Good afternoon, dear reader! Pull up a chair and I’ll get you a cup of coffee. Today I want to chat about Victory Gardens. Have you ever heard of a Victory Garden? A great description I pulled from Chat GPT – “During the First and Second World Wars, families were encouraged to plant Victory Gardens in their backyards, community spaces, and even public parks, to grow their own vegetables and fruits. These gardens helped ease pressure on the food supply, supported the war effort, and gave families a sense of self-reliance and contribution during difficult times.” In Canada, the US and Britain (and other countries, I’m sure), governments encouraged every citizen to grow as much food as they could, and the governments sent out a lot of information on how to garden.
Although we are not involved in a World War at the moment, citizens in many countries including Canada are facing crushing inflation and food insecurity. In these days of big box stores and same-day shipping, many people are not taught important skills like growing some of their food. Victory Gardens are an idea that needs to be revived! Unfortunately every political party in Canada seems to send the message that “don’t worry, the government will take care of you”. This socialist ideology seems to be everywhere in our country and I think it’s dangerous. No matter which party is in power, the government should be educating and helping us to grow as much of our family’s food as possible. Canadians would eat better quality food, and gardening would give us an important sense of self-reliance. Yes, the social safety net is vitally important. Not everyone is able to tend a garden. But many if not most of us are able, and should be encouraged to not always rely on someone else when we are able to put in the work.
I want to encourage you to start growing what you can. Empower yourself by planting a few herbs on the kitchen windowsill, grow a row of carrots along the foundation of your house, or buy a tomato seedling and plant it in a big pot on the deck. Once you eat your first homegrown tomato or potato, you’ll understand why people prefer to grow their own.
Full disclosure here – I am not a great gardener. I wouldn’t even say it’s my favorite thing to do. I just prefer the taste of home grown vegetables over store bought much of the time. I also consider gardening an act of defiance against the socialist idea that the government will decide what I need and provide it for me. I think it’s better that we each do what we can for ourselves, and grow a little extra to share with our friends and neighbours.
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