I’m often asked what parts of my childhood contributed to forming my conservative views. I realized that as a child, my parents spent a lot of time teaching me about the history of our country. From watching documentaries together to touring battlefields, my military colonel father and passionately conservative mother intentionally raised me to see the importance of gratitude for those who came before us.
One of those lessons connected to history was our family victory garden. It makes me quite sad to know the story of the original victory gardens is nearly forgotten by the modern American public.
As we enter this time of uncertainty, I feel called to bring attention to this special piece of history.
What were the original victory gardens?
Below is an excerpt from The Classroom Victory Garden Project:
“During World War II, Victory Gardens were planted by families in the United States (the Home Front) to help prevent a food shortage…Planting Victory Gardens helped make sure that there was enough food for our soldiers fighting around the world. Because canned vegetables were rationed, Victory Gardens also helped people stretch their ration coupons (the amount of certain foods they were allowed to buy at the store).“
“By 1944 Victory Gardens were responsible for producing 40% of all vegetables grown in the United States. More than one million tons of vegetables were grown in Victory Gardens during the war. That is the weight of 120,000 elephants OR 17,000 army tanks!”
Classroom Victory Garden Project
What can we learn from the Victory Gardens of World War II?
The victory gardens serve as an inspiring story of massive amounts of people rallying together for a cause. But they also serve a more relative purpose considering the issues we face today. In a world where reliance on global supply chains is seemingly unavoidable, the victory gardens serve as a good reminder that it’s possible to return to a more localized and independent way of life.
How can you get started?
As we near the end of winter, it’s important to start mapping out where our gardens could go, prepping our calendar for when we should begin gathering seeds, planting, and harvesting each item, getting the tools necessary for when garden season comes, and getting some simple recipes ready to put the food to use!
Bonus tip: make sure to check your area’s garden zone to see what crops will thrive in your environment!
