Did you know that the government once encouraged all people to plant a garden and raise their own vegetables? They actually said that it was America’s responsibility to help with the world’s food supply after the wars. Campaign posters were posted that encouraged people to join this Patriotic garden movement called, War Gardens and Victory Gardens.
War Gardens originated during World War I, 1917, to combat food shortages and was re-named “Victory Garden” after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. By 1943 it was estimated that there were 20 million gardens and that these gardens produced up to 41% of the nation’s fresh vegetables! These gardens freed up commercially grown food to be sent out for our troops that were fighting and to feed others in countries that were left without food after the war. The movement only continued through 1945.
I say 2026 is the year to bring back the Victory Garden!
When I was a mailman in Las Vegas I noticed several front and backyard gardens throughout my mail routes. They were beautiful, lush, and full of veggies, flowers and fruit trees. I had always thought it was too hot to grow food in the desert. Having grown up on a farm in Oregon it was normal for people to have gardens. The soil there was dark and rich, perfect for growing. But, here in the hot desert we only have sand.
Growing a garden in the desert is very attainable and something I have been doing for years now. My goal was to always make my soil look like the soil from Oregon. There are just a few key things that can make a difference between success and failure in the desert. Although failures are just learning what doesn’t work. I call them experiments.
One may say, why grow your own vegetables when the stores are full, and they are cheap and easy? Let me tell you why. When we lived in Oregon, we raised pigs. One day in town I bought a large 20-pound bag of carrots for the pigs. I threw a bunch of these carrots into their pen and they wouldn’t eat them. I went to my garden and pulled out a couple carrots and they ate those. Hmm? Another event opened my eyes. We had deer out behind our dining room glass doors. We had been feeding them wild apples from along a local farmers orchard. We ran out of those and I bought some red apples from the store and cut them up for the deer. The deer wouldn’t eat the store-bought apples. Hmm? How about one more reason. I bought some corn on the cob from the local store. I placed one on a squirrel feeder, and you guessed it, they weren’t interested. Animals can smell things that we can’t. They know when our food isn’t right. This is why I have a garden. Let’s bring back the Victory Garden and make Americans healthy again!
Next week: Tips on Planting a Victory Garden in the desert.
Caroline Thomas can be reached at abbynormalstories@gmail.com
