Modern Day Victory Gardens

Victory gardens were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted by private citizens either at home or in public parks during World War I and World War II. They were planted to reduce pressure on public food supplies and to grow food products not readily available due to the war economies.

Victory gardens may not be a necessity in modern times to the extent they were in days past, yet good reasons still exist for considering them. The increase in interest in organic vegetables is one such reason. Vegetables produced through organic gardening are typically higher in vitamins and nutrients than commercially grown vegetables and are not subjected to the chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides that many view skeptically on the basis of health reasons.

Another good reason to consider planting a modern-day victory garden is to lower the monthly food bill. Surprisingly, even a small vegetable and herb garden can make a larger impact on food expenses than many might imagine. In a article that appeared in the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Mother Earth News Magazine one gardener, Rosalind Creasy, revealed that she was able to grow over $700 worth of food in a 100 square food home garden.

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

Those who have never tried growing their own fresh vegetables and fruits are sure to have a number of questions about how to go about it. Fortunately there exists copious amounts of ‚”how to” information as close as a web browser or local bookstore. One good source of information available on the web is Organic Gardening, which offers a wealth of good gardening articles and tips. Growing vegetables and maintaining a small vegetable garden is actually a rather simple matter and something well within the capabilities of most people. It requires relatively small investments of time and effort.

Eye Popping Savings Available from Home Organic Gardening

Organic vegetable gardening is a good approach when it comes to having a home vegetable garden. For those unfamiliar with organic gardening, it simply means gardening without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to produce a more healthful supply of fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits.

As revealed by Rosalind Creasy, in her article, only a very modest amount of real estate is required for planting a vegetable garden. An area as small as a 5 x 20 foot strip along a backyard fence is adequate for a garden that will produce real savings. Her experience of growing over $700 worth of food in a 100 square foot plot in an April to September time period would represent a savings of 23 to 29 percent per month for couples who have the average $400 to $500 a month grocery bill.

Time Commitments Demanded by a Small Vegetable Garden

With the busy lifestyles of today, people have little extra time to spare for new pursuits and some may suspect that a vegetable garden would require time they simply don’t have available. Actually a treasure of healthy and tasty fresh garden vegetables can be enjoyed by late summer with only a minimal investment of time for planting, maintaining and harvesting. Plan on about eight hours of work to till the soil and plant seeds and plants.

As much as a few minutes daily, depending on climate and rainfall amounts will be required the first few weeks to hand water the garden until the root systems have time to develop. Add another hour or two spread over the growing season for organic fertilizer and pest control applications. Weeding, the bane of many gardeners need not be an issue since applying mulch to the garden can practically eliminate that tiresome chore.

All in all, over $700 in food for about 12 hours work (about $58 per hour) sounds like a bargain as few people earn that sort of hourly wage.

Reference:

Creasy, Rosalind with Cathy Barash. ‚”Grow $700 of Food in 100 Square Feet.” Mother Earth News Magazine: December 2009/January 2010. Print.