during both WW1 and WW2 the governments of all countries encouraged the population to grow gardens for food. It is a good idea today and would be a life saving fact if the SHTF. while we all know the basics, there was a much deeper truth in the victory gardens, that is the actual plants that were grown. Detroit red beets for example. Uniform size, resistant to disease, grew well in spring and fall, whole plant could be eaten and if planted thick, thinning the plants just gave you greens. small beets, and then the final crop. They were also picked to give as much food value as possible and for storage and to grow on land that used to be a lawn, not a pampered well fertilized garden. If you are just getting into gardening or wish to up your ability to survive, there is a lot to be said for the knowledge and actual practice in producing food during war time. In many senses it is a more valuable tool than going back to the old ways of growing food as it was a process of quickly getting people with little experience and limited resources into producing at least part of their own food. My grand parents always took a basket with them when they went to the garden to weed and ate many of them. This youtube shows some but misses many of the most important. Cat tails. mustard, jerusalam artichokes, nettles, and many others. While some of the weeds are more suited for salads, they often contain large amounts of vitamins and minerals. Small Agriculture|Victory Garden Aids ยท Victory Gardens and Farms|NAL|USDA
Growing up with parents who went through the depression, a garden was always part of life. People grew tomatoes in window boxes if they didn't have a yard. Just a natural part of life. Now, I see sprawling housing developments that go on for miles without a single small garden among them.
We always had a garden growing up in the 50's and my whole adult life I have planted a garden and married a girl who also grew up with a garden and cans what we grow. The town I have lived in for 40+ years Mcclellanville SC had farms gone now but most people have gardens. I have collected WW II posters and have two that are Victory Garden related framed them and have them in our kitchen. Most of these housing developments no one plants a garden and some of these have HOAs you can't have a garden or a clothes line, not my place to live
the domestic Homeland part of WW2 is interesting as hell if you read into - a possible insight into what we could expect again for FED reaction to an uber major SHTF ..... one aspect that was a surprise to just about everyone >>> the GOV had authority over absolutely everything - civil rights gone - liberties gone - the GOV had absolute power >>> when it came to resources - they now controlled it or outrite owned it by seizure .... Liberty Gardens were popular because you got to keep the production - it was outside the GOV rationing system - limited livestock also >>> plenty of new ground was turned over for gardens - flower gardens gone - greenhouses if materials could be found .....
Empty city lot - possible profit Empty City Lots turned into Urban Micro Farms to Grow Organic Food If you are in the right city, plenty of grift to be had as well One city's unique way of dealing with vacant lots
