Your teacher and colleague of mine Nathan Tidridge has invited me to participate in the creation of a Victory Garden during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our aptly named "Covictory Gardens" have a legacy deeply rooted in Canadian history. (see what I did there?)
My friend's and I built our garden at the beginning of April using materials purchased from Home Depot. Our design is based on a YouTube video which described a CHEAP and EASY way to build a raised garden. We thought this was appropriate considering during the war many communities built their gardens cheaply and on whatever land was available to them.
Victory Gardens in Canada were important to help families cope with certain wartime shortages and the government imposed rationing of food and materials in order to support the war. More on that next post! This was also because Canada made a HUGE contribution to feeding Britain during the war.
Once the frame was completed we used some off-cut 2x4's we had laying around to reinforce the frame and top so it was more rigid. Using deck screws to hold the whole thing together, it only took about thirty minutes to put the entire thing together.
With our raised garden bed all put together we then had to decide on where to place the garden. It's important that when you are growing vegetables or fruits that you plant them in a location that gets as much sun as possible. Our backyard also has pine trees on each end which can cause high acidity in the soil, so we tried to find a location where there was less pine needles.
While Victory Gardens were important to households and small communities, larger scale agricultural campaigns were launched throughout Canada, the USA, Britain and the Commonwealth. Most farmland in Britain before the war was pasture for Dairy cows, and a lot of livestock was raised on farmland while wheat and many other staples were imported. Great Britain was the most wheat dependent nation of the great powers during World War II. The Ministry of Agriculture in Britain launched the "ploughing-up campaign" which was so successful that Britain never had to ration bread. Land throughout Britain was converted from pasture to farming of vegetables, but not all land is suitable. When you begin your Victory Garden as Mr. Tidridge has it is important to provide nutrient rich soil. If your soil is depleted of nutrients then it is necessary to use fertilizer.
With our garden in place we used what soil we had available to us in our yard and topped up the rest with store bought soil and manure to help enrich the soil. We've also taken our used coffee grinds and added that to the soil. If you do not have ideal soil conditions you should add compost or manure or fertilizer. Here in Canada the most important contribution to feeding Britain during World War II was through the expansion of the country's phosphate and nitrogen industry. With financial assistance from Britain four synthetic nitrogen plants were built in Canada. Nitrogen is important in supporting plant life, while also fulfilling another important function in wartime production: it is a key ingredient in the manufacturing of "explosives. Britain was able to safely produce ammonium phosphate in Canada which was also shipped throughout the Commonwealth while also helping to feed the people in Britain.
We also used whatever was available to make some herb planters. Recycling and salvage was a big part of the war effort and anything and everything that could be repurposed. Without "potting soil" we used what dirt was available and added sand from the yard to increase drainage. But make sure you mix your soil and sand together thoroughly, this was before I could do so and the soil hardened up with our seeds inside. Learn from other's mistakes!
Seeds! Most important aside from having the garden and the dirt to go in it, you need to start your seeds! And do so now! The sooner you start the germination process the better yield of crops you will have come harvest time. It's best to start your seeds inside your house in a window that gets lots of sun, or if you're like us and have no window sills, you can start them in trays and put them out in the sun during the day and bring them into the garage or shed overnight to protect them from frost. Not until after the Victoria Day weekend is it safest to plant in the ground, so start your seeds in pots, trays, egg cartons or whatever you have available. Be creative!
As it can be seen in these two photos, our seedlings have begun to sprout. Onion bulbs are easy to plant, and if any of them have already started to sprout make sure to put those in dirt first! Peas and beans are also quick to germinate, our peas have begun to pop from the soil, and even the little red beet sprouts have broken through the soil. No sign of the carrots or cilantro yet.
I will continue to update with photos of our seedlings as they sprout, and look forward to seeing how Mr. Tidridge and Mr. Gourlay's gardens progress. I'm excited to be a part of this unique opportunity to contribute to the e-learning going on and hope you all get great experiences from getting your hands dirty to "dig for victory."
A great source of information for this post and for those that are interested in how food influenced much during World War II, check out The Taste of War: World War Two and the Battle for Food by Lizzie Collingham.
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