The Victory Garden program started during World War I and the Great Depression in many countries and really took off in the United States during World War II. Victory Gardens in the US were all about maintaining the food supply chain, keeping food local, and making sure Americans ate more vegetables and fruits while also feeding our allies and our troops. It was a fairly successful program, though there were a lot of ways it wasn't as successful as the propaganda suggested, like you would expect; however, in the end, it fed Americans and definitely created a whole new generation of gardeners as so many of the children of World War II grew up to have gardens of their own.
These days, with the pandemic and everything going on here in the US and, indeed, all over the world, more and more people are getting into gardening either again or for the first time. It’s been very exciting to watch the seed companies sell out over and over again, the farm stores sell out of chicks and ducklings to backyard and urban farmers, and more people joining the Facebook gardening, homesteading, and urban farming groups every day. We all should be growing our own Victory Gardens, now more than ever. We have seen the international food supply chain founder, seen empty shelves for weeks at a time, and food prices skyrocket. All those signs point to the need to grow and raise our own food as much as possible. In addition to the old-time Victory Gardens and traditional gardening here in the US, there also is a movement that promotes climate-friendly gardening methods. In reality, there are many smaller movements, from permaculture to Ruth Stout's deep mulching fans, but what they all have in common is using gardening methods that sequester more carbon, feed the soil, privilege the use of heritage plants instead of GMO or hybrid ones, and encourage composting. In our mini urban farm, we utilize all of the methods promoted by the Green America Climate Victory Garden project, from aggressive composting to no-till methods and deep mulch using yard waste from our own yard. The Climate Victory Garden idea is that, just like the Victory Gardens of old, if most Americans, or really most people on the planet, grew all the food that they were able to using carbon sequestering methods like no-till and deep mulching, not only would we have better food security, but we could make a real difference for the environment. Green America has a Climate Victory Garden registration map where you can sign up your garden as being part of the movement. To see if your garden qualifies, you need, at the very least, to use the following environmentally friendly practices:
So, please join us! If you're new to gardening, start with the links on Green America's site for ideas, and then check out intensive square foot gardening, Bokashi composting, Ruth Stout and Back to Eden mulching methods, and regenerative agriculture. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me either here or on social media. Let's feed our families and our world while making the world a better place to live!
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CarinaI'm a 40s something disabled mom living the life on our small urban farm. Archives
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