This whole "New Age Victory Garden" does have a kind of Marie Antoinette feel about it, doesn't it?
Posted on 12/11/2008 12:51:17 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The Bush administration’s prescription for economic health has been to encourage consumers to shop our way to prosperity. But as we’ve been learning the hard way, doing so with borrowed money isn’t sustainable.
The current recession is already being compared to the Great Depression. And while the effort to win World War II is often credited with helping to end that funk, the two wars we’re currently fighting have only helped sink the economy even more. While we probably don’t need another world war, some lessons learned during the last one may still be relevant.
The nation awaits President-elect Obama’s green version of FDR’s New Deal – which was another catalyst for ending the Great Depression. Obama’s new New Deal holds promise, but I hope that he also considers dusting off another program from that era: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Gardens.
The Victory Gardens program supplied Americans with the encouragement, tools, instruction and sometimes even the land necessary to create personal vegetable gardens. Twenty million such gardens were planted during World War II, and they produced 40 percent of America’s vegetables.
“I was 9 or 10 years old,” my dad recalls. “I bought seeds, followed the instructions on the seed packet, and grew corn in the backyard. It didn’t do very well.”
Still, he says, “it was the patriotic thing to do. Food was being rationed. Whatever civilians could grow themselves meant there would be more for the armed services.”
While the Victory Gardens program has been given partial credit for the successful outcome of World War II, what could have been an ongoing and productive legacy of the war effort was derailed by the weapons industry, which suddenly found itself in need of a purpose.
Ammonium nitrate is the main ingredient in both bombs and chemical fertilizer, and after World War II the government encouraged the conversion of the munitions industry into fertilizer production (while also encouraging a shift in the focus of nerve-gas research toward pesticides).
The U.S. government also began subsidizing commodity crops, paying farmers for all the corn, soybeans, wheat and rice they could produce, while a succession of agriculture secretaries encouraged farmers to “get big or get out.” The practice of dumping weapons-grade ammonium and toxic pesticides on gargantuan farm fields – also known as “the Green Revolution” – created literal mountains of the cheapest food in history.
But, as Michael Pollan points out in his recent memo to the next “Farmer in Chief” in the New York Times Magazine, “The era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close.”
Rising oil prices are a big reason for this, but expensive food is hardly the only downside to petroleum-intensive farming. “The way we feed ourselves contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else we do,” writes Pollan. He also points out that before last spring’s spike in food prices, Americans had been paying less and less for food since 1960 (from 18 percent to 10 percent of household income) while paying more for healthcare (from 5 percent to 16 percent of household income).
As four of the top 10 killers in America today – heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and cancer – are chronic diseases linked to diet, the correlation between money spent on food and medical care doesn’t look like a coincidence. Not only is cheap food health and bad for the environment, but cheap food isn’t even cheap anymore.
If Victory Gardens helped win World War II and end the Great Depression, maybe this time around we could just skip the world war, and improve our health, heal the economy and put the brakes on global warming all at the same time with small gardens. There’s much to be gained by trying – and nothing to lose.
Several organizations are already advocating a return to Eleanor Roosevelt’s program. These include Revive the Victory Garden (www.revivevictorygarden.org), and Victory Gardens 2008+, a San Francisco group that supports the conversion of back yards, front yards, window boxes, rooftops and unused land into organic food – production areas.
Victory Gardens 2008+ defines “victory” as growing food at home to increase local food security and reduce the distance food is transported. The group’s crown jewel is a 10,000-square-foot public garden planted in front of San Francisco City Hall last summer, as a joint project with Slow Food Nation. The produce went to local food banks, and the garden, in its high-profile location, became a showpiece for the importance of local food.
Perhaps the next step, as Pollan suggests in his memo, and with all due respect to lawn-lovers, could be converting a portion of the White House lawn into a vegetable garden. A campaign called “Eat the View” (www.eattheview.org) is already petitioning the president-elect to do just that. A White House “First Garden” in the same soil where Eleanor Roosevelt planted her Victory Garden would send a strong message to the nation and the world.
Suffering? No one in this country is starving unless they are obstinate or bulemic. The average "poor" family has a car, television, Internet, a roof over their heads, free education, Food Stamps, Section 8, and much more. In Africa, South America and Asia that's called "middle class" or better.
I like this idea. I think since I don’t have the campground next summer I will plant a huge garden.
“I bought seeds, followed the instructions on the seed packet, and grew corn in the backyard. It didn’t do very well.”
And that’s the problem Ari, you at 9 years old back then were better educated than many of the idiots that graduate from Harvard these days. Most public high schoolers couldn’t get through the instructions of the back of a seed pack. They will starve - bet on it.
I can see Michelle hoeing. With the way our government operates, they'd have six people doing a 2 man job.
We had a large vegetable garden when I was a kid.
It was the late 1970s, not the 1930’s, but the purpose was similar - money was tight, and anything we could do to save money on food was worth a shot. We grew corn, tomatoes, squash, eggplants, and string beans. We even had a small strawberry patch.
The funny thing was, even though we did it because times were tight, I always felt rich because of the harvest. There’s nothing in the world like fresh corn on the cob, and *no* supermarket tomato can match the flavor of a homegrown beefsteak. Summer cookouts always seemed like a feast to me.
Not so much; it is entirely idiotic.
First of all, the author gives a history of "victory gardens," but then goes off on a completely unrelated topic...the mass production of wheat, rice, soybeans, and corn.
Victory Gardens were a means of providing a family with a decent supply of fresh vegetables during rationing. At the time, many people had an area where they could grow such a crop...now, most people do not.
Anyone familiar with vegetable gardening, also understands that you need to plant at varying times, to assure a constant source of such vegetables (as your climate will allow)...plus, you need to know how to freeze or preserve the excess...and be willing to do so.
Pollan (who is a constant source of idiocy on the subject of agriculture), cannot seem to understand that most of the farms that he so despises do not produce "food" that goes to the grocery store directly.
Good luck growing a wheat or rice crop in your back yard...get back to me if you need to know how to grind your suburban wheat into bread.
Corn and soybeans are largely used to feed livestock, pressed into oil, used in other food processing, or exported to other countries.
Furthermore, if we decided to have new "victory gardens" we would displace the fruit and vegetables growers in our own "climate zones"...in other words, you would put your local growers out of business. I'm sure that the Mexican and South American growers would just love the extra business.
So, you would destroy American businesses on an experiment that is destined to fail while having absolutely ZERO effect on the commodity crops. Typical greenie pipe dream.
“So, you would destroy American businesses on an experiment that is destined to fail while having absolutely ZERO effect on the commodity crops. Typical greenie pipe dream.”
Exactly. I knew a farmer that planted a ‘victory garden’ on some land and he was in the PIC program. The D of Ag made him plow it under ;-)
That was part of that stupid Supreme Court decision, I forget the name of it - I’ll have to ask Sarah... where you effect the ‘market’ price because you’re not buying the fruits and vegetables at the market, affecting interstate commerce.
I wish they could just say “growing your own food can be fun, cheap, and healthy.”
Too bad the nimrods who write this kind of drivel aren’t forced to toil in the fields. Of course, within Obama’s first term, they will be...
Licensing and inspecting these ‘victory gardens’ to insure their safety and compliance with all local, state, and federal environmental/zoning/agricultural usage regulations would be necessary, and there is no certainty that participants would achieve successful, equitable results.
This matter is best left in the hands of The Department of Food, which Obama will institute just as soon as the healthcare matters are sorted out.
as Michael Pollan points out in his recent memo to the next "Farmer in Chief" in the New York Times Magazine, "The era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close." Rising oil prices are a big reason for this, but expensive food is hardly the only downside to petroleum-intensive farming. "The way we feed ourselves contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else we do," writes Pollan.Another Malthusian delusionist.
As a home gardener, and major "canner" myself, even I have found that only tomatoes, potatoes, asparagus, cucumbers, squash, and (possibly) green beans are worthwhile to grow...IF you have a lot of time to take care of the crop. Lettuce is nice for the few weeks that it lasts.
For a fleeting, very bad moment, I thought about encouraging every new gardener to grow a bunch of peas...LOL!
I like the idea of “Victory Gardens” but not as an adjunct to the adventure in socialism that the author intends it to be.
For those who have the space and the minimal talent to raise some of your own food, I think you’d be a fool not to do so. And it’s precisely because of socialism’s impact that it makes sense. You do not want to be in a situation where you have no access to an alternative supply if there is a natural disaster, or even a political disaster where food becomes a scarce or rationed commodity. Those few notso hotso looking tomatoes you grow will look like a bonanza if you otherwise can’t get them.
I also think it’s a good idea to have a few month supply of food stored regardless. Natural and economic disasters do happen.
Interesting debate on Victory Gardens. I don't like that the left is trying to hijack the concept, but I still think they make sense. Thoughts?
Vegetable gardening does take a lot of time if you want to do it right. It’s not just weeding around a couple of small flower beds and trimming the bushes for few hours on a weekend every now and then.
I’m not saying people shouldn’t try it if they want, but they need to realize that you don’t just throw seeds and/or whatever you call those little pepper/tomato plants into the ground.
We’ve had a vegetable garden before, and we live in the city. But it’s hard work, and pretty expensive per the yield because the soil in our backyard isn’t rich enough for growing (we live in Florida.) We boxed in an area with railroad ties and filled it in w/good soil. We used some seeds and some plants. Tomatoes and peppers were our most successful crops, but I could have bought lots of produce for what it cost to build and maintain that garden (we did it as a homeschool project.)
We won’t starve though, LOL, we can always eat fish. My guys spearfish and our freezer is always full.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a socialist and a communist.
With people like Obama running the economy, we will probably have to grow our own food AND stand in long lines to get a can of soup.
It is the end result of Socialism.
Railroad ties are treated with Creosote, which is highly carcinogenic. Dispose of the ties and the soil and do not re-plant in the same spot or an area below where this garden was located. Do a search for “Creosote MSDA” (Material Safety Data Sheet).
========== Hazards Identification ===========
LD50 LC50 Mixture:ORAL RAT:1.7G/KG;DERMAL >7.95G/KG
Routes of Entry: Inhalation:NO Skin:YES Ingestion:YES
Reports of Carcinogenicity:NTP:YES IARC:YES OSHA:YES
Health Hazards Acute and Chronic:ACUTE:IRRITATION OF EYES,SKIN AND
RESPIRATORY TRACT;VAPORS MAY CAUSE CNS
EFFECTS;HEADACHE,DROWSINESS,DIZZINESS,WEAKNESS,COMA,POSSIBLE
DEATH.INGESTION MAY CAUSE G.I. DISTURBANCES,NAUSEA,VOMITING,PAIN.
CHRONIC:DERMATITIS,SKIN DISEASE,AND ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS ON BLOOD
FORMING ORGANS.
Explanation of Carcinogenicity:CONTAINS BENZENE <1.0%;A SUSPECTED HUMAN
CARCINOGEN &(CANCER IN LAB ANIMALS)
Effects of Overexposure:IRRITATING TO SKIN & EYES. VAPOR & FUMES ARE
IRRITATING TO EYES, NOSE, THROAT, & SKIN
Medical Cond Aggravated by Exposure:PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS MAY BE
WORSEN.
Well, I spent my formative years on a large farm and think of myself as a country girl. Last year I decided to tear up half the back yard and plant vegetables. It was an expensive disaster. Part of the reason is that my yard, like many in the East, was carved from what had been woodland, and that meant the soil had to be conditioned. It was filled with roots and rocks that don’t affect lawn growing but does make the soil hard to cultivate. The pH had to be adjusted. It required lashings of fertilizer. I had to pour tons of city water on it, and of course city water is chlorinated and not the best for watering a garden. Overall the yield was extremely disappointing.
I’m going to give it another try this year, but those turned out to be very expensive vegetables.
Thanks for the warming. We planted the garden, years ago, when my son was younger (he’s 20 now) and we were homeschooling, and we only did it for one season. The ties and soil have been gone for over 10 years.
Here is where I get my seeds from: http://www.victoryseeds.com/ Good heirloom quality seeds, from which I can save seeds on my own. Most of the new hybrid stocks don't produce a viable seed stock.
What is frightening to think about in regards to the article is to start to wonder if the new administration isn't forewarning about a food ration? Is this actually a propaganda piece?
Think about it for a moment. He has already told us energy prices are going to escalate and people are going to have to decide between wants/needs over human basics. Food, heat, cooling, water, shelter... If you're growing a portion of your own food you can pay for energy, you can pay the new taxes, you can pay for health insurance...
The new administration has already told us things are going to get worse, not better anytime soon.
Indeed, our poor are the richest in the world.
But planting a garden is a very good idea. We are expecting our first, and I have been planning to plant a different variety of things than I usually do now.
Also, it is a good idea to find a farmer (or raise your own) who will sell you a half or whole butchered cow. Get a freezer, and stash it away. We haven’t bought hamburger for almost five years now, my father in law keeps us well stocked.
You’re very welcome. I didn’t mean to sound like a dad barking out orders to his kids, sorry. Creosote is nasty stuff and I didn’t want you and your family getting poisoned. Good FReepers are a valuable commodity around here and we don’t want to lose anyone! Good luck
panax
You can farm, or you can work at your job. You certainly can't do both. (Pssssst! If you choose farming you'd better move out of that city & get some land)
This crap is a Socialist pipe dream aimed at the mental defectives.
This is stupid hippie stuff from Northern California that has been around for decades. There’s certainly nothing wrong with gardening, but the idea that America is “suffering” and that somehow people will start little backyard gardens that will replace “agribusiness” (or maybe the author really means after agribusiness farms have been collectivized and thus cease to produce anything) is ridiculous.
The fantasy of the US as tiny colonies of peasants tending their Chinese-style plots while the government supplies their other wants is a long-entrenched leftist California dream, and it’s not only idiotic and unworkable, but is a dangerous blueprint for oppression and starvation.
Patio tomatoes in containers are fun and easy.
Corruption from Democrats surrounding Fannie Mae etc. are what have killed our economy. It appears to have been a looting of the treasury by Socialists. Same as always happens when they want to come to power in a nation.
Because trying to live alongside Islamonazism and a "nusiance" level of terrorism has worked so well for 40 years, right? Not everyone should be permitted to live under Democracy, right?
Useful idiot. Go sit among your your carrots.
I don’t see how victory gardens are supposed to work when Obambi has said that America shouldn’t be this world leader anymore. We shouldn’t be victorious over anything.
Besides, I don’t want to have to go to Home Depot to find some illegal aliens to pick the produce in my garden, after all we are told that Americans won’t do this work.
Fruit trees are ornamental, and with a minimum of care, produce a LOT of food. Berries and grapes are very satisfying as well, you can get a lot of juice to freeze and use throughout the winter. I used to make jellies, but now stick to juices, because they’re better for you.
You’re right! We clearly have to change the name. “Victory” - shudder - gardens just won’t do in today’s new improved USA.
Garden Ping.........
Tucked in amongst the obvious moonbattery there are actually some decent ideas.....
My wife and I have had a “victory garden” ever since we got married 35 years ago. Great stuff and untaxed by the greedy politicians,
We're expecting freezing rain today.
ping
I love thinking of spring -— and it’s been over 60 here the past couple of days, but it is also raining. Of course we will be back to highs in the 40s and freezing overnight by Saturday.
I planted about 16 tomato plants for sauce and got about 28 quarts of tomato sauce. I also went apple picking and canned up about as many quarts of applesauce.
You don’t need a huge garden, though. Mine is about 7 x 30 and I grew peas, beans, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and turnips.
I wouldn’t bother with the onions or potatoes again, though. They’re too cheap in the stores.
Strawberries are very easy. They grow like weeds.
I wish I had your optimism. I had absolutely NO luck with strawberries. Nor with raspberries.
Actually, I’ve seen tomatoes grown successfully in pots on patios. You could give it a try.
We have a Christmas party to attend this evening:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
840 AM EST THU DEC 11 2008
...MAJOR WINTER STORM TODAY AND TONIGHT...
.COLD HIGH PRESSURE WITH ITS RESERVOIR OF SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES
IS BECOMING ENTRENCHED FROM NEW YORK STATE TO NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND
AND SOUTHEAST CANADA TODAY. LOW PRESSURE MOVING TOWARD NEW ENGLAND
FROM ALABAMA WILL CONSTANTLY DRAW UPON THAT POOL OF COLD AIR TO OUR
NORTH WHILE HEAVY PRECIPITATION FLOWS NORTHWARD WITH THE MOISTURE
LADEN LOW PRESSURE CENTER. THIS WILL RESULT IN A MAJOR ICE STORM FOR
PORTIONS OF INTERIOR SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND. THE LOW PRESSURE GALE
CENTER WILL MOVE ACROSS EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS FRIDAY MORNING AND
DEPART FOR THE MARITIMES IN THE AFTERNOON.
It’s 34 degrees at the moment. Estimates of ice coverage are up to an inch. I’m not sure the party will proceed as planned.
Interesting about the strawberries. The major problem I had with them was the tree rats. I went outside once just in time to see the furry rodent run off with one of the biggest ones in his mouth.
Anyway, I use some of that black landscaping fabric and covered it with straw. I watered when necessary and when the plants went nuts with blossoms and tiny fruit, I picked off some of the smaller ones so the remaining ones would grow bigger.
My patio gets about 1/2 hour of direct sunlight every day. Not enough for tomatoes. Plan on trying indoor grow lights.
I use Pomona’s pectin for jams. It allows for big batches and low sugar jams.
I use 12 cups of fruit, 3 cups of sugar and the pectin. It makes 7 pints of jam; just one cannerload.
Although it seems expensive, I figured out the cost per pint and it’s way cheaper than Sure-Jell and Certo.
You be careful if you dare venture out.
I see. Yes, it seems that veggies need lots of full sun. The parts of my garden that got less sun didn’t do as well.
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