Having been born and raised in the country, I can conjure up a pot of soup out of just about anything in my pantry, provided I have an onion to start.
During the current coronavirus pandemic, I was at all three grocery stores recently before I found that prized onion. It reminded me of the need for a new 2020 version of the Victory Gardens of the war years.
Many people believe that Victory Gardens came about during World War II, but in fact, the first ones were planted during World War I. A food crisis emerged as agricultural workers in Europe were recruited into the military. The United States was recruited to help feed these people.
Charles Lathrop Pack organized the National War Garden Commission, which encouraged citizens to contribute to the war effort by raising their food so that more of the commercially grown produce could be funneled into feeding the troops. People were urged to use any available land for agricultural production – backyards, vacant lots, parks, etc.
By planting vegetables, Americans were told they were “sowing the seeds of victory,” which is how the name “Victory Garden” came into being. Since canned goods were rationed, this helped stretch ration coupons and promoted self-reliance and self-sufficiency. As a result of these efforts, 3 million new garden plots were planted in 1917, and 5.2 million in 1918, resulting in 1.45 million quarts of home canned fruits and vegetables.
Fast-forward to WWII and again, as commercially grown food was diverted to the war effort, Victory Gardens again became popular. Even First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden on the White House lawn. At its peak, there were 20 million gardens – one for every seven citizens. By 1944, 40% of all the vegetables grown in the U.S. came from home gardens.
The current coronavirus pandemic has taught me a lesson. Even though I have always planted a garden every summer – we have greenhouse produce in winter – I need to step up my efforts to expand my varieties to include that onion or potato this year. Self-sufficiency and self-reliance are good things, and, if you have seeds, you will always be able to eat. So over the next few columns, I want to share some ways for you to do this.
If you’ve never gardened, are new to vegetable gardening, or simply want to keep it under control, you can start with a method called “square-foot gardening.” This method, popularized by Mel Bartholomew in 1981, means that you divide your garden plot into a grid, each 1 square foot. The original plot was 4 square feet, which was then divided into square-foot sections. This took little space and was typically done as a raised bed. You then planted one kind of vegetable in each square-foot sections. This kept a garden manageable as you could simply plant, fertilize and weed a section at a time. If you make a raised bed, I can’t stress enough the importance of filling it with good soil. It will make a difference!
Some vegetables, like tomatoes, would be planted with a single plant per square foot. Others, like lettuce, radishes or herbs could have many per-square-foot sections. You need to match your plants to the space – crops like melons, which tend to get big and send very long runners, may not be suitable. Plants like peppers, tomatoes, lettuces, radishes, herbs and more will all work well and produce an abundant harvest in your small space. One of the nice benefits is also, since it’s small, it’s easy to cover if we have a late frost and easy to protect from pests.
Unlike many other activities, gardening has not been canceled this spring. As the perfect multi-generational activity, it’s a great way to get outside and burn off some excess energy, while producing something beautiful or edible while enjoying some fresh air and sunshine. Besides, moving forward from this current crisis it may be more important than ever to have some food “put by” as my mother used to say. I challenge you to start a 2020 Victory Garden – you might be happy you did when you go looking for that elusive onion!
Gail Vanik can be reached at 970-565-8274 or by email at [email protected].
