victory garden

“What would life be without homegrown tomatoes?”

There’s never been a better time to enjoy the calm of green spaces. As the Chinese proverb goes, Life begins the day you start a garden.

During both World Wars, governments world-wide encouraged people to plant victory gardens to supplement their rations but also for boosting morale. Here in Canada, the Ministry of Agriculture had a campaign slogan, “A Vegetable Garden for Every Home” and in the USA theirs was, “Sow the Seeds of Victory! Plant and Raise Your Own Vegetables.” For many reasons, I’m suggesting we sow our own Victory Gardens wherever we live during this pandemic.

With so many worrying or anxious about the COVID-19 pandemic we may well find planting and working in a garden a welcome distraction — not to mention a safe and reliable food source for our families. And if you have more than you need, share it within your own community.

“When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden.” — Minnie Aumonier

In a recent interview Debi Goodwin, author of A Victory Garden for Trying Times, said, “You get back into the rhythm of nature and we have to remember that’s still going on, even though our whole world is changed.” Although her book is a memoir detailing the final year of her husband’s life, it’s about how she worked her way through that time and the grief with her victory garden.

“The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.” — Joel Salatin

And I might add to Salatin’s quote. I vividly remember how many people in the city always had backyards, in their entirety, planted with vegetables. And many people in the neighbourhoods also used their front yards for vegetables, especially for potatoes. I’d love to see more people growing their own vegetables and herbs whether in front yards, backyards, raised beds, in pots or planters, or in a single window box.

Although the challenge we all face during this pandemic is different from war, there are many similarities.  Peoples’ anxiety needs a productive distraction. Many of us are worried about the safety of the food we touch in grocery stores plus whether or not food will continue to get through to those stores. Although I purchase the majority of my vegetables, eggs, and berries direct from farmers at the farmers markets, those living in large metropolitan centres may not have such ready access. But we all have either a patch of dirt in our yards, or pots we can put on our balcony or front step — or simply a window box.

“If you’ve never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden.” – – Robert Brault

All my life until recent years, I’ve always had my own vegetable garden. Sometimes a small patch; other places it was an enormous undertaking. Vegetable gardens provide so much in terms of benefits: watching the seeds break through the soil; seedlings turning into real food; the gratification of creating meals from what we’ve grown in our garden; and how serene it is simply being in the garden. At our new home, I don’t have an actual garden spot, other than the herb bed created last fall. I’ve decided to plant my vegetables within my flower and shrub beds, taking advantage of all those sunny spots with bare or open patches. I’m looking forward to it especially with so much additional time on my hands because of the pandemic.

I have so many wonderful memories of gardens past that have been flooding to mind as I’ve been writing this post. I could likely fill multiple posts with many of those cherished memories. Perhaps I’ll share a few as my victory garden grows.

Like the song goes and a line my mom used to say, “what would life be without homegrown tomatoes?”

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PS: Recently I have had so many inspirations for posting. Rather than hold off for each Monday, I’ll be posting more frequently and on unscheduled days. For how long going forward? I don’t know but — fair warning — my posts will be occurring with more frequency — some with photos only; some with a little chatter.