North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["kieran or donna" <redherring@tnaccess.com>]

Actually, this subject has already come up on an antique rose group on
Gardenweb.  There was an old lady with a little rose nursery, and I think
someone else who sold old roses.  The group is planning on rooting a lot of
plants to replace stock lost in the hurricane, the nursery owner doesn't
know about this yet of course...  The TX and AL people have just the right
stock, so it's easy for them.  What's funny is that the people further north
are planning to dig up the southern adapted roses they have, as they are
doing poorly, and send them on south where they know they will do well.
Anyway, the plan is that when things finally come back to normal, which they
won't of course for some areas, that someone will go down and visit and take
the plants with them.
    Someone said she was  rooting plants with the idea of giving a few to
Habitat for Humanity for a few local houses they'd built.  And here I think
that maybe we could consider who we could help locally.  I predict that the
economy will crash, between oil prices, the cost of the Iraq war (not to
mention Afghanistan) and the disaster in NO and Mississippi.  I remember
what happened last time that the oil went way up and the economy went way
down, there was a sudden burst of interest in gardening, canning, and all
things self sufficient.  If any of you toy with the idea of starting a small
fruit tree nursery, I think this is the ideal time.  Berries and grapes,
which bear quicker, would be even better.  In fact, you should have started
last spring.  I remember going to buy vegetable seeds to plant my Florida
garden one Sept, (Sept 1975 I think) and they were all gone.  Everyone up
north with no job and no job prospects looked around wondering how to make
ends meet, and they planted a garden.  I have been buying seeds a year ahead
ever since the LAST Gulf war on the assumption that it would happen again.
So, if you want to get into the fruit business, now is the time to do it.
And if you just want to propagate trees for fun to give away, you will find
people who will gladly take them for at least the next 5 years.  (IF the US
pulls out of it, they will lose interest eventually, it's a cycle)  Remember
that as NAFEXers, we tend to learn what does well in OUR OWN area, and that
is what we should concentrate on.  though of course, we do have each other
to learn about other areas from.    Donna