Shortages Are Only Going To Get Worse
Here’s how to be ready
The last two years have been hard enough, and all the signs are pointing to further challenges. I know you’re tired of hearing doom and gloom, but hear me out, and you’ll find out that there are ways to insulate yourself.
The first thing you need to know is that the price of fruits and vegetables will be rising again very soon. The price of fertilizer has doubled and may end up quadrupling from last year’s price, leading to a 66–88% price increase for the consumer.
Farmers of all persuasions, from organic to commercial need fertilizers to get maximum yields from their crops, the difference is what they use as fertilizer. But the majority of the fruits and vegetables sold at your local grocery stores come from commercial farms. Those commercial farmers can’t meet demand without fertilizers. The price of which is rising because of increasing difficulty in procuring the raw materials, due to lack of manpower in the mining of elements and increasing supply from a global market.
So what’ll happen if the farmers just decide not to use fertilizer this year? A lack of fertilizer will affect leaf growth, stem strength, insect resistance, plant yield and flower and fruit production. No flowers on the plant means no “fruit”. So no tomatoes for your sauce or sandwich. Fertilizer helps plants withstand environmental stresses like heatwaves and drought. Since our planet is warmer than it was even five years ago, heat tolerance can determine if the plant lives or dies. Drought and extreme weather have reduced grain production and storage. Hurricanes have wiped out mind-blowing quantities of grain sitting in storage in silos, and there’s no way to get it back. Tomato and onion crops have been wiped out by rising temperatures, floods and fires. All across the world, extreme weather decimates crops in various stages of growth and storage. Prices of what remains will rise, and we can expect more crop failures due to climbing temperatures, wildfires, frequent flooding and an increase in the price of fertilizer.
At the beginning of this article, I promised to share ways you could insulate against these threats.
Grow what you can
Take stock of what you like to eat. Do you eat a lot of salads? Do you dream of growing tomatoes that you can brag about, or perhaps grow enough carrots to feed you for a year? Or do you dream of growing and canning enough cucumbers to provide you with a steady supply of pickles? Make a list of what you and your family will eat, and won’t. There’s no point in growing something because it’s easy if no one wants to eat it.
Take an honest look at your circumstances.
Do you have a sunny window, a patio, a balcony, a yard or maybe something bigger? Do you have a good-sized plot in a community garden? Even if you live in a basement apartment with one window, as I once did, I promise you can still grow something. Sprouts and microgreens are easy to grow and full of micronutrients. With a little creativity and a grow light, you can grow salad greens too. But obviously, the more light you have, the more you can grow. No matter what you have, there will always be room for improvement with a little ingenuity. One creative gardener I follow increased the amount of light his plants got by setting reflectors against the wall behind the plants. Even for folks on a budget, as he was, there are ways to be creative without having to spend loads of money. That’s one of the challenges I enjoy about gardening — how can I get the results I want to see without spending money I don’t have?
So start learning what you want to grow and where you’ll grow it. Learn how you can best preserve what you’ll harvest. Learn how to cook with it. It’s not like we can run out to the restaurant like we used to be able to anyway. Besides, you’ll save money in the long run by eating at home more anyway.
Look to your more local suppliers too, while you’re learning. As I’ve said before, the supply chain issues are only going to get worse, creating all kinds of shortages in the stores. With truckers becoming stranded and quarantined over changing vaccination rules, and more of them getting sicker, there are fewer people to drive the trucks. Fewer drivers equal fewer deliveries which result in more empty shelves in your local grocery store. So shop local. Is there a farmer’s market in your area? By choosing local suppliers, farmers and craftspeople, you’re helping build and strengthen your local economy. Reduce the demand for imported products and you’ll enjoy a fresher item than something that was picked green and gassed to speed the ripening process.
So the best insulation against rising costs and growing shortages is to learn what you can grow, grow what you can and preserve your harvest. The more food you can grow yourself, the less shortages at the store will affect you and your family. Produce prices at the grocery store are reflective of increasing fertilizer prices, shipping costs, and increased demand. You don’t have to be a slave to those influences. You can learn how to be more self-sufficient. Liberate yourself from dependency on a crippled system.
One of my goals with my new publication ‘Brace Yourself’ is to explore how we can increase our self-reliance. Do more for ourselves and rely less on imported food that someone else controls. Together, we can grow more of our food (even apartment dwellers!), learn how to build an emergency pantry and learn how to reduce food wastage. There’s so much we can do together! I hope you’ll join me in this adventure.
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