Gosh, Alixis, I’d need to know a lot more before I could even start to advise you. Where do you live? In what sort of population density, what country, what climate? (USDA zones for those in the USA would help. I used to garden in suburban USDA Zone 5 but have been gardening in semi-rural Zone 8b for ten years now.)
How much space do you have to garden in? Will it be getting enough light? Will you have problems with deer, vandals, or contamination? What kind of soil do you have: sandy, clay, loam, acidic, alkaline? (and do you know how to get it tested in time?) How will you water it? Don’t despair but let’s think about these things.
Let’s talk about this.
All that being said, the easiest things for beginners to grow are leaf lettuces, bunching onions, carrots, and kale. If you’re in an urban environment don’t throw out your celery base: put it in wet soil on a windowsill and you’ll get more celery.
About 10 years ago, late blight was a problem around the NE of the USA. Big-box retailers “were at least one source of the illness”. For that and other reasons (like, what’s in the soil? what’s been sprayed on it? what other fungi/bacteria/viruses have they been exposed to? how far have they been trucked?), I would never, EVER buy something at a big-box garden center that I planned to eat or to feed my family. Plus, it’s just another non-resilient supply chain dependency.
At Local greenhouses and garden centers I can find plants more likely to do well here because they were grown here in the high, semi-arid west, usually at the greenhouse where I shop. Visit a few because they are not all awesome. Some shops will have seeds adapted to the climate as well (local seed swaps are probably a better source). The ones that have been around forever are often family owned with multiple generations around - great folks to get to know and, in my experience, generous with their wealth of knowledge. Not all families get along so ymmv. If they don’t want to talk about what inputs they use or their practices, I’d move along. There are plenty to visit and these days, anyone doing it right wants everyone to know it.
If you’re going to start seeds, know that the seed industry has consolidated around a few chemical firms over the past couple of decades. (see here for one analysis) Only buy organic and look for the trusted, independent brands. I believe Johnny’s is still employee owned. They have a huge selection and lots of tools, supplies, etc. Love their catalog. I’ve also bought seeds from Strictly Medicinal (individually owned), and Seed Savers Exchange (a non-profit). Baker Creek is another good one (family owned). Their massive, detailed catalog is now $10 but it’s worth getting it at least once. It’s amazing. (just looked over at rareseeds.com and see they have a short version they’ll send you for free). The farm is in Missouri but they have a shop in Petaluma I’ll bet Adam has been to. There are others, these are just the few I’ve dealt with. There are surprises too. I recently learned that Seeds of Change has belonged to Mars since 1997.
Learning to start seeds is fun. If you have little kids, I can tell you they will eat anything that they planted, watched grow, and picked.
Don’t forget, gardening lifts your mood too. I feel better just thinking and writing about it. 
Pardon me…but the title of this thread is “Coronavirus Is A Nightmare For The Global Economy” so it’s a mystery where seed selection fits in! LOL
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/coronavirus-tests-u-s-medical-system-s-unhealthy-reliance-china-ncna1131211?fbclid=IwAR0W0ZYm50lf26UewtGoBVyyfxCmCTmCEmFoJplz1IG8Zedxe5g22khAREw
https://www.foxnews.com/health/coronavirus-outbreak-china-medical-supply-shortage-death-toll-sars?fbclid=IwAR3R2m7MiigXxEUNX5C4CFD0A4CryQMRXTzjsFOqCjxkNcwHK5y02X-JnFs
We are totally dependent on China for our epidemic/pandemic supplies, and we aren’t going to get many, as they are in severe shortage themselves.
The pilots union has struck a deal that allows pilots to opt out of China flights. Those who volunteer to go will get extra pay and if quarantined for sickness will continue to be paid as if they were making regular flights. I haven’t seen any data about how many freight flights have been cut due to the China epidemic.
There is already some thought that this one might become another seasonal flu. If so, and we suspect that US has NOT been monitoring and/or testing effectively, we may want to watch for flu outbreaks in areas with lots of asian air traffic. If you don’t text this could look like many seasonal respiratory virus complications.
Deaths:
Recovered:
Well maybe it is me who is going off topic by turning this into an African thread. But after more than a decade of my life spent in Ethiopia I can tell readers here a few things they have probably never heard before and this applies to what I think is coming to Africas economies as a result of this Wuhan virus.
We all know about the billions of dollars of investments China has been pouring into African nations from Kenya to Zimbabwe. In the West it is widely acknowledged that Chinese banks and investors are buying their way into the continent and spreading around favours to gain access to key infrastructure.
What is less well known is that the Chinese are widely reviled and distrusted by many average Africans. Ask any Ethiopian for example and the very first word out of their mouths after hearing the word China is “layba”.
It translates as “thief” from Amharic.
The reason has to do with how factories have been set up, how the Chinese have been given unusual privileges and free lands to do business there and because of the extremely low salaries they offer and dangerous working conditions in their factories.
Ethiopians themselves do not have the freedoms to conduct business like the Chinese do nor do they have influence with their own government.
Distrust levels are already extremely high and this has been compounded by the manner in which the Chinese workers are housed in private compounds quite separate from the local population. In Bishoftu City alone there are hundreds of Chinese-only housing units next to the government subsidized Industrial Zone. Ethiopians may not enter except as employees.
So there is already an environment of segregation. Call it a two speed society of haves and have-nots. Distrust of the Chinese is widespread and a common belief among the Ethiopian public is that while Chinese enterprises are helping lift the country out of poverty that they are also totally corrupt and in bed with a government that the people want overthrown.
It is a toxic mix in the Oromia region where during the 2017 and 2018 protests some youths threatened to burn down foreign factories (Chinese industrial zone factories to be specific).
So I am now wondering what kind of backlash might be expected as this virus spreads and more worryingly if Ethiopians come to conclude that the virus was indeed manufactured or if they were even the intended targets.
We cannot know the future of course but the advent of the coronavirus has the potential to very seriously impact Chinese industrial policy in Africa where average people already believe China is taking advantage of them if not outright stealing and corrupting their governments and where levels of distrust are surprisingly high.
New update video on YouTube: I recommend watching it there and hit the like button. Hopefully that helps to counter the censorship.
https://youtu.be/Y4Ho96UKfYA
- I watched the video live and found it interesting that the add, displayed below Chris’s video was for ——- wait for it - - WHO, (World Health Organization, providing you with up to date information.) Hmm just a coincidence?
- why seeds on an economy thread. Well, guess what, no international transportation, no out of season food. Internal travel restrictions: No food from California. California farm workers contaminated - do you want to buy their fresh food? Makes e-coli outbreaks look like a picnic.
- Big box store had seeds in the north already. As I walked past, it occurred to me that it might be important to have the capacity to grow a larger garden than usual and I grabbed a set of heritage ones. Local growers who have more trustworthy sources don’t have them out yet. May not be the best, but they are my backup plan.
- Get to know your regional organic growers, organic farmers, etc. At least here in the midwest, truck farmers often have difficulty getting help. They may be willing to trade seeds/sets/produce for help. Also, they may have difficulty getting produce to market if cities are contaminated. Suggest you get to know them now.
- Get a couple of cold frames - you’ll need as much outdoor time as you can grab
- If you’re in the south, plant salad stuff outdoors NOW. Be ready to cover if you get a cold snap. With warmer weather, plants need to be in now. Plant hot weather seeds inside so you can get it out early.
To track planting times, go to https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/ and find your regional hub. They have longer term local ag weather forecasting. They will often also have connections in the local ag research universities. Get to know these people. Many are practical climate activists.
For good midwest connections, there is a group called Practical farmers of Iowa doing some really innovative things with Iowa State at Ames around soil reclamation and carbon sequestration in soils. practicalfarmers.org
Find something similar near you.
Looks like the Chinese learned really well from the old pre-1970 American extraction companies in Latin America and Africa. Take the resources at low cost without doing much to develop the local capacity. Mine becomes less economic, leave the eco disaster and move to greener pastures. Result nationalization and the same exploitation by the local ruling elites. Not pretty.
Alexis (and others), I run my own website that does a lot of container gardening for people in apartments or those that don’t have enough land to put in a garden. I use some self watering containers that I make myself out of plastic buckets.
I posted a tutorial here on Peak Prosperity a while back.
https://peakprosperity.com/forum-topic/self-watering-garden-containers/
If you have a few hand tools and about an hour you can make a few yourself, then have the kids help you plant them. They work very well with micro-greens (lettuces, spinaches, kale, etc). PM me if you have any questions about them.
As for the question “Why do we have a question about gardening, this is a economic thread?” Its because many of the people coming here seeking information about this evolving crisis are new to the idea of preparing for something like this. They come here from Youtube, this is the newest thread, and they are scared.
With the rapid pace this is developing, have a little patience with the newer PP members please.
A google said “The typical cremation conducted in a modern crematory requires an average of 28 gallons of fuel (about the amount of fuel that can be held in an SUV gas tank)”. Why burn bodies when you could much easier just put them in mass graves?
China has learned from us. They come in and offer development loans, which a host country the uses to hire Chinese companies to build airports, ports, roads and other infrastructure that makes it easier for other Chinese companies to build mines and take out resources. Often those loans are on pretty poor terms for the country, and when they default, China gets hard assets like airports, ports, and such as payment.
I said in another thread, this virus is going to send tens of thousands of people to the hospital, most of them with poor insurance or none at all. That will result in billions of dollars in bills that will head straight to bankruptcy court in 2021-22.
Could this be the straw that makes Medicare for All a reality?
Maybe they read John Perkin’s book.
Confessions of an Economic Hitman
The latest video makes my head spin. My thoughts are “holy shit” the ramifications of this information are mind-boggeling. Our world will change and none of us want the change that is coming. There should be a casino/crazy place for infected people where they can get all the alcohol, partying, opioids, pot, dancing, gambling etc they want. Understanding its a one way ticket but they would go out having fun. I know, crazy idea but there are probably a lot of people who would be takers, maybe? Just ruminating.