Stunned and very sad at the huge increase in the price of groceries and the emptiness of shelves.

[KungFuPanda]

3 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Same, plus perennial herbs. Thyme, oregano, rosemary, and lavender can overwinter outside here. I'm planting fennel, okra (not a perennial but pretty in landscaping), wild strawberry (mostly for the rabbits and squirrels, I'm afraid), collard greens (which also overwinter here). The annuals will go in the raised bed and get some protection from my furry neighbors.

I do the wild strawberries too. They make a great native ground cover and the critters save me a few berries now and then. I’ve been growing them from seed for the last few years and trying to expand my patch. 

[Corraleno]

Shelves seem pretty well stocked here, as far as I can tell. Prices seem a bit higher on some produce, but a lot of staples (organic soy milk, tofu, and vegetable stock) haven't gone up at all. I checked Amazon and a 4 lb bag of the quinoa I buy is still the same price it was 2 years ago; a 10 lb bag of organic wheat berries has only increased 80 cents since last year, and a 1 lb bag of organic red lentils has gone up 20 cents. I think the more steps (and employees) that are involved in processing a food, the more chances there are for supply chain issues to affect the price. I haven't seen significant increases for bulk basics.

[mom2scouts]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

And sometimes the 4H master gardener programs have free seeds and seedlings. Some master gardeners help start community garden plots, so it is definitely worth a trip to the extension office to find out what options they have.

Check your library! Our library and several others I know have seed libraries. You can check out a certain number of seeds and then experienced gardeners are asked to donate seeds back for the next year.

[Selkie]

50 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

Shelves seem pretty well stocked here, as far as I can tell. Prices seem a bit higher on some produce, but a lot of staples (organic soy milk, tofu, and vegetable stock) haven't gone up at all. I checked Amazon and a 4 lb bag of the quinoa I buy is still the same price it was 2 years ago; a 10 lb bag of organic wheat berries has only increased 80 cents since last year, and a 1 lb bag of organic red lentils has gone up 20 cents. I think the more steps (and employees) that are involved in processing a food, the more chances there are for supply chain issues to affect the price. I haven't seen significant increases for bulk basics.

This is my experience as well. I'm thankful that our grocery bills have only gone up a smidge.

[City Mouse]

So today I made the hour long trek to my nearest chain grocery store which is a Smith’s(Krogers). I fond that base prices have gone up, but there are still good sale prices on many items. I have always shopped the clearance items, and today I snagged 18ct large eggs for $0.50 each. I hadn’t planned to buy any eggs but I couldn’t pass up the deal. It doesn’t matter to me that they are close to sell by date. I will take one package and make a bunch of deviled eggs tomorrow that we will snack on.

I am lucky that I have the resources to be able to stock up when I find good deals and store the items for later. I know that there are people who don’t have the same resources.

As far as supply, the only thing I couldn’t get at all was corn starch. There were open spots on shelves were certain brands and varieties of items were missing, but there was some of most items as long a specific brand was not needed. The specific brand of paper plates and bread that I wanted were both out but there were other options even if I don’t like those as much.

[kbutton]

47 minutes ago, City Mouse said:

I am lucky that I have the resources to be able to stock up when I find good deals and store the items for later. I know that there are people who don’t have the same resources.

Yes! So thankful we can do that as well. 

[fairfarmhand]

Yeah, I'm planning to grow a bit more in the garden this year. It seems that will be prudent. I got out my seeds this weekend and sorted through them. I bought a ton last fall since the prior spring I waited too late and couldn;t find some things I wanted. I did go a bit crazy on the salad greens. I have like 10 different varieties. 

We will have plenty of blueberries, since we planted the bushes like 8 years ago. They bear beautifully and since we have multiple kinds, we have berries from early May through late July. 

I do have a cow I am going to milk this spring when she calves.

[lynn]

I don't look any more I just fill my car wen I need to.  I am paying as much in groceries with just 3 as I was when we had the 3 growing boys home home also.  

[ScoutTN]

2 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Yeah, I'm planning to grow a bit more in the garden this year. It seems that will be prudent. I got out my seeds this weekend and sorted through them. I bought a ton last fall since the prior spring I waited too late and couldn;t find some things I wanted. I did go a bit crazy on the salad greens. I have like 10 different varieties. 

We will have plenty of blueberries, since we planted the bushes like 8 years ago. They bear beautifully and since we have multiple kinds, we have berries from early May through late July. 

I do have a cow I am going to milk this spring when she calves.

❤️ Fresh milk! 
We started buying raw milk from a local farmer years ago and now no one in my family likes store bought milk. They will tolerate the grass fed, flash pasteurized local brands (Hatcher, JD) occasionally, but will not drink the standard grocery stuff.  
 

So we drink less milk and just buy the good stuff.🐄🐄🐄🥛🥛🥛🥛🐄

Edited February 7, 2022 by ScoutTN

[fairfarmhand]

1 hour ago, ScoutTN said:

❤️ Fresh milk! 
We started buying raw milk from a local farmer years ago and now no one in my family likes store bought milk. They will tolerate the grass fed, flash pasteurized local brands (Hatcher, JD) occasionally, but will not drink the standard grocery stuff.  
 

So we drink less milk and just buy the good stuff.🐄🐄🐄🥛🥛🥛🥛🐄

Well, we'll see. She's super gentle and very sweet. But she is of unknown parentage so I have no idea what kind of milker she will be. Hopefully she gives enough to feed the calf and us too. Some of that is feed, and we have that taken care of. Our fields are in better shape than they have ever been and the hay we have is incredible. We've started using a new fertilization program and that has made our cows grow like crazy. 

I just adore the rhythm of milking. Daily, spending time in the barn with a sweet animal makes me happy. And having an animal that big love you is incredible.

[fairfarmhand]

This is my cow.

[YaelAldrich]

@fairfarmhand Do cows "know" their people? 

[fairfarmhand]

Just now, YaelAldrich said:

@fairfarmhand Do cows "know" their people? 

Yep. One big thing we’re trying to do with this cow is to make sure that everyone handles her including me. My last cow was a one woman cow. The girls could do a bit with her, but only if they wore my coat. It still wasn’t the same.

she disliked my dh a lot.

currently, Bonnie (my cow) watches for me. If I head to the barn she comes up hoping for snacks.

[YaelAldrich]

3 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Yep. One big thing we’re trying to do with this cow is to make sure that everyone handles her including me. My last cow was a one woman cow. The girls could do a bit with her, but only if they wore my coat. It still wasn’t the same.

she disliked my dh a lot.

currently, Bonnie (my cow) watches for me. If I head to the barn she comes up hoping for snacks.

That's so cool!

[Frances]

1 hour ago, ScoutTN said:

❤️ Fresh milk! 
We started buying raw milk from a local farmer years ago and now no one in my family likes store bought milk. They will tolerate the grass fed, flash pasteurized local brands (Hatcher, JD) occasionally, but will not drink the standard grocery stuff.  
 

So we drink less milk and just buy the good stuff.🐄🐄🐄🥛🥛🥛🥛🐄

I grew up drinking raw milk fairly often at the home of friends who had their own cow to help feed their large family. But I was never able to get used to it. It just tasted too rich and “thick” to me. Many years ago we tried Fairlife and got hooked. It’s definitely more expensive, but all of us, even my husband who likes raw milk, prefer it now. And none of us drink very much, plus Fairlife has a long shelf life. So we can stock up whenever it goes on sale. And it doesn’t ever irritate my son’s stomach, like other milk can at times.

[AnotherNewName]

10 minutes ago, Frances said:

I grew up drinking raw milk fairly often at the home of friends who had their own cow to help feed their large family. But I was never able to get used to it. It just tasted too rich and “thick” to me. Many years ago we tried Fairlife and got hooked. It’s definitely more expensive, but all of us, even my husband who likes raw milk, prefer it now. And none of us drink very much, plus Fairlife has a long shelf life. So we can stock up whenever it goes on sale. And it doesn’t ever irritate my son’s stomach, like other milk can at times.

We just recently discovered Fairlife.  We aren't big milk drinkers so Fairlife's shelf life really helps.  And the Fairlife protein shakes are fantastic.

[Grace Hopper]

On 2/4/2022 at 6:41 PM, Melissa in Australia said:

Have you thought about hydrophonics

 I know someone in melb that is in s rental and is growing enough lettuce for one every day of the year with a small hydroponic set up

I would love to learn how to grow greens via hydrophobic methods, it seems much cleaner. One day I’ll learn!

Our meat and poultry prices went up about two years ago and seem to have remained sorta steady at that high price. So much depends on exactly what cuts I’m shopping for. We have decreased our red meat intake and cook a lot of soups and stews these days, which is easier since I can portion those easily into single portions (eta to freeze). Most of my kids have flown the coop and family dinner together is infrequent at best. 
 

I personally can’t complain too much because our budget has been workable, but I have to say, I remember those days of feeding six adult size portions three daily meals and yikes, I think if everyone were still here we’d be eating a lot of beans and rice and macaroni. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by Grace Hopper

[Laura Corin]

We now get milk delivered in glass bottles to our doorstep. It's organic and comes from a small farm cooperative. I mostly drink oat milk - also delivered in glass - but Husband says the organic milk is good. The organic standards require that the cows are outside as much as possible. The milk delivery is a bit more expensive than shop milk, but the glass bottles get re-used, and I now make my own yoghurt, which offsets the cost a bit.