Posted on 05/03/2021 7:30:22 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — A program from the past is coming back to northeast Ohio.
The state's Department of Agriculture (OHDOA) is growing its "Victory Gardens" program during the pandemic, and some of those gardens are going in plots at the Canterbury Community Garden. The garden, started in the 1940s, is in the corner of the parking lot at Canterbury Elementary School in Cleveland Heights.
"When World War II came about, there was even more of a push for people to grow their own vegetables," said Deb Franke, the garden's co-leader. "And this was created in about 1943 as a Victory Garden. And it's so it's been a vegetable garden since World War II."
This summer, several gardeners with growing space planted seeds that came from the OHDOA program. The agency partnered with The Ohio State University's Extension Offices across 25 counties. 2020 was the inaugural year for the program. Last year, there were 10 counties with the program, and this year, it doubled.
"And we hope in the near future to expand it to all 88 counties," said Dorothy Pelanda, the director for the OHDOA.
The program hands out free seeds to people who want to plant and then provides support through a blog run by OSU extension.
In early April, the program gave out "lettuce, cucumbers, beets and sunflowers," Pelanda said.
"They picked things that I think are pretty easy to grow. And - don't you know, you can absolutely put the seeds in the dirt," according to Franke, who said she is the daughter of a gardener.
Victory Gardens have a long history. Started in World War I and World War II, these gardens helped ease the burden placed on larger farms, which were sending food to the troops overseas. Food from Victory Gardens stayed local.
"Having the ability to have fresh food from your own backyard is an amazing opportunity to people, for people to feed their families good food," Pelanda said about the potential of the program.
The seeds don't have to be used by community gardeners.
"They can take a small plot of land or maybe just a small area where they could put a box or pots and grow some food for themselves," Franke said.
Pelanda and Franke said a few weeks of fresh food from a garden can help cut grocery costs for families.
Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing prices in local grocery stores have gone up 2.6% since last March. The higher prices come from lower product availability. "Our goal in the Victory Gardens is not only to address food insecurity, but to educate the general public about some foods that maybe they've never, ever been exposed to," Pelanda said.
Franke said the second year of the program will give more people access to the seeds they need to start their own gardens.
"I hope that we experience a period of growth," she said.
I’ve noticed the price increases, but mainly that’s due to supply and demand because everyone and their brother was brainwashed into thinking we were all gonna die from the flu. And if we DIDN’T die from that, we were going to all starve to death due to shortages of Toilet Paper. *SNORT*
You might like this 9-minute video on YouTube about Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. Based on the operations of ONE seed company during CovidBS-19, you can clearly see what all of them were up against, world-wide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2JXtFPnqCY
AMEN! :)
Aren’t you going to pimp out the gardening thread?? :)
I ordered a variety of seeds from them one year but wasn’t impressed.
I posted a link over there, but I can ping everyone. ‘The Usual Suspects’ have shown up, LOL! ;)
PING to Post #21, Re: Bake Creek Heirloom Seeds.
Ribbing you a bit. This thread looks like we could get some new members to check us out.
Sadly, most people do not like vegetables, especially fresh and uncooked.
If they grew a garden they would not even bother to harvest.
Really weird.
Remember to wear a mask in the garden so you don’t kill the plants
We should probably raise our Membership Fees. Capitalism! LOL!
JUST KIDDING - no fees for being a Weekly Garden Thread Ping List Member!
Message Diana in Wisconsin if anyone wants to be added to our Ping List. :)
There’s a nice movie called Uncle Nino. Dysfunctional family with Italian roots and their Uncle comes from Italy for a visit. They wind up turning their front yard into a veggie garden. As kids they were always happy in the garden. Family relationships are healed too.
The Victory Garden on the Fenway in Boston was still in operation when I was a child. My folks would point it out to me as we rode by it on the way downtown.
When WGBH (PBS) had its first gardening show, it was called “The Victory Garden”.
Bad winter here in OK...minus 10 or more for many days...
Sucked....
One of the unintended toxic consequences of massive forced diversity... culture breakdown.
I LOVED ‘The Victory Garden.’ Marion had awesome kitchen knife skills, LOL!
I still see re-runs once in a great while on local PBS and old episodes are on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBXs9MRi1No
You & Texas really did get hit hard this winter. :(
When it hits -10 in Wisconsin, it’s time to take off your flip flops and put on ‘your big coat.’ ;)
See...every once in a while something good can come out of Boston (LOL!).
The Victory Garden on the Fenway is still there.
What I was surprised to see was the gardens along the rail lines outside of cities like Zurich or Geneva in Switzerland.
People from the cities would rent land plots near the stations out in the Swiss countryside. Right along the side of the rail line. Then they would take the train out to tend their plot.
This was very common when I was there in July 1990.
The other place that is very conscience about growing their own food is on the island of Bermuda. There are 60K+ packed onto an island that is 25 miles long. Wherever there is not a golf course people grow all sorts of vegetables. Even if it is right in downtown Hamilton. Virtually everything on the island of Bermuda is imported.
My Mom had a day care when I was in High School, so there were usually 3 or 4 ‘Littles’ hanging around the house before and after school.
They LOVED ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘The Electric Company’ and I remember a show called ‘Zoom,’ that was geared more for pre-teens, but Sis and I watched it.
“Boston Mass, 02134!” Funny the things that stick in your head. ;)
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