This year I’m doing something a little different in my garden. I’m planting it Victory Garden-style.
What is a Victory Garden?
A Victory Garden was used during WWI and WWII in many different countries, including America. Its purpose was twofold: to help take the pressure off of commercial food production during a time of rationing and widespread hunger (due to the wars), and also to boost morale. It plain ol’ feels GOOD to produce some or most of your family’s meals right at home.
The Department of Agriculture in America put out pamphlets, walking folks through how to garden. They used crop rotation and staggered plantings in order to make the most of a small gardening space. It was expected that people would pitch in and grow some of their own fruits and veggies. Ditto for having a flock of hens for your family’s egg needs, but that’s a different blog post ….
Isn’t that ironic? We live in a country today where 45+ million people live in poverty, and 14%+ households are considered “food insecure,” and people in certain areas and neighborhoods still have to fight for the right to grow and produce their own food on their own property. Have we lost touch with the reality that was so apparent to our grandparents? It wasn’t that long ago. I realize I’m probably preaching to the choir here …
I really enjoyed reading through this pamphlet that was put out by the Victory Garden Committee in Pennsylvania in 1944. I live in New York, so planting times are similar with just a few slight changes.
I used this vintage Victory Garden plan as my starting point and made some substitutions based on our preferences and garden size.
I also have 2 4ftx8ft garden beds. I hope to get a third bed in as well. One currently has garlic in it (pictured above), so I’ll plant some late crops in it in late July. As for the other bed, I’ll put zucchini in there. I’ve got some neat plans for growing potatoes. I don’t think I’m going to grow cucumbers this year because I can get them so affordably at our farmer’s market and we had quite a cucumber beetle issue last year. I’m thinking if I skip a year of them, maybe it’ll keep them from coming back.
Here’s what I’m growing this year on our 1/2 acre lot:
Veggies (toned down from previous years out of necessity for my sanity. I’m sticking with what I know grows well and what we’ll eat a lot of. Maybe next year I’ll get super ambitious again 
):
- Carrots
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Kale
- Onions
- Peppers (hot and sweet varieties)
- Tomatoes (slicing, cherry, and paste)
- Butternut Squash
- Zucchini
- Brussel Sprouts
- Shallots
Herbs:
- Cilantro
- Basil
- Rosemary
- Chives
- Lavender
- Sage
- Parsley
Fruits:
- Blueberries
- Black raspberries
- Apples
- Figs
- Peaches
- Strawberries
- Rhubarb
For more Victory Garden inspiration, our family enjoyed this YouTube series called Wartime Farm.
Here’s a link to Part 1 of the 8 part series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hou91pLDvDs
I hope you watch it! We watched it over winter and I’m planning on watching it again to refresh my memory. There were so many fantastic ideas.
This post may contain affiliate links. That means that if you clink on a link and then purchase something, I receive a commission. Thank you so, so much! This is a list of some of the awesome sites that I occasionally link my posts at. They’re all great blogs about anything from parenting, simple living, cooking, homesteading (backyard and large scale), gardening, Christian life, frugal living, etc. Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth- The Art of Homemaking, Backyard Farming Connection, Growing Home- Growing Homemakers, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Hope in Every Season, Green Thumb Thursday, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Hop, Front Porch Friday, The Modest Mom Blog, Nourishing Joy, Home Grown and Healthy, Hump Day Happenings, Living Well Spending Less. Homemade Mondays.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015
That Victory Garden planner is great. I am always very ambitious in early spring and then I ask myself why I planted 4 eggplant plants about now. If they all produce I am going to be leaving some on people’s doorsteps.
Saw this on Hum Day Happenings
Your garden sounds yummy! Looking at your fruit list made me hungry for strawberry rhubarb pie. Good luck on your garden this season!
What a great idea! You’ve inspired me to do a bit of research on The Victory Garden era. I’m gonna see if I can find some books or videos on the subject. Thanks for posting on this marvelous topic. I hope you’ll come share this outdoor post on Tuesday’s Maple Hill Hop!