Page 5 2025 Spring Home and Garden LINCOLN DAILY NEWS April 2025 At this point in our socio-economic history we are in the “best laid” stage and are hoping that no one throws a wrench in the works. We’re experiencing some real uncertainty regarding the future of consumer pricing due to the current “tariff wars” that our government is engaged in. If all goes by the current plan, the long-term result will be that we as Americans become more self-sufficient in terms of manufacturing and food production, and thus we will become economically more secure and even prosperous. We can only hope that no one throws a wrench in the works. But in the meantime, we are in for some rough times. We can expect that prices will be on the rise, that products that we get from other countries such as something as simple as fruits and vegetables to items as complicated as farm fertilizers and steel may even become limited. Of course, this is not the first time we have experienced hard times. In fact, we can track times throughout the history of this nation that we’ve experienced good times only to have them followed soon by particularly tough ones. The cycles run up and down and we figure out how to adjust. For the immediate, adjusting may mean making do with what we have, learning to adjust our current spaces into something we can live with in the long term, and growing more of our own food so we can bear the burden of increased food costs on the items we cannot grow. Making do, adjusting and becoming more self sufficient is the crux of the Lincoln Daily News 2025 Spring Lawn and Garden Magazine. In this edition, writers took on topics such as growing fruits that do well in the Illinois climate, creating a year-round source for micro-greens and sprouts, and even trying your hand at growing mushrooms in your basement or backyard. We also look at taking what we have in our home and making it into what we need for the moment. Whether it be finding extra space for a growing family or creating a safe haven of peace and quiet to help relieve our stress, you’ll find some good suggestions here. In addition, you’ll find suggestions on how to develop pollinator gardens because, after all, we need those pollinators in order to have good production of many of our garden crops. And we’ve included a “the future is now” article about 3D printing that new house of your dreams. Frankly, we look forward to the day when the first 3D home comes to Logan County. That will definitely be a newsworthy item, and it also could be a great tourist attraction as we believe people will come from near and far to take a good look at just how that work is accomplished. We want to remind our readers that our magazines for the most part are for “entertainment purposes only.” We don’t propose to tell people what to do, but we do hope to inspire our readers to think outside of their own little boxes and explore the possibilities in their own backyard. We hope you enjoy the magazine and maybe find a little something you are interested in trying out for yourself. Happy Reading! Nila Smith
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