Victory garden revival

In the 1940s, riding on a wave of government encouragement and patriotism, Americans produced between 30-40% of the country's vegetables.

Prior to the war (after recovering from the Great Depression), Americans enjoyed a surplus of food supplies. Grocery store shelves were well-stocked and people had plenty of money to spend. When America became involved in WWII, rationing and food shortages dramatically changed food availability. Through their resourcefulness, however, the people did not do without.

They grew victory gardens.

At first, the government didn't support the victory garden movement. USDA leadership didn't think that "gardening novices" in urban and suburban America could produce any significant amounts of food.

Despite the government hesitation, the victory garden grassroots movement took off. Besides reaping the tangible food yield, Americans embraced their victory gardens because it was a way for the average American to contribute to the war effort, not to mention a way for them to work out their anxiety over the war.

Ultimately the gardeners were heard and the government officially promoted their movement. The USDA printed and distributed posters, books and "how-to" pamphlets. At the height of the war, the US asked for 18 million victory gardens. America responded... with over 20 million.

After the end of the war, Americans eventually went back to grocery store reliance on food, rather than producing for themselves.

Victory Gardens were also a feature of the 1970's, as a result of sharply higher food prices in America as the result of stagflation; hippie agrarianism, the book The Secret Life of Plants and the nostalgia craze also contributed. Surprisingly, not a few people old enough to remember WWII had continued vegetable growing throughout the postwar years, and these were joined by various other people trying to save a few pennies, some of whom banded together to form community gardens in empty lots.

Our history shows that when the going gets tough, the tough get dirty!

Now, Americans are facing another crisis. The time for the victory garden has come again. Be it for economic reasons, ecological reasons, political, or personal, it's not hard to find a reason to jump on the victory garden bandwagon.

Here are a few resources to help you get started.

The New Seed Starters Handbook - this is a .pdf book on how to start seeds indoors and transplant them outdoors later on.

Make a Self-Watering Container - this is a .pdf book on how to make your own self-watering container - great for patio veggie plants.

Purdue University Garden Publications. This is a whole page of .pdf books full of info for home gardeners. Everything from general guides to handbooks on specific vegetables.

University of Tennessee Extension. Here is another whole page of books and pamphlets for home gardeners -for fruit and vegetable growing, pest control and food preservation. A goldmine!

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