May 13, 2020
Liz Writes Life
Garden
Even though my taller potato leaves were burned by the May
3-4 frosts, the younger leaves are healthy and growing. Some new plants are poking
up. The spinach is doing so well that I realized the protective netting (from
the cats) needed to be removed. Only lost a few leaves in the process. Asparagus
is still growing new shoots and I eat two or three a day – raw, as I irrigate.
Last Tuesday evening, I planted seven tomato plants: Six
Early Girl and one Celebrity. They were pony-pack size. The plants seemed to do
well through the hotter days until Sunday, when I noticed two or three didn’t
look happy. I know they had plenty of water, hum, maybe too much. Or, maybe I
added too much manure. Not, much I can do, but wait. This week should be great
for plants with rain (likely showers) and cooler day temps. No frosts are
forecasted.
Didn’t get any seeds planted last week. I spent most of my
energy on irrigating during those hot days and getting the soaker hoses and
plumbing infrastructure figured out, so it can be on timers. Sure would be nice
to get several really good rains. Purchased six bell peppers, a pony-pack of
portulaca and a parsley -- need to get them in the ground.
Food supply
It is true that agriculture livestock producers are having a
tough time. Losing any links in the supply chain creates a big problem. Some slaughter
and processing plants have closed due to ill employees, which has reduced the
amount of ready-for-market hogs and beef that can be processed. When hogs are
at the right weight, they need to be butchered. Cattle feedlots can’t hold them
too long, either, but have a bit more leeway.
In “Drover’s” May 4, 2020 newsletter it was reported about 40
percent of the pork packing capacity is currently idled. President Trump’s
Executive Order for the processing plants to remain open is expected to help,
but the need for increased safety measures and social distancing at plants
means 100 percent full-capacity may be a few more months away. Many of the
livestock industry news articles are explaining the food-supply chain is complex
and these processing plants are a part of the situation.
Some large stores, like Costco and Krogers, are apparently
rationing some meats. I purchase my meat at our local smaller stores and
haven’t had any problem finding what I need. I don’t know what or where meat
shortages are occurring throughout the nation.
The one bright spot is fresh produce: Berries are expected to
be plentiful and many vegetables and potatoes look to be consistent and
available. “The Packer” newsletter stated that fresh market apples still in
storage, as of May 1, 2020, totaled 46.8 million 42-pound bushels. That is an
increase of 21 percent compared to a year ago. So, there should be plenty of
apples to eat.
Rationing
No, we are not under official rationing. I do think it is
smart for stores to institute a reduction in the number of items a customer can
purchase during this Covid-19 crisis, especially when fears and hoarding saw
many shelves cleared-out. In seeing those empty shelves, I remembered stories told
by my parents about rationing during World War II.
My mom always preached: Never let the gas tank drop below
half. (Took me years to learn to follow that advice!) Tires and gasoline were
the first items to be rationed. Japan had conquered Asian countries that
produced rubber, so immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor sales of tires
to citizens were stopped. Synthetic rubber had recently been invented, but was
not able to commercially compete with natural rubber.
Actually, rationing of
gasoline was motivated by the need to conserve rubber. The national speed limit
was dropped to 35 miles per hour, which helped tires last much longer. Car-pooling
was encouraged.
Mom, and her sisters-in-law, were frustrated that silk stockings
(pre-nylons) quickly became hard to find, because Japan no longer traded with
its enemies. My sister, Lorena, was born in 1942 and as a toddler quickly
out-grew her shoes. Dad didn’t seem to wear-out his boots, so his shoe stamps
typically went to put shoes on Lorena, according to my mom.
I checked the internet and found that by 1941, the British
were in desperate need of more food. German U-boats worked the Atlantic Ocean
to stop supply ships getting to the island kingdom. When the U.S. hit full
swing into the war, feeding our soldiers and aiding the allied troops was a
must. To complicate things, many food-type of factories converted to military
production reducing critical food supplies.
Ration books with specific stamps for everything from
gasoline to sugar, canned milk, coffee, meat and butter were issued to each
member in a family. I was surprised to learn that most of the workers involved
with the rationing program were volunteers. There were over 5,500 local ration
boards and workers were selected by local officials. (That was smart!) More
than 100,000 volunteers administered the program.
Yep, trade or barter of stamps was utilized, although the
store employees were expected to actually remove the stamps from the booklet.
But, stamps fell-out of the poorly-made booklets. And, of course, Black Market items
also became quite sophisticated. But, store owners needed to receive the
correct amount of ration stamps, because the owner had to use those stamps or
points to purchase his items.
Store owners usually tried to help families. One reason that
we have a few photos from the 1940s is because one owner saved photography film
for my family to purchase.
Propaganda urged meatless meals, the planting of “victory
gardens” and home-canning of food. This is when macaroni and cheese became popular.
It was cheap, filling and required very few ration points or stamps. Kraft sold
some 50 million boxes of its product during the war.
So, there you go. A little history lesson to help us
appreciate our freedoms and all that we do have!
Liz
Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She
is a native of Siskiyou County and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past
year can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.
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