Grow Your own Victory Garden

With the onset of World War II, numerous challenges confronted the American people. The government found it necessary to ration food, gas, and even clothing during that time. Americans were asked to conserve on everything. With not a single person unaffected by the war, rationing meant sacrifices for all. In the spring of 1942, the Food Rationing Program was set into motion. Rationing would deeply affect the American way of life for most. The federal government needed to control supply and demand. Rationing was introduced to avoid public anger with shortages and not to allow only the wealthy to purchase commodities.

Others planted "Victory Gardens" to conserve food. For a small investment in soil, seed and time, families could enjoy fresh vegetables for months. By 1945, an estimated 20 million victory gardens produced approximately 40 percent of America's vegetables.

Training sessions were held to teach women to shop wisely, conserve food and plan nutritious meals, as well as teach them how to can food items. The homemaker planned family meals within the set limits. The government's pursuading of people to give up large amounts of red meats and fats resulted in people eating more healthily.

The government also printed a monthly meal-planning guide with recipes and a daily menu. Good Housekeeping magazine printed a special section for rationed foods in its 1943 cookbook. Numerous national publications also featured articles explaining what rationing meant to America.

Essentially it is a vegetable garden. The intention behind it is what makes it unique. Victory Gardens are a legacy of World War I, the Great Depression and World War II.

But now some say the pendulum may be swinging back. Between E. coli scares, global warming, the "buy local" movement, aging baby boomers with more time to spare and a desire to enjoy the freshest of fresh, a new wave of grow-your-own has begun.

And a new study out of St. Louis University suggests that young children in rural areas eat more fruits and vegetables when the produce is homegrown, and that garden-fed children prefer the taste of fruits and vegetables to other foods.

During World War II, some 20 million people answered the call to plant their own gardens in the name of patriotism. This time, Doiron says, the issue is about feeding the world, which is expected to grow from 6.5 billion to 9 billion people by 2045.

"It's all meant to be working toward the goal of sustainability, which we have to be working toward if we're going to feed 9 billion people nutritiously in the next 40 years or so," he said.

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Here are 10 tips for starting a backyard garden in the spirit of the World War II era. The advice was assembled by Blair Randall, the director of a San Francisco project to revive victory gardens.

1. Get to know your soil. What is the history of your soil? For soils near freeways or alongside buildings older than 1978, when lead was banned in paint, consider having your soil tested for lead before growing food crops.
2. Know your climate. This will determine what plants you should purchase or seeds you can sow. North Texas is USDA Zone 7 north of LBJ Freeway or 8 south of it.
3. Add compost, add compost, add compost! Compost will greatly improve the nutrient profile of your soil and allow your soil to accept and release water. Compost is easy to make at home with either a backyard compost bin or a worm compost bin.
4. Give up part of your lawn. If you have a yard, consider turning part of it into a vegetable garden. If space is limited, use the sunniest part.
5. Plant a fruit tree. To eat a plum today from your garden, you need to have planted that tree three or four years ago. A large number of fruit trees can be purchased on semi-dwarf root stock, keeping them to a manageable size.
6. Share with your neighbors. You will grow too many tomatoes, and they will grow too much zucchini. Invite them over for a picnic, and make a salad with your extra produce.
7. Plan in the winter for your spring plantings. Order seed catalogs, and allow the excitement for the coming spring and summer to carry you through winter.
8. Eat locally. A frequently cited 2003 study found conventional produce traveled an average of almost 1,500 miles from farm to markets in Chicago and St. Louis, consuming a great deal of fuel in the journey. You can reduce those "food miles" by growing some part of your meal at home.
9. Get out into your yard by tending a garden. The flowers you plant will attract wildlife such as birds and beneficial insects to your yard, but it will also attract you to your yard.
10. Donate extra produce to your local food bank. It is common to have too much of, say, okra.

The best garden tool ever

A hoe requires a lot of "weed whacking" where the metal blade on this type of hoe is merely pushed back and forth in the garden, the metal blade cutting the weeds at their roots.

In about 10 minutes I eliminated any little weeds sneaking into the garden. It also serves as a nice edger around the garden, a few strokes around the edges each week keeps that grass that tends to wander into the edges back where it belongs.

I think the tool cost around 15 bucks, a worthwhile investment for the gardener who prefers 10 minutes of working standing on 2 feet to an hour or more on hands and knees.

Leeks

Leeks are a member of the onion family, except they are longer and tube like rather than roundish, their flavor is milder and every part of a leek can be used; the tube for salads, soups or stews (like an onion) and the green can be used like chives.

Though you can grow them from seed, I find it easier to just but them started (the seeds are very small and the starters very delicate).

To get large long white tubes it's best to keep adding soil, straw -or in my case here, shavings, to keep allow the tube part to grow long and stay white.

Like potatoes, the more you mound as they grow, the more you get at the end of the season.

The summers first salad

What could be more beautiful than the years first salad? Fresh picked from the garden, the variety of lettuces can be picked and laid out in the most wonderful arrangement.

The purple romaine has a bit of a spicy bite to it and is said to be an excellent cancer fighting food. The top layer are baby spinach leaves. Sandwiched in between the two are a variety of other lettuces.

I choose lettuces that look interesting from the seed packets or at the garden store. I often don't even remember their names. I sprinkle them in the lettuce plot together and let them do what they will. I have never been disappointed in the end result. And planting much close than the packets recommend, I prefer my 'don't follow the planting rules' result. The lettuce grows tight, like a little edible lawn. Because it's grown tight it rarely gets dirty even when it rains.

Most would recommend you wash your lettuce first, but we usually just eat it. I know what's in my garden, and anyway, a little dirt is good for you :-) Keeps the swine flu away.

Speaking of Dandelions...

Our neighbors lawnmower broke, so his yard looks like this. All those yellow dandelions have gone to seed, and I assume will be blowing right into my garden (ugh). Yet, I still find the seed filled field beautiful, like a marshmallow field. And I couldn't help but think, if I dug all of those plants up and roasted the roots, that I'd have dandelion coffee for a year. But I doubt I'll get that energetic.

Back on the Water

After several days of steady rain, it was finally nice enough to get back on the water. I don't mind kayaking in a light drizzle, but in steady downpours? Not so much fun.

This am, besides ducks and geese of various sorts (those ducks I could not identify, by the way, are mixed breed escapee farm ducks, that explains that), anyway... I saw 2 Mink!

The first mink was strolling up the road this morning, apparently he knows little about traffic and could care less anyway, but no cars came by and he made it around the bend safely, and hopefully, to where ever his final destination was. Hubby says this is the time of year parents boot out the young males and send them packing, so I assume, this little dude was off to find his own pad and a chick to breed with.

The second mink was hanging about the creek bank when I paddled by. Like the one I saw this morning, neither scurried, both just went about their business and paid no attention to me.

In picture 2, you'll see our resident alligator. Of course we don't have alligators in PA, but every time I round the bend toward home, this log in the water looks to me like an alligator in waiting.

The Incredible Edible Dandelion

I don't know how often you go out to the lawn to pick dinner, but you could.

I have been reading "The Wild Food Trailguide" by Allen Hall and have found that we are surrounded by edible plants. We could, if you so chose, probably live off of the wild plants and 'weeds' in our yard.

While many people have their yard sprayed to kill these 'unsightly' weeds, having learned more about them I feel pretty good about having them around.

Every part of the dandelion can be used for food. In early spring the leaves can be eaten liked cooked spinach (though once they flower they're said to be way too bitter for most palates). The flowers are used to make dandelion wine and the roots? You can make coffee from them.

The book says Indians (and settlers I assume) would roast the white root until brown, grind up, make a coffee like drink. The roots can also be sliced and cooked like a turnip.

So I hope, like me, the next time you see pesky weeds in your garden you'll rethink their presence.

Weed Free Garden

Last year friends and neighbors raved about our beautiful garden. The biggest difference between our garden and theirs was not what we grew, or how we grew it, but that our garden was virtually free of weeds, offering a beautiful, as well as a bountiful, garden.

It's not that I work harder than those other gardeners, in fact I tend to be on the lazy side. The secret to a weed free garden is in the preparation. A little work in the spring saves hours and hours of weeding on your hands and knees, and eliminates the need for toxic chemicals and sprays.

In the top photo, our tomato plant is
started and planted, but after several days of record heat, then rain, then sunshine, you can see the little weeds are starting to sprout alongside the fruit.

This is the time I take that huge stack of newspaper I've been saving and spread it on top of the weeds (I don't pick them, just block precious sunlight from them). Then I top the newspaper off with a few handfulls of dirt to keep it from blowing about. After that I hose down the paper to make it wet, adding weight to it and making it stick together and to the ground.

Once the garden is covered with wet newspaper I cover that with some compost. Straw, wood chips, shredded paper or mulch do the same thing, but since we have compost we get for free, that's what we use.

Once the newspaper is topped off (picture 3) the garden is beautiful and weed free.

We continue to cover the top layer with grass cuttings (from our bagger mower). The newspaper, unlike plastic, will rot on it's own and add to the garden.

A few weeds will poke up here and there, but for the most part, we're weed free for the summer.

Now how easy was that?

Kayak in the Rain

Despite the rain, my neighbor and I braved the elements and went kayaking this morning (wild & crazy women that we are).

The ride reminded me of the last time it flooded and with banks swelled, the water was very swift. There was a group of ducks that would float downstream in what appeared to be a high speed duck race. They'd zoom down around the creek bend, then would fly back up stream and race one another again.

If you're reading this, oh dear neighbor, there was a better closeup of you and your reflection on the water, but the scowl on your face from my taking your picture did no justice to your major cuteness! Next time, smile, you're on Pooh Pooh's Candid Camera.

De-Stuffing

Since they're calling for five straight days of rain, today seems like a perfect day to de-stuff.

Stuff, stuff, stuff. Why do we acquire so much stuff? Then, when when we no longer need it, we save it..."just in case."

I got rid of those piles of jeans that I hoped to one day shrink back into. Being over 40, I have realized the chance of me being a 6 or and 8 again is probably not going to happen. Not without giving up all good food, alcohol and having to work out intensely every single day for the rest of my life. Thus, out with the 6's and 8's and acceptance of the 10s and 12s. Not only is my closet cleaner and roomier, I think my mental body image is much better. Looking at all those skinny clothes gets depressing. Instead, I am trying to be healthy and fit, not just a size (skinny).

Being a coffee lover I get many coffee mugs for gifts. In addition to my 13 collectible Hull mugs (I have the drip ware set), I have 12 fake drip ware mugs (should I really USE the collectible... yeah, I decided I should), then there is the M&M mug from NYC, the frazzled mug from Mothers Day, etc. In the end, I must have more than 50 mugs. How to decide? the fake mugs go, the gifts and collectible mugs stay, yet that still leaves me with more than 20 mugs... one step at a time, I am minus 12 at least. Maybe my daughter, moving into her first home, can use the gift mugs?

Thus it goes, from room to room. Much more stuff than a family of 3 needs.

The picture, by the way, is of the servants staircase at Wheatland, home of James Buchanan, Pennsylvania's only president, and the guy who is most famous for being the countries worst president ever.