Anyone remember Victory gardens?

Pappy

Pappy

Living the Dream
Location
Florida (transplanted New Yorker.)
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany[1][2] during World War I and World War II. George Washington Carver wrote an agricultural tract and promoted the idea of what he called a "Victory Garden". They were used along with Rationing Stamps and Cards to reduce pressure on the public food supply. Besides indirectly aiding the war effort, these gardens were also considered a civil "moralebooster" in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens a part of daily life on the home front.

662AE69C-5C75-4735-81AD-C522275BDEFA.jpeg
 

supervictorygardeners.jpg
 
I only know of them...before my time, too. I read something once that during the war, grocers began calling sauerkraut "Liberty cabbage" as they were afraid we would not buy it with the German sounding name. I know they renamed bratwurst for the same reason, but do not remember what they called it.
 
I can't remember at home never having a vegetable garden. During the war years our city allowed vacant lands to be used for planting. We had bags of potatoes at harvest time.

I remember a hermit living on the land in a small hut. I guess he was able to help himself.

My mother preserved everything for the long winters.

I didn't appreciate the fresh vegetables and fruits then.

I do now.

Those were the days before supermarkets.
 
We had a root cellar where grandma kept her canned goods, as well as large sacks of potatoes and onions. Grandpa had those big earthen jars that held sauerkraut and don’t remember what else. The dirt floor cellar was always nice and cool.
 
Pappy said:
We had a root cellar where grandma kept her canned goods, as well as large sacks of potatoes and onions. Grandpa had those big earthen jars that held sauerkraut and don’t remember what else. The dirt floor cellar was always nice and cool.
Click to expand...

Oh, my Italian Nonna had one of those. I rember as a child, I was always afraid to go down there. There was not a lot of lighting and it was pretty dark. Did not help that my older cousin used to try to scare me with boogey men stories.
 
I once asked my mother about Victory Gardens. She told me that they were basically vegetable gardens. Everyone with a yard was encouraged to grow food so that commercial farm produce could be used to support the war effort.

She also said only Rockefeller level estates had lush, rolling lawns before the post-WWII suburban housing boom.

I wish it were fashionable for suburban homeowners to grow food instead of lawns. Why not put that space and water to good use?
 
I've seen the rationing book stamps my parents were issued during WWII, and my elder sister remembers father having a Victory garden. With auto plants shifting to wartime production, new cars were not available, and there were slogans like, "There's a Ford in your future."
 
I was born right after the war, but my dad always had a vegetable garden that he and my mom called our Victory Garden. He'd say
"I'll just mosey out and see what's in the Victory Garden for supper." He tended that garden till the day he died.
 
I don't remember a victory garden either but I've had a garden since I was about 6 years old. My Grandpa started me out with radishes,carrots and onions. I don't think I have ever missed a year without planting something.
 


Back
Top