Have you heard the term “Victory Garden” used recently? Maybe you’ve seen Pandemic Garden or something similar. The names may be different, but the concept is the same and it has actually been around for decades.

Found across Canada, the US, Australia, Britain and Europe, Victory Gardens were originally created on war torn lands and farms that had either been destroyed or abandoned after World War I & II, where the need for food was real. Used in conjunction with rations, these gardens were a way of ensuring commercially farmed foods were sent to troops overseas, and was thus coined the “Victory Garden”.

“Slacker lands” such as backyards, parks and public spaces were also transformed into productive vegetable beds, or war gardens. Slogans such as Sow the Seeds of Victory and Gardening is a Patriotic Duty were key in encouraging people to convert their lands and grow their own food to do their part in the ongoing war efforts.

*Where there is space, there is growth.*

By the end of WW1 an astounding 5 million War Gardens had been created in the US alone, and by the end of 1945 Americans would produce 40% of their own food grown in 20 million family gardens.

For Canada, the Government actively discouraged Gardeners from starting up Victory Gardens based on a fear of supplies being diverted from military needs to homes. However communities fought back and by the end of the war, Canadians had created almost 200,000 Victory Gardens.

Today the impact of Victory Gardens can be found everywhere. Urban Community Gardening, the Kitchen Garden Movement and now the Pandemic Garden Movement are all modern versions of the Victory Garden.

“We’ve got to dig in our backyard for carrots, beans and ‘taters, we’ve got to dig both long and hard as garden cultivators.”

Sources:

One way to fight COVID-19? Plant a victory garden: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-one-way-to-fight-covid-19-plant-a-victory-garden/

How To Grow A Victory Garden: What Goes In A Victory Garden: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/how-to-grow-a-victory-garden.htm

FOOD SECURITY - https://www.ifpri.org/topic/food-security#:~:text=Food%20security%2C%20as%20defined%20by,an%20active%20and%20healthy%20life.

What is a Victory Garden?

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