEATURES04/1280448/1025/Features/Vegetable-seeds-could-be-in-short-supply-this-year href="http://www.freep.com/article/20100128/FEATURES04/1280448/1025/Features/Vegetable-seeds-could-be-in-short-supply-this-year" target=_blank><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT color=#0000ff>Source:
freep.com</FONT></SPAN></A></P></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">It
is possible, says Barbara Melera, owner of the oldest seed house in the country,
D. Landreth Seeds of New Freedom, Pa.<BR><BR>"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.<BR><BR>"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.<BR><BR>"We are being told that many, many varieties
simply won't be available."<BR><BR>Likewise, Europe had a terrible harvest this
year, and Europeans purchased much of their produce from the United States,
taking with it, the seeds.<BR><BR>And, as further proof that we are in a global
marketplace, Europeans and Australians have taken a fancy to eating
sprouts.<BR><BR>"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.<BR><BR>Word of possible shortages must be
leaking out, Melera said, because retailers are telling her they had their best
December in years.<BR><BR>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.
<P></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This message
brought to you by </SPAN></SPAN></STRONG><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><A title=http://www.beeculture.com/ href="http://www.beeculture.com/"><STRONG><SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT color=#800080>Bee
Culture,</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></A></SPAN></B><STRONG><SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> The Magazine Of
American Beekeeping, published by the <A title=http://www.rootcandles.com/ href="http://www.rootcandles.com/"><B><FONT color=#0000ff>A.I. Root
Company.</FONT></B></A></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Subscribe to Malcolm Sanford’s
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive
Director<BR><B>Pollinator Partnership </B><BR>423 Washington Street, 5th
floor<BR>San Francisco, CA
94111<BR>415-362-1137<BR>LDA@pollinator.org</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" color=#0000ff size=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="14"><B><A href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></B></FONT><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"></B><BR><A href="http://www.nappc.org/">www.nappc.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="12"><B><I>National Pollinator Week is June 21-27, 2010. <BR>Beecome
involved at <A href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></I></FONT></B></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>