US Victory Garden
The largest mail-order seed company (US), Burpee Seeds, is running out of stock. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
George Ball, CEO.
“Orders for vegetable seeds have skyrocketed. While orders for ornamental flowers are flat or down”, said Richard Chamberlin, president of Harris Seeds in Rochester, N.Y.
It seems that US citizens, at least those with land available, are finding value in supplying their own veggies.
All through US history food has been a defining moment. All the way back to the first Thanksgiving . . . it was about survival with a kick-ass garden. Here are the major garden pushes with an attached agenda of political and social survival:
1. Potato Patches (1890-1930)
2. City Beautiful Movement (1890-1910)
3. World War I: Liberty Gardens (1917-1919)
4. Depression relief gardens (1930-1938)
5. World War II: Victory Gardens (1940-1945)
6. Community Garden Movement (1970-present)
7. Recession Gardens (2009)
Eleanor Roosevelt established a White House Vicory Garden, which at first the Department of Agriculture objected fearing that such a movement would hurt the food industry. But then basic information about gardening appeared in public services booklets, films and curriculum which was distributed by the Department of Agriculture.
The United States Department of Agriculture issued this 20 minute film to promote and train people how to plant victory gardens. Note: It is funny to see how they spray all those damn chemicals. Go Organic!
Victory gardens were planted in backyards and on apartment-building rooftops, with the occasional vacant lot “commandeered for the war effort!” and put to use as a cornfield or a squash patch. In New York City, the lawns around vacant “Riverside” were devoted to victory gardens, as were portions of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Currently Roger Doiron, founding director of Kitchen Gardeners International and several colleagues are petitioning President Obama to plant a similar garden at the White House as part of his call for a responsible, eco-friendly economic turnaround. Proponents have collected 75,000 signatures on an online petition.
Question : What is the real savings to have a garden (small or large)?
- The National Gardening Association estimates that a well-maintained vegetable garden yields a $500 average return per year.
- A study by Burpee Seeds claims that $50 spent on gardening supplies can multiply into $1,250 worth of produce annually.
- Doiron has his personal garden calculations online, with an impressive just over $2,000.
Answer : Basically : priceless (sorry MasterCard).
Problem: You want to have healthy food and would like to have your own garden but lack access to dirt, land or the green thumb neccisary for a successful garden.
Solution : Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). What is a CSA?
According to the USDA :
Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or “share-holders” of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer’s salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.
Translation : Buy a share (just like a stock or vacation share) and in return you get food.
CSA Resources and Research
- Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association CSA listings
- Local Harvest
- NewFarm Farm Locator
- Wilson College, Robyn Van En Center CSA Farm Database
- The Eat Well Guide
- Local Food Directories (2006). ATTRA – The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
What is Next?
Will this be the end of over-consumption for the United States?
Will a remake of the UK “The Good Life” come to US television? Note: Available to watch online via Netflix with the US title “Good Neighbors”.
Will this end the need for exporting our goods to only be returned to us in packaged form? (Read More . . .)
Will this bring back jobs and reactivate our Main Streets?
It is time to the US to be responsible for the recession brought on by greed. Yes, greed. It is greedy to want to own a home that you honestly couldn’t afford. It is greed to ignore any contract or consequence. It is greed to ignore the fine print. It is greed to give a loan to someone who will not have the ability to extend personal budgets and adjust financially with interest rates. It is greed of the Bush Administration to utilize the Federal Reserve as a personal stock market. It is greed of corporations that pushed jobs overseas. It is greed that the US no longer produces anything.
The need to adjust and become more self-sufficient as individuals, corporations and a nation is more apparent. It is a time to adjust not only our pocketbooks but change in our spending habit, health priorities and educational investments. The United States to needs to strengthen, not the large establish corporations, but individual responsibility. It has to begin with individual choices which in turn bring about large changes. Even a large oak started as a seed. Doesn’t it always start with a seed?