Me too. The immobile oil tankers, plus war in the region where most of our oil originates is unnerving. People dying. European hospitals overflowing with military casualties being airlifted in. Refineries shutting down. The tension is palpable. We are going to feel this on the farm, too. Thankfully our fertilizer is local chicken manure and much of the wheat is already in the ground. But yeah. Planting might be a problem period.
Here in Australia -mwhere I will be for another year yet – they don’t have a big oil reserve, though there are still tankers on the way from the refineries which gives us a couple of weeks. The oil went through the strait before the closure due to the USA/Israel war on Iran so they are still on the way. No country can store its entire oil reserve at home – the volume is too large – so, much of it is kept on these tankers as they move and dock in rotation- some of the oil (bought and paid for and shipped to the refinery out of the Middle East) will still be in the refinery itself. But all the voyages are slowly coming to a halt as the dominoes fall.
New Zealand does not have big reserves either, same plan as Australia, but New Zealand is small enough to pivot and Air New Zealand has begun dropping flights for the foreseeable future to save on fuel.
Remember, it is not a matter of oil volume. Estimates show that oil will be plentiful for decades yet. (Which in itself should give us pause) It is a matter of supply. The supply chain is interrupted. Someone is showing signs of wanting to horde oil.
But hopefully this gets sorted out soon. War is never the answer. As we are being reminded. We must share – and find better answers.
However, even in times of strife we all need to eat. And my preferred way of gathering food is growing it. In fact even a windowsill garden might be a good idea right now.
So what is happening in your garden today?
I am writing more about supply, food, and what this kind of disruption means for ordinary households over on Substack. That is where the longer conversations are happening now.
As you know, I write there twice a week, so drop over for the latest. If you subscribe over there the posts will simply arrive in your inbox:
Though feel free to leave a comment here too. I have everything turned on so I won’t miss your words.
Here are a couple of goodies I recently wrote over on my new platform since I last dropped in here.
The urban kitchens garden in Melbourne. Lots of work going on.
Me having a TOTAL MELTDOWN about the state of all things international. I am international – I travel frequently so, like many of you, we need to make plans – this war is going to affect us directly.
Love Celi
Take care and talk soon!
The Kitchen's Garden 
3 responses to “are you sick of all this tension already”
I’m in Wisconsin, USA, and we are hunkering down for a huge snowstorm coming in the next few hours. And while I would prefer it be spring, the farm is buttoned down, everything is ready for the snow, and the overwhelming feeling is peaceful. In the next few days, probably while we’re snowed in, we are going to start our seeds for the garden. Tomatoes and peppers for sure, maybe some basil (which I plant more like a crop than an herb so I can make lots of pesto for the freezer for the winter months) and some zinnias, though we may wait a few weeks before starting those. With seeds in the soil, the warm weather doesn’t seem so far off.
Also, my husband has all of our maple trees tapped and is producing our maple syrup, though with the snowstorm the trees probably won’t flow again for a few days.
Thinking about the situation in the world and and having a family to feed, I am so grateful for my garden. Between that and the hens we got last spring, knowing that I will always have something to put on my table gives me a lot of peace of mind.
This is marvelous – not the storm obviously – but the sowing of seeds, tapping of trees and egg layers down in the garden. I bet you are going to have a great summer.
Now tell me about your pesto stash. Do you add the cheese before you freeze?
I do not add cheese before I freeze. I grow the basil in the garden in long rows and then two to four times a summer (depending on how busy I am and how long are growing season happens to be that year) I process the pesto and throw it in my freezer. In a good year I’ll get 18 to 24 batches in my freezer, which is wonderful because it’s one of my favorite foods.
I’ll put the recipe I use below. It is the one my mom taught me, but I don’t think it’s anything particularly groundbreaking. When it comes time to cook it, I pull out one batch of pesto, thaw it, and then toss it with my hot noodles and Parmesan cheese. I also will sometimes use it as a spread for sandwiches or in a galette or something like that. It also can be really great for flavoring tomato sauce.
Mom’s Pesto:
One tightly packed quart of washed and dried basil leaves
2 to 3 cloves garlic, more if you really like garlic
1/3 cup pine nuts or almonds (as much as I love pine nuts, the price of them can be cost prohibitive so I often use toasted almonds)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Throw everything together in the food processor and blend until smooth.
This makes one batch. That’s enough to go with 1 lb of whatever kind of noodles you like. At this point you can freeze it in batch amounts, or toss it with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese and serve.