How to plant a Victory Garden, harvest delicious produce and save a lot of money!
The old time Victory Garden is making a comeback! If you're not old enough to remember, or haven't been told about the old time Victory Gardens of the World War II era, it's time you learned about this frugal way of saving money, while serving the best tasting produce at your table.
During World War II, many everyday items were rationed. This included food items, as well as luxuries, such as silk stockings, highly valued by women of the time. On a more practical note, everyone had to conserve on food, as prices were high. Thus, the so called Victory Garden was born. Just about every family in America was drawn into the 'plant a Victory Garden' craze, which was really a matter of necessity in most households. Even in metropolitan areas, families took advantage of every square foot of available planting space in the smallest of back yards, to produce most of the vegetables required to feed the family.
Today, while there's no mandatory rationing, our wallets are being stretched quite thin, so this 1940s idea is enjoying a resurgence in popularity across the country. Gardening has always been a popular hobby in America, but now, instead of filling our gardens with flowers and other ornamentals, many of us are casting our eyes on our gardens in a new way. Maybe we don't need so many flowerbeds. You can't eat flowers at least not many! Fresh produce takes a big bite out of our food budget. It's not too big of a leap to imagine some fine tomato, cucumber, broccoli and corn plants replacing those lovely, but inedible flowers. When it comes to veggies, it doesn't get any better than freshly picked.
Now, the question is, how do you plant a Victory Garden? The main difference between a Victory Garden and a simple veggie plot you may have planted in previous years lies in using the available space in the most efficient manner. Instead of dedicating an oak half-barrel planter to a single tomato plant, you want to employ techniques such as the French intensive gardening plan, interplanting and companion planting.
The World War II era Victory Garden did not usually make use of the inventive French intensive gardening technique, only because Americans were not aware of this innovative planting method. Today, you can make good use of this technique when you plant a Victory Garden.
The first step is to double dig your bed that is, you dig the soil to a depth of about a foot, setting that soil to the side of the proposed bed. You then dig the soil another foot and set to the other side of the bed. Shovel the soil from the first digging back into the trench, working it well, removing any stones along the way. Add compost and aged fertilizer and mix the soil well. Now, replace the soil of the second digging into the bed, adding a layer of compost and fertilizer and mixing this new layer as well. Yes, when you plant a Victory Garden using the French intensive method, it is a lot of work! However, you can increase the yield of that space by as much as four times that of a conventional bed. Naturally, by adding a goodly amount of compost and fertilizer, the soil level is raised above the ground. Rake the soil into a mounded shape, with the highest point at the center. Water the soil well. When the soil is settled, reshape as needed. You're ready to plant a Victory Garden beyond your wildest dreams!
Plant the tallest plants in the center of the mound. Let's say you're planting corn, which won't mature until mid to late summer. Remember, when you plant a Victory Garden, efficiency of space is a primary objective. Here's where interplanting comes into play. The French intensive method allows you to place plants in much closer proximity to each other. Plant lettuce, radishes, carrots and other early maturing plants close to the later developing corn. Tomatoes? Plant these outside the salad veggies. The salad greens will be mature, shaded by the tomatoes, ready for harvest by the time the tomatoes overgrow the area. Plant some herbs, such as basil, in between the tomatoes. The basil will both enhance the flavor and boost the vigor of the tomatoes!
As you develop your plan to plant a Victory Garden, pick up a book at the library on companion planting, which will provide information on plants which thrive when planted together.
Using the French intensive method, interplanting and companion planting techniques, you've got everything you need to plant a Victory Garden with results beyond compare! Have fun and eat well!
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