Go Retro on Gardening as a New Victory

Many are referring to COVID-19 as a war with an unseen enemy. We are told to battle this enemy we need to eat right and get plenty of sleep. However, the virus has hit this NY Metro Area just after winter’s end and there is no local produce to be had with produce originating from some countries under a closing border. Getting a tomato is becoming a rare find in the produce aisle. With limited selections, stores are a trying to stock their shelves to a moving target on availability and some items are even being rationed out.

The bright side from this crisis is - it has gotten us to think about getting back to growing our own vegetables. Let us not forget that we live in the Garden State home of the Rutgers tomato. Now is a perfect time to order seeds and start growing. We can experience the same sense of enjoyment that our ancestors felt. During both World Wars they saw food rationing. It was then that the government encouraged all its citizen to grow their own food as a very patriotic thing to do.

Here is what Wikipedia says about these gardens - Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted in home yards and in public parks across the United States. People planted victory gardens not only to supplement their rations but also to boost morale. The harvested garden was used along with Rationing Stamps and Cards to reduce pressure on the public food supply. Indirectly, gardening aided the war effort, but it also was a civil "morale booster". At home gardeners felt empowered by their agro projects and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens a part of daily life on the home front.

It is time to go retro on gardening but with 21st Century technical tools where we can order seeds online or in the seasonal shopping aisle next to the self-checkout.