You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Victory gardens---an idea that was lost to me. I had never heard of victory gardens before I came across this old photo of my great-grandfather with my grandfather and his brother. The story I am told is that this photo was taken on the day they planted their first WWII victory garden.
Growing up in a family that had members in every war from the War for Independence from England to the Gulf Wars, I thought I knew everything there was to know about life during the trying times of war. I had seen the photos in the albums and heard the stories of bravery and loss, but there was at least one more story these albums had to share. Finding the old photo and hearing my grandfather’s sweet memories of the victory garden and the brothers and cousins they had planted it in honor of, I knew that I needed to learn more.
The idea to plant a garden and make every yard work for the nation came from the United States government.. I have been told that there was not a yard to be found in Eastern Oklahoma that was not given, in part or full, to a victory garden. The idea was simple. Every person would plant all they could in order to take the pressure off the national food supply. These gardens also gave many a worried mother and father something to fill their time with during the long months of waiting for their sons to come home.
The call to “Plant more in 44” was answered by over 20 million Americans. Our counterparts in England and many other friendly nations also took part in the effort. The end result was that the U.S. War Department could buy the mass produced fruits and vegetables cheaply if the people back home would produce their own.
My grandfather called his little vegetable plot a victory garden until the day he had to stop gardening because of his health. Until that time, he still planted it to remember those who never came home and honor the bravery of those who did.
The war department told people to plant the following vegetables in their home gardens: beans, beets, carrots, peas, radishes, lettuce, spinach, chard, onions, cucumbers, parsley, squash, corn, parsnips, turnips, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, peppers, cauliflower, tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, onions, and leeks. They passed out booklets on how to plant the garden, care for the garden, and how to cook and use the fruits of their labor.
Sadly, this was the end of the common garden in America. In the aftermath of the war, people stopped the victory gardens and went back to buying their produce from the stores. What followed was the trend toward more flowers and less vegetable gardens. In the last few years people around the nation have started to care more about what they eat and less about buying foods for quick consumption. There is hope that people will once again take the advice of the World War Two War Department and plant a garden to feed themselves and their families.
About M Fitzgerald
I am a pentecostal preacher, gardener,husband, and a father. I love natives, daylilies, iris, and roses. I love teaching others, be they children or adults, about the garden and plants.
Posted by cathy4 (from St. Louis County, MO) on May 16, 2008 at 4:42 PM:
I sure wish this could run again now that it is planting time further North.
...
Subject: Instructions for Victory Gardens
Posted by DianeEG (from Galva, IL) on March 2, 2008 at 2:58 AM:
I found this booklet when I moved into our old 100 yr. old farm house in Illinois. Published by the IL State Council of Defense (no date but Dwight H. Green was Governor). It has great advice on all phases from planning to storage. Big letters: "Waste Not: Want Not!" It also came with a centerfold: A Victory Garden for a Family of Five. There is nothing in the booklet that isn't applicable today. Today, many Master Gardeners volunteer their hours at public gardens which are giving back to communities, food banks, and inner city residents. Just another version of a Victory Garden.
...
Posted by laRieta (from Chicago, IL) on June 21, 2008 at 11:51 AM:
I'm late gettin in on this ...I planted a lovely Tomato garden..
wondering who else planted Hanging plant...or hanging up side down tomatoe
plants?
I really don't have the biggest space lol.
But I'm sure trying..lol I'm a senior...hard to bend to weed.
How ever I do have things planted in the ground.
my turnips are too thick right now..
got to thin them..
loved sharing with you.
grand ma Fort
...
Subject: Still alive and well!
Posted by WICKED_ZOEYGIRL (from Brooklyn, IA) on February 29, 2008 at 12:32 PM:
I'm proud to tell you that in my small hometown in the middle of Iowa the tradition of the Victory Garden is still alive and well. When I moved here with my husband just over a year ago I remarked gleefully at how many vegetable gardens I saw. There wasn't a single block without at least one house that boasted a plot of growing foodstuffs in their backyard, and even my ailing in-laws had hanging tomato plants off their balcony.
This summer I am very excited to be starting my own vegetable garden, and I've got marigolds, basil, and mint already started on my kitchen counter and a horde of store-bought seeds secreted away for spring.
...
Subject: How I started
Posted by smaepollard (from Battle Ground, WA) on February 28, 2008 at 11:45 AM:
Back in 1960 we moved into a house with nice flower beds into which I incorporated
various vegies such as tomatoes & green beans wherever I could find spaces & they
did so well & from then on I was hooked on vegies. I am still putting in a "victory"
type garden where I live in the country. I am 80 yrs old & just finished digging up my
12 x 30 foot garden area by hand & have peas in this week. Cheers to all you out there who love gardening for food , exercise & the love of a garden & good health.
...
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on February 29, 2008 at 9:19 PM:
Cheers to you! 80 years young and still gardening! Congratulations...may you garden forever!
...
Subject: Victory garden
Posted by Superlec (from Loughman, FL) on February 27, 2008 at 5:52 PM:
This was a much ballyhooed term used to get you off your (sitting tool) and plant a truck type garden. If the general population seriously began to feed themselves then the government could divert some of the food infrastructure to the war effort.
In the early forties food was becoming a BIG business quickly. Using those resources could really help! Remember, fertilizer, weed, and bug control were still natural, not bought at the garden department. One could purchase the requisite seed at the hardware or general store, along with the shovel and rake. (What tiller?)
Growing your own can be delightful! Fresh cucumbers, yum. Green beans. Tomatoes?
Now I have to protect my pineapple patch from a possible frost tonight.
Chuck
...
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on February 29, 2008 at 9:17 PM:
Superlec:
Pineapple patch!!!!! I keep telling my husband we need to move somewhere warm where I can grow pineapples, avacados, oranges, coconuts and pomegrantes. Sounds like a great life.
Well...enjoy some nice fresh pineapple for all of us!
...
Subject: Victory Gardens
Posted by Dollykat (from Lucasville, OH) on February 25, 2008 at 11:23 AM:
Because of food rationing in WWII, people who lived in suburbs or rural areas ate much better than apartment or row house dwellers in cities. The federal government issued ration books to citizens for various items, including gasoline. Rationed items could not be purchased without the required stamp from the book for that item. Victory Gardens were used to not only supply fresh vegetables and fruits in the summer, but the housewife canned the excess produce. The canning process made the kitchen even hotter in the pre-air conditioning era of the forties. Some people rigged up an outdoor cooking area to sterilize the jars and seal them in a hot-water bath process. Others extended the home-produced food concept by keeping a few chickens for eggs and for Sunday dinner's entree, or a cow for milk and cream. In more recent times, I have seen many homes in rural France where the area we would call a front yard was used for vegetable gardening, as well as to flower gardening, with no grass in sight. Americans who have eaten only supermarket vegetables and fruits shipped from far-off climes have no idea what locally grown, farm market or home garden vegetables are like.
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 25, 2008 at 3:27 PM:
Very true - but one yard at a time we are working to changes that...
...
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on February 27, 2008 at 12:43 AM:
Whooo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Grass is a waste of time and energy. I have a neighbor down the road who must think that he is going to get some kind of a reward for perfect stripes across his lawn...ugh! Would much rather see a veggie garden and fruits/berries.
...
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on February 27, 2008 at 12:44 AM:
Of course, the waste of time and energy (for perfect grass) is my humble opinion, ha,ha or ah,ah.
This message was edited Feb 29, 2008 6:47 PM
...
Posted by LanceW (from Sag Harbor, NY) on February 27, 2008 at 11:42 PM:
I remember my grandmother's Victory Garden in Lebanon, Mo. very well, I actually enjoyed pulling weeds for her when I was about seven. The family also bought local milk and cream and churned butter, made ice cream I can still taste -- my uncle grew sargum (sp?) and with a number of other families made their own molasses. When I finally moved from NYC to Long Island I decided, of course, that I would grow my own vegetables. I soon learned I had no skill at all and did much better with shrubs, flowers and ornamental trees. Fortunately there are a number of small farms around that still grow vegetables and have road stands -- they do green beans much better than I did. Regarding Victory Gardens -- in the 40's there were also many front yard gardens in red, white and blue that people called Victory Gardens
LanceW.
...
Posted by drumlin (from Prospect, CT) on February 29, 2008 at 9:48 AM:
My 83 year old mother was just reminiscing about how her father could go out into the woods in Ohio and bring back mushrooms, frogs, wild berries, wild honeycombs, all kinds of goodies, and the family of two parents and 7 children lived just fine through the Depression and World War II. They owned probably less than 1/2 acre of land, but they had many vegetable and flower gardens, and chickens to boot! I remember, when I was little, visiting my grandmother's house...hardly a scrap of grass anywhere, but I thought it was just beautiful, so many little walks and things to see outside. I just bought a house with about 1/3 of an acre of land. Let's just say the grass is going to be down-sized as quickly as possible, even subtly in the front yard. Who wants to mow the lawn on a hot August Saturday??
...
Subject: To WWII allies!
Posted by KashtanGeorge (from Sochi
(Russia)) on February 24, 2008 at 5:25 PM:
Mitch, cool article! Thanks for sharing!
We have to remember the lessons of history.
...
Posted by ceeadsalaskazone3 (from Seward, AK) on February 25, 2008 at 12:52 AM:
I watch "Victory Garden" on PBS at noon every Saturday. It isn't what it used to be, but, anything on gardening is worth watching to me. Hi KashtanGeorge, nice to see you on another thread...
Carol
...
Posted by KashtanGeorge (from Sochi
(Russia)) on February 25, 2008 at 6:18 AM:
Hi, Carol! Nice to see your comment!
...
Posted by ceeadsalaskazone3 (from Seward, AK) on February 25, 2008 at 7:20 AM:
In Alaska, all gardeners are urged to "plant a row for charity." We have a local walk- in free food set up in Anchorage that coordinates and dilivers food to families with modest incomes and they feed the homeless, too.
Carol
...
Subject: why did we forget how?
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 10:33 AM:
When did Mr. and Mrs. America stop growing vegetables, and why? I cannot imagine many people I know being willing to eat many of those vegetables you mentioned. (Sigh.) I need to learn more history. Nice job, Mitch, and sweetly evocative.
x, Carrie
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 10:47 AM:
It was the 1960's time of plenty - easy convenience foods won out to hard work gardens. Sigh....
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 11:09 AM:
Double sigh.
...
Posted by irisMA (from South Hamilton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 12:51 PM:
Five families shared a vacant lot in our neighboorhood. It had a house built on it after the war when construction could begin again . I had my own bit for carrots at our own house. The springer spaniel next door liked to dig them up, but he was a friend of mine; we didn't have a dog. Remember the PBS gardening show was named "victory garden"
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 1:34 PM:
Yerp, my first ever (and still favorite) gardening book was Crockett's Indoor Victory Garden. It was about houseplants, and had nothing to do with vegetables, though.
x, Carrie
...
Posted by Indy (from Alexandria, IN) on February 24, 2008 at 1:54 PM:
I lived through those war years. We always had gardens and usually "truck patches" on the farm. In the War Department's booklet of 1943 called Small Town USA there is a picture of a large victory garden. This is my home town.
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 1:56 PM:
Wow... I looked at and read a lot of the old Victory Garden papers I can. Love those things and really try to keep with the spirit of them in my gardens here.
...
Posted by LouC (from Desoto, TX) on February 24, 2008 at 2:09 PM:
More inspiring thoughts about our heritage. I am in the process of planting my veggie garden. Had another some 25 years ago and it was the most satisfying thing I have ever done. I knew nothing at all then and had terrific good luck. The more I learn, the more anxious I become that it will produce well. The excitement of a seed in the ground can't be matched. You are very fortunate, Mitch, to have this experience in your personal history. Thank you for sharing with us.
Christi
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 2:12 PM:
(Or a seed in a winter sowing jug, for us slow learners, lol!)
...
Posted by irisMA (from South Hamilton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 2:44 PM:
Some cities, Boston is one, have community garden areas. In England people can rent "allotments". the ideas are not dead all the way.
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 2:58 PM:
True, Iris, but maybe you really have to live in an apartment to realize how much you've lost. In the burbs we all have "lawns" and flowers.
Carrie
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 5:06 PM:
Right we have lost so much... and the lawn is such a new idea to waste space it is really sad...
...
Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on February 24, 2008 at 6:04 PM:
Great reminder Mitch - loved the article. Thanks!
...
Posted by irisMA (from South Hamilton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 6:58 PM:
How about veggies in the back yard (if you're not in an apartment ?)Planting in front of the house instead of a lawn sometimes runs into neighborhood restrictions. If not there you can start sneaking better planting into space bit by bit.
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 7:52 PM:
Yep - get them in there.. still better then the other choices for foods we can get!
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 7:56 PM:
First I need to teach my family that veggies are not poisonous, lol, and we have many restrictions in Milton about what your curb is 'supposed' to look like. I'm planning to start with Jan's container personal container-grown melon.
(Do you happen to know the last frost date for MA? I should look it up.)
This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 7:00 PM
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 8:12 PM:
I know mine is in March but I push it each year!
...
Posted by irisMA (from South Hamilton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 8:21 PM:
Frost date: usually sometime in mid-Oct. My daughter in MN has a small space in her backyard where she grows cucumbers & cherry tomatoes. Even 3 or 4 plants of those small tomatoes are enough for the family of 4.
...
Posted by darlindeb (from Claremore, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 9:24 PM:
Good job! In my area of the country there is an interest in buying local produce. I'm seeing more and more farmers' markets spring up.
I think a basic understanding of gardening and farming is important to pass on to children.
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 10:02 PM:
That it is - very important... teaches them so many lessons.
...
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 10:13 PM:
Wonderful article, Mitch. I remember your Great-Grandparents (on your grandma's side) or maybe it was your grandma talking about a Victory Garden. Your Grandparents Carl were wonderful gardeners. Grandpa was a bit fanatic about his gardens and the soil. Seemed like he was always screening the soil. They always sent home wonderful food everytime we visited: It was usually carrots, corn, hickory nuts, the most delicious (and huge) Black Berries, Peaches and on and on. Grandpa could make the best jellies out of anything. He made wine out of anything too...Corn cob wine even. Their deep freeze was always full. Gardening is a wonderful gift to pass on to future generations; keep it up, Mitch! I wish your cousins loved gardens, too!
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 11:15 PM:
Thank you :-)
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 11:31 PM:
wait -- Aunt A is Mitch's Aunt? Where are all my aunts? Helloooooooo?
xxxx, Carrie
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 11:32 PM:
She sure is :-) on my mothers side. I am very blessed to have both sets of grandparents that have always really been into gardening.
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 24, 2008 at 11:42 PM:
Yeah, but on DG? That is too good to be true!
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 25, 2008 at 8:29 AM:
Yep, life is so very very good!
...
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on February 27, 2008 at 12:41 AM:
Awww...so sweet.
Mitch is a wonderful nephew! He introduced DavesGarden to me. (What can I say...we strolled through the garden together when he was just 4 or 5 and I was a teen. He could already name most of the plants...and my mom planted quite a variety.)
His great grandpa would have probably been on DavesGarden too if he hadn't already moved on to another garden world (ummm...died).
We can't leave dirt alone! Wow, that sounds like a t-shirt saying: (Picture the words: "I can't leave dirt alone" along with a picture of some wonderful potted plants) I can hear it now (ha,ha)...Now I've got about 3 cute t-shirt sayings circling in my head...
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 27, 2008 at 8:19 AM:
:-) yep... a great family to be born into!
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 27, 2008 at 3:38 PM:
Aunt, on zazzle.com you can design your own DG Tshirts with your own sayings! We have some for the North East forum like: the North East forum, where the nuts hang out, with a graphic of nuts hanging on a tree branch. Just a thought. x, Carrie
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 27, 2008 at 4:01 PM:
She just might do that... i saw those North East Forum shirts - very smart!
...
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on February 29, 2008 at 9:24 PM:
Carrielmont and MitchF:
Hey, thanks! I'll check out zazzle.com. I designed some t-shirts at another on-line place, but didn't really like the site. Appreciate the info.
...
Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on March 1, 2008 at 5:28 AM:
(I guess I'll hve to chnge my name now, thnk?) x, Crre
...
Posted by Aunt_A (from Tulsa, OK) on March 1, 2008 at 12:47 PM:
Naw...I just can't spell as fast as I think. Sorry. If I left the A's out of my name...I'd just be
Unt_
Ha,ha!
My real name (first or last) wouldn't even work right!
I just noticed: my city without the "A" is" Broken Rrow. LOL
This message was edited Mar 1, 2008 10:55 AM
...
Subject: very nice article
Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on February 24, 2008 at 7:23 AM:
Brings back memories (yes, they had those victory gardens in Holland too).
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 10:09 AM:
Thank you - treid my best to give it that feel.
...
Posted by darius (from Marion, VA) on February 24, 2008 at 6:25 PM:
Lovely reminder... I'm just barely old enough to remember the actual Victory Gardens we had.
Sorry you didn't actually include the old photo of your grandfather and their first victory garden.
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 7:51 PM:
I know.. I wish I could have added it here but he is still alive and did not want his image on the web. :-)
...
Posted by darius (from Marion, VA) on February 24, 2008 at 7:52 PM:
Ahhhh, I see.
...
Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on February 24, 2008 at 7:53 PM:
They have a very strange fear of the internet... one of these days I will get them on here in their memory.
spinach, chard, onions, cucumbers, parsley, squash, corn, parsnips, turnips, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, peppers, cauliflower, tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, onions, and leeks. They passed out booklets on how to plant the garden, care for the garden, and how to cook and use the fruits of their labor.
