Coronavirus buying hits vegetable seed, seedling supplies
Vegetable seedlings are the toilet paper of the nursery industry. But this is why it will be worth the wait for supply levels to return to normal.
VEGETABLE seedlings are the toilet paper of the nursery industry.
That’s the harsh observation of one wholesale seedling grower following the stripping bare of garden centre vegie seedling shelves across Victoria by customers since the coronavirus crisis began.
Whether it’s cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli or silverbeet, they have been disappearing from shelves as quickly as they are put out.
It’s the same with vegetable seeds.
I know that too well because when I went to buy my winter-cropping seedlings I returned with just two miserly packets of seed — one of kale, which I guess shows the popularity (or lack of it) of this leafy green, and one of microgreens.
Apart from a few punnets of parsley, there was not a seedling to be found in the vegie section.
Thankfully, most wholesale seedling producers predict more fruitful days. They say while the unprecedented demand caught them by surprise, they are working furiously to rebuild stock.
One of those is Oasis Horticulture, Australia’s largest supplier of plant seedlings.
“Oasis have responded quickly to demand and production has increased to meet this demand,” spokeswoman Kathy Hill told me, adding that it will likely take two to three weeks before some garden centres get back to normal levels.
That’s the good news, because apart from being a lot of satisfying fun, gardening is a natural when it comes to social distancing.
The not-so-good news is that some vegie seedlings will be smaller than normal, because of the rush to get them out the door.
Yet once they get growing, the results should be little different.
In many ways, coronavirus is a case of “every cloud having a silver lining”. This virus might be denying us travel, concerts, sporting events and the like (it also caused the cancellation of our own Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, and Britain’s Chelsea Flower Show), yet gardening is perfect for keeping us removed from infection zones while relaxing minds in troubled times.
With many now working from home, there’s extra time for checking crops and greater incentives to have gardens looking appealing and pleasant to be in.
Plan ahead and you won’t even need to go out to your local garden centre for supplies.
Just use one of Australia’s many mail-order plant producers (I’ve found most of the major ones to be excellent), and more garden centres now are happy to deliver pre-ordered plants.
This month the vegies to go in are beetroot, broad beans, brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, kale, leeks, lettuce, onions, radish, silverbeet, spinach and turnips.
If eager for quick harvests, jump on the microgreen trend. I’ll certainly be doing that with my packet of seed.
Once the province of trendy restaurants, healthy microgreens, sprouts and edible shoots now are popular patio and veranda crops.
Microgreens are simply plants picked super early in their maturing process.
Technically, plants are considered microgreens after their first two true leaves have appeared.
Eaten fresh and intensely flavoured, they add some rich variety as side dishes and also mixed in with salads.
Because of their immature state when picked, they can be grown in pots or trays on a windowsill and picked within a few weeks.
Fill containers with seed-raising mix (finer than potting mix), keep moist with a water atomiser, liquid fertilise and, when plants have just started to develop, snip off foliage with scissors.
Covering containers with a plastic bag or plastic sheeting with a few holes increases humidity to aid germination.
Mixed microgreen seed comes in packets, or sow plantings of kale, beets, basil, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli and radish.
WARTIME EXAMPLE
IF YOU need inspiration to start your coronavirus-era garden, you need look no further than your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents, many of whom patriotically transformed much of the state into home vegie patches during World War II.
With the war on coronavirus in full swing, the situations are similar.
Back then, the Government issued how-to-do-it booklets sharing gardening hints, with a ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign in 1942 when rationing came in because of extreme shortages.
They were called Victory Gardens, and public parks and gardens were given over to the cause.
God willing we won’t get to that extreme, yet a little outdoor productivity won’t go astray in boosting vegie supplies while achieving social distancing and boosting morale.
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