It’s time to bring back the Victory Gardens! As we have learned, over the past few months, our food system is not as secure as we once thought. The fully stocked shelves of produce have fluctuated and quality can be hard to come by. Farmers markets may be pick-up only and it’s not the same fun experience that it once was to pick out fresh produce.
What can we do about this? We can start our own Victory Gardens. The next time you are at the home improvement store, why not pick up some produce to plant in your garden?
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When did Victory Gardens start?
Victory Gardens Phase 1: World War I
During World War I, American’s were asked by the government to mobilize and use any available land to grow produce. This was to help strengthen the food supply to overcome the food shortage that was taking place in Europe at the time. These were deemed “Victory Gardens” and they popped up on school property, company grounds, and in vacant lots. This was a process of transforming unused land into a resource that could feed America.
In 1917, a total of 3 million new garden plots were started and the following year this increased to 5.2 million. With simple instructions the production from amateur gardeners yielded up to “1.45 million quarts of canned fruits and vegetables”. It’s amazing to think how much food we could produce if this was encouraged today!
After the war, the program promoting victory gardens was ended. However, families now had the knowledge and had already done the hard work to set up their gardens. Many chose to maintain them and continued growing some of their own crops.
Victory Gardens Phase 2: World War II
With the introduction of food rationing in the United States in the spring of 1942, Americans had an even greater incentive to grow their own fruits and vegetables in whichever locations they could find: small flower boxes, apartment rooftops, backyards or deserted lots of any size.
History Channel – Americas Patriotic Victory Gardens
Whether you have a large plot of land or a couple of pots. You can start your own victory garden to provide a sustainable source of your favorite edible plants. Not sure what plants to grow? Check out this Farmer’s Almanac post for a quick introduction and their list of easy to grow vegetables.
Here is an example of the Victory Garden diagram released from Illinois, March 1947. Providing a variety of vegetables, herbs, and greens to feed a family of 5 off a small plot of land.
Benefits of a Victory Garden
Can’t afford organic produce?
Then a victory garden is right for you! Organic produce can sometimes be prohibitively expensive. However, if you grow the produce yourself, then you can choose plant non-GMO seeds and not to use pesticides. Although, you will have to wait longer than the hour long grocery trip for you food. You can control what conditions your plants live in.
Growing your own food can connect you more with nature. Seeing when your plants need more attention, and how they respond when you give it to them. It can also reduce your green-house gas emissions because the food travels a matter of feet to your kitchen instead of hundreds of miles.
Different size planters
While you may not be able to grow potatoes in a 6 inch pot, one thing you can focus on are fresh herbs. Basil and oregano are two great staple seasonings that can easily grow in a pot this size.
Have a 12 inch pot ready to go? Try a small tomato plant or some kale. Starting with seedlings from your local hardware store can give you a head-start and save you some of the hassle.
Living in an apartment, we don’t have access to a large plot of land that we once did. However, this year we have reused small planter pots and started growing kale, arugula, basil, and tomatoes, all on our balcony. (Total set up cost <$20!)
Don’t like pulling weeds?
You don’t have to! Either go with potted plants or try out a more natural way of growing. Last year that we were fortunate enough to have about 100 sq feet of land to plant (shown above). We went away on vacation for 2 weeks and came back to a forest of weeds. While not the all plants survived, the ones that did were hearty and strong. These plants had to fight for their resources, like sun, water and nutrients in the soil. Instead of pulling the weeds, that can sometimes pull up the roots of your plant, we stepped on them. This trampolining of the weeds dampens the growth of the weeds while letting your plants get access to the sunlight they need. The ground cover also helped to lock in moisture so we didn’t have to water as frequently!
While this isn’t always the prettiest method of gardening, it is sustainable and can be used to create a food forest. Food forests include diversity of plant species, fruit trees, berry bushes, and more creating it’s own ecosystem.
Check out New Zealand’s 2-acre food forest. It’s amazing to see how much can grow when we work with nature instead of against it.
The Incredible Edible Town
If we could revive the concept of Victory Gardens, could we use this in a way to help feed those in need? Well in 2007, a town in England called Todmorden cut through the red tape and started planting across town without permission. Edible plants were sprouting up around parking lots, on school property, and even in grave yards! The concept spread throughout the community based on the simple idea that everyone had a right to fresh and local produce no matter if they could afford it or not. It was all food to share!
Let’s get planting!
No matter if you are a professional gardener, or never planted anything in your life, now is a great time to get started! Growing a Victory Garden doesn’t have to mean that you are fully self-sufficient. However, if you can plant a few of your favorite foods such as tomatoes, peas, spinach, or kale, you can have fresh produce right outside your door!
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Resources:
- History Channel: America’s Patriotic Victory Gardens
- Farmer’s Almanac: Vegetable Gardening for Beginners
- Green America: Climate Victory Gardens
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Enjoyed the article. We have a wonderful garden mulched with shredded church bulletins. Our holy garden is producing more and better than ever before.
Nicely put! After you try this, there is a book called Square Foot Gardening we used for years. It has information on how to get the most out of a limited area, when to plant and how to rotate what you grow each year to help keep the nutrients in the soil. You can use window boxes or build 4’x4′ frames if you want to.
Thanks for the interesting post! I had no idea what victory gardens were – I had never heard of them. It’s great to see we can take some inspiration from the past. Also love the initiatives from Todmorden and the food forest in New Zealand.
Glad you enjoyed the post! It’s amazing to see what a small group of people can do and I’d love to see towns in the US try to be more like Todmorden. One of our long-term FI goals is to be able to start a food forest either as a part of a community or on our own.