Shutdown Fish Shopping Ethics

Cana, sigh, you bring up another thing that is really bothering me, garden stores. My gardens and plants are a big part of me, just as important to my mental health as my fish, but more so in that my gardens also feed me as much as add to my love of flowers.

Granted I have tons that I save from year to year, mostly tropicals for their beauty, but also others that I haul in every year and fuss over all winter just to be able to decorate my outdoors living space. But I still need new plants every year like tomatoes, peppers and the like, these feed me throughout the winter. Yes I can get seeds and do so every year on top of the ones I save, but I also need my plants and start from early winter saving money to get them. Now I don't know if I can get enough to fill my gardens, I have 4 acres to work with.

Oh well, maybe my personal retreats might not be a lovely as they have been in the past, but I'll work with what I can, I have to, again one of those mental healing things.

Just to show you, hear are a few pics of one of my passions, cactus, both tropical and desert, got more, I do have a large collection of both.

 

ooooh purty!!

I too garden for food, and am wrestling with going in to buy plants. I know i'll walk out with some flowers too, which makes me feel guilty, but they attract bees so also important?

 

Nice. Beautiful flowers. I share your frustration, even though I am not a plant person (terrestrial plants, that is). I mean, if they shut down garden stores and pet stores and everything, people are just going to be home watching TV/playing video games. But if you don’t have internet or a TV, what are you gonna do? Or what if you don’t want to watch TV all day? I think people are gonna start getting depressed.

 

Just to get me away from the sadness in our house, yesterday hubby took me for a ride out along some back roads to some of the local camping spots along the river. I was shocked to see that even they were posted as to no camping or hiking the trails It makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. I can't imagine how it could cause problems for a family to go camping for the weekend. This madness has just gone way too far. I might be able to see it if it was places where there are lots of people but that isn't the case here. These camping spots are small and spread out over a wide area. You wouldn't even see another family unless you went looking for them.

Where o where is anyone with any common sense. One size really doesn't fit all in this situation. I can see central park in new york city or even the grand canyon park maybe limiting access but come on, a camping spot out in the middle of the woods. Where is the common sense in locking them down. Most of what is happening is way beyond reasonable but this one is just totally rediculous.

One good thing came out of the outing. I got a few cuttings off a trumpet vine we found growing wild along the road. Hopefully I can get them to root well and I can let them grow up and over my pergola. I know the humming birds and butterflies will love them.

Closing the garden centers is really going to put a damper on we that love our gardens and those that grow and depend on sales for their livelihood. This is really going to hurt them. I bought a few annuals shortly before this mess really got going but there are others that I normally buy each year. I do have seeds I collected last year but I like to get plants so I don't have to wait so long to start enjoying the beauty. I know my little wants are trivial to the needs of others so I try not to complain to long or loudly. I just hope things will soon start to get back to normal.

 

re: trumpet vine

be careful, they tend to spread. I had one grow into 3 different areas around my house, lol!

They're great but can take over.


gardening is good for the soul ~ hands in dirt, sun on your back, it really reminds me of why I'm alive. And humbling, you can spend years and still fail, you can try everything and not have it work. Some things are just up to nature.

i had last week off but between pollen & it being cooler, I didn't feel like gardening. I'm hoping it'll warm up some so I can weed.

I have 2 roses to replace (root rose is all that is left of the hybrid tea) but I really dislike catalog roses. I like 5 to 10 gallon plants that are already established.

Winter is over, the traditional season of doom & gloom. It's spring, ppl want to be out & social. if you saw the California skater park story, *( they filled it with sand, the skaters dug it out) , shelter in will end sooner than later.

California city tells skateboarders violating park closure to pound sand — 37 tons worth

 

In Florida, pet stores are exempt from the shut down. This is due to the need to buy foods and care supplies for pets.

However, it creates a shutdown loophole. My LFS is open and receiving shipments of new fish and plants. I am tempted to do some re-stocking and re-scaping during the shutdown. But I know buying fish and plants is not what was in mind when pet stores were given an exemption. It was to provide access to supplies needed to care for existing pets.

So would it be unethical for me to use this loophole to go fish shopping? I would say yes. It is important for us all to understand and adhere to the spirit of the shutdown not just the letter of the law. We should all limit our movements as much as possible. Each of us is a possible asymptomatic carrier and we each might unknowingly spread infection. Even if we are not a carrier, going out risks infection and risks contribution to spread.

Still tempting to give myself something to do.

Try chewy.com and if you need plants or fish wear a mask, gloves and stay far from others. Also wash your hands and I think you’ll be ok as long as you don’t stand around other people.

 

I think you should. This helps the economy keep going. I'm sorry but everyone sitting at home and being afraid doesn't help the economic side of things. We can have things open and recreationally buy while being responsible. Companies need to take neccesary action toe ensure the safety of everyone. They should only be letting X amount of people in. Stores here have legit hired bouncers to stop people from getting too close and to regulate the people going in the store. You have to line up to get in. They could make it a requirement for customers to wear masks to get in and homemade masks are just fine. They dont need to be an N95 they just need to stop you from speaking moistly, as just trudeau puts it Haha It can be done, but it needs to be done properly and then it's a win win situation.

 

There have been some "confirmed" cases at my job.

 

re: trumpet vine

be careful, they tend to spread. I had one grow into 3 different areas around my house, lol!

They're great but can take over.


gardening is good for the soul ~ hands in dirt, sun on your back, it really reminds me of why I'm alive. And humbling, you can spend years and still fail, you can try everything and not have it work. Some things are just up to nature.

I am going to try to keep them trained to grow up and over my pergola and controlled as much as possible. I plan on digging down and placing a barrier to try to prevent the roots from spreading too far. I don't want to allow them to grow uncontained like I did with my wisteria. Controlling it is an almost full time job. I don't need another one.

I agree, gardening is good for the soul. I was able to go out and do a bit of yard work today. Hopefully by doing so I will sleep well tonight.