That’s what one economist is calling the current scarce-worker economy, the “take this job and shove it” economy. We’ve seen the help wanted signs everywhere—the Jiffy Lube, the Wendy’s, the big boxes, the chain and independent restaurants and grocery stores. We’ve been asking ourselves as a country and as employers, where’d all the workers go? So when a recent New York Times e-newsletter with the subject line, “Where are all the workers?” dropped in my inbox, I couldn’t have clicked to open faster.

Like the study of economics in general, figuring out what’s causing this worker scarcity is complicated. And what complicates it, as I read the article, is that there’s a bigger dollop of human emotion in this equation than your typical formula for determining GDP or some other economic acronym. Here are my takeaways from theNYT piece:

• Americans are flush with cash. That is thanks to many reasons: pandemic shutdowns, travel restrictions, stimulus programs—from this and the previous administration—are just a few. Yes, unemployment benefits went up, but so did home values and stocks. Americans in all economic strata have more of a cushion in their bank accounts than they had pre-pandemic.
• The low-wage worker is revolting. As this article puts it, we do not have a shortage of workers as much as we have a shortage of workers willing to accept the working conditions that today’s economy often demands. Folks have had time this past year to assess what’s important to them. For lower-wage workers, health and safety—physical and mental—are top of mind. Hopes and dreams, quality of life, all of those emotionally laden and objective factors are in play.

The question is, what happens next? Some folks are taking themselves out of the labor market completely, for whatever reasons, such as the aging Baby Boomers. But as that pillowy cash cushion thins for many still-working-age people, folks will feel the need to get themselves back into the labor force regardless of working conditions. Who holds the upper hand? Ben Casselman, author of the ARTICLE that the NYT e-newsletter is based on, says the labor market is in a standoff: “Workers are holding out until their savings disappear. Businesses are holding out until their customers disappear.”

Friends, if you haven’t filled out Green Profit’s 13th annual Wage & Benefit Survey, it’s time for you to click on over to HERE and take it! You don’t want to miss your chance to win this sweet Yeti Tundra 45 Hard Cooler, do you? That’s what you will be entered to win if you include your email (no, we do not sell your info, trust me).

As colleague Jen Zurko says of the survey, “It literally takes six minutes.” So, fill it out HERE.

GrowerTalks is also running its annual survey, too. Find the grower-focused survey HERE.

You have until October 22—TODAY—to fill out the info. Thank you once again, Florasearch, for being our sponsor. We appreciate your support every year.

Another result of the pandemic has been what I’m calling the Global Shortage of All Things. To handle this GSAT, forward-looking companies are doing just that—looking forward to ways to improve supply, not just this year but the next (and the next …).

You may have read about PanAmerican Seed’s early release of a limited batch of (mostly new, I believe) varieties for 2023 in Bossman Beytes’ most-recent Acres Online. Danziger also has released some 2023 variety info as part of the company’s annual new varieties launch, which is getting a new name:

The Innovation Fest: 2023 Danziger Debut will include an in-person event at the company’s headquarters in Israel, in-person and virtual meetings with customers and, for the first time, a webinar series. Just a heads up: If you’re interested in virtual or in-person meetings to review 2023 varieties, Danziger is scheduling them now. Contact them to set up a time now.

To lure you in, they’ve distributed a short list of new varieties for 2023, including:

Sol Seeker Helianthus. It’s a whole series of Helianthus, starting with Sol Seeker Honey. The series features controlled growth, strong branching and lots of flowers. And their research indicates it requires less water than other similar Helianthus.

 
Sol Seeker Helianthus, a 2023 Danziger introduction.

Other sneak-peek varieties include Colibri Exotic Red Bling Calibrachoa and RIMarkable Petunia. For more info about Danziger and their existing varieties, hop online and go over to www.danzigeronline.com.

Before we jump into new annuals for 2023, let’s get some foliage for 2022, shall we? And the best place to do that will be at the upcoming Tropical Plant International Expo, happening January 19-21 in Tampa, Florida. Registration for the very popular winter show is now open, and I highly recommend you head on over to HERE to sign up.

FNGLA’s COO Linda Adams shared some of the show’s news with me:

The initial floor plan is sold out! That’s about 300 vendors already. But if you’re a vendor and were hoping to grab some space at TPIE, do stay tuned—the show staff is looking for areas to add booths. This demand for exhibit space, Linda says, is “a good indication for the industry;” as in, people are eager to get out and about and buying again. Registrations are well above the numbers of the last show, so that’s also a good indicator that this mid-January show will be well-attended.

The Production Tour of Nurseries is headed to Apopka. This will be a completely new area of the state to showcase. The four stops include Agri-Starts, Deroose Plants & Exotic Plant, Amerigo Farms and LiveTrends Design Group. Be forewarned: These tours sell out fast. If you want in on this January 18 tour (a day before the show opens), then you should definitely register early. Read more about the tour HERE.

Book your hotel early. And book it through the TPIE host hotels. Remember, it’s winter in Florida—it’s a popular spot for tourists and such. Rooms will go quickly. Many of the TPIE host hotels are less than a half-mile walk to the convention center. Hotels further out offer complimentary shuttle service, and the city of Tampa offers free street car service, too. No need to worry about how to get where you’re going. You’ll get there!

Also, stay tuned for the announcement of the show’s keynote speaker in the coming weeks. They always get a top-notch, trends-driven speaker for TPIE and I’m excited to find out who is on tap this time around.

Ready to register? Head on over to www.tpie.org and click on the red Register to Attend link. I’m about to register myself. I’m psyched to go—visit the TPIE page on Visit Tampa Bay to see all the fun things Tampa has to offer.

Speaking of cool things in Florida, I chatted with founder and CEO of LiveTrends Design Group Bisser Georgiev this week about the opening of the company’s first store. That’s right—the producer of stylish indoor plant designs now has a storefront in Winter Garden, a western suburb of Orlando. To compete with you, the retailer? Not at all. The LiveTrends Boutique has a totally different purpose, and that is to be a place for experimentation and, yes, a little risk-taking.

“The whole idea is to test things out,” Bisser told me. “There are so many online retailers, so many big brands out there that are now getting into small brick-and-mortar kind of experiential shops. The whole idea is to play with things at the local level, and if it works, we can then take it to the market. It also allows us a playground to experiment with some more risky designs and ideas, like self-watering systems and a variety of things, and observe people.”

The store opened about two weeks ago and they’ve had lots of traffic since. They’ve hired a team of seven to run the store. “It’s kind of cool because we’re supplying 15,000 stores nationwide with our brands but we haven’t operated any stores. For us, it’s a brand-new experience to learn how to operate one store,” Bisser said. “But we’re having so much fun.”

Want to check it out yourself? They’re having a grand opening November 12, which sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun. If you can’t head there yourself, do check them out on Instagram at @livetrendsboutique.

I’ll have more info on the new LiveTrends boutique in upcoming e-newsletters. Stay tuned!

It’s always good to know what’s coming down the pike, whether it’s trends or recommendations or weather. Foreknowledge is power and helps you prepare. That’s why I’m informing you about Monrovia’s new “Simply Beautiful 7 Must-Have Plant Types for Beautiful Garden Design” guidebook that gives inspiration and guidance to home gardeners wanting to beautify their home landscapes.

The guidebook does the reader a great service by breaking the landscaping possibilities into seven plant categories. “From trees to groundcovers, each of these groups plays an essential role in the garden,” says Katie Tamony, chief marketing officer at Monrovia. “Whether it is to draw the eye, define a space or create an element of surprise, these plant categories serve as a starting point for your own creativity.”

Landscape designer Lisa Nunamaker had a hand in creating the guide, providing a beautiful illustrated garden plan. The guide also features insights on each design element and specific plant suggestions. The guidebook is a great inspiration piece for fall planting or to get a head start on spring.

I’d do two things with this foreknowledge: 1) I’d look it over, get some ideas of my own and also be sure I had some of these Monrovia varieties in stock. 2) I’d link to it on the socials and also on my website so my customers could have some design inspiration and a passive form of assistance when considering the whats and hows behind redesigning their yard. Yes, the guidebook is linkable! You can view it online HERE.

Do you grow herbs? If so, there are some university researchers who want to hear from you! Some research types at Michigan State, Iowa State, North Carolina State, University of Tennessee and the USDA-ARS are putting together a grant proposal with the USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative to fund a project that will focus on marketing, economic barriers, food safety, plant protection, production and post-harvest issues related to culinary herbs. And, they could use your help.

If you grow potted or fresh-cut culinary herbs or are interested in doing so, these researchers ask that you take a few minutes and fill out the SURVEY. You’ll have until November 25 to do so, but do it now so you don’t forget. And if you know of anyone for whom this survey is appropriate, forward it along to her or him. The more data points, the better.

Are you looking to fill an indoor-ag job opening? Then you should definitely post it on a new website that is specifically for the controlled-environment growing industry.

The Optimizing Indoor Agriculture (OptimIA) multi-state university research and extension team created a SITE on which you can post jobs—free of charge! If you have a position to fill, please send the following information to Chieri Kubota or Roberto Lopez (just click on their names to send an email):

• Position title
• Position location
• Closing date
• A jpeg image of your company logo
• A PDF or website that has information about your position
• A brief description of the position
• Who to contact or how to apply

I appreciate it when readers write in to correct, clarify or comment. And today my appreciation goes to Robert Tripepi, Professor of Physiology and Horticulture at the University of Idaho. Robert wanted to address the item I included last week about the National Garden Bureau’s “Year of…” categories and featured genera for 2022. Robert specifically wanted to correct the “Year of the Gladiolus” in the bulb category.

“As I’m sure you know, gladiolus are sold as a corm, a different type of specialized stem compared to a bulb,” Robert writes. “If the National Garden Bureau listed gladiolus as a bulb, they should also be corrected. If they stated ‘geophyte’ of the year, then this term is probably acceptable for gladiolus. I think we in horticulture (including myself) should strive to provide the correct information as much as possible.”

Yes, thank you, Robert! I get it! I feel, though, that “bulb” is one of those terms that have entered the general vernacular in the incorrect form and has therefore lost its specificity. It’s gone the way of other words, too. For example, most folks look at you funny if you call a tomato a fruit, or an eggplant a berry. Palm trees are large woody herbs and not trees at all! I am sure there are tons of other examples in any category you can think of, from animal to vegetable to mineral—or do I mean fruit?

Personally, I’m going to give NGB some slack on this one. The distinction between bulb and corm can be elaborated within a descriptor of gladiolus as an interesting, “Did you know?” type addition. Consider capital B “Bulb” to be the till, and the corms, rhizomes, tubers and small b “bulbs” as the slots where the 20s, 10s, 5s and 1s live. That’s my concession, at least. Geophyte? That’s a harder row to hoe.