I’ve always been into gardening. Ever since I was a child, and my mother planted her petunias and geraniums every summer and taught me how to dig the hole, pop the plant out of the flat, loosen the roots and “tuck it in” to the soil I was hooked. The older I got, the more I got into it. I now have beautiful roses (Queen Elizabeth & Intrigue, little white tea roses as well as a 57-year old rose bush my grandfather planted) and plant tons of annuals every year, as well as growing herbs (rosemary, parsley, basil and cilantro, usually). There is nothing like having your own fresh basil or cilantro for cooking. But this year I decided to expand past just flowers and herbs and I began a bunch of little container gardens. Growing your own herbs and vegetables is not only better for you (no pesticide!) but also a “green” way to enjoy fresh food. I was also inspired by a time in history when everyone had a Victory Garden.
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany[1] during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. In addition to indirectly aiding the war effort these gardens were also considered a civil “morale booster” — in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens become a part of daily life on the home front.
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. During World War II, sections of lawn were publicly plowed for plots in Hyde Park, London to publicize the movement. In New York City, the lawns around vacant “Riverside” were devoted to victory gardens, as were portions of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
In 1946, with the war over, many residents did not plant victory gardens in expectation of greater produce availability. However, shortages remained in the United Kingdom.
We’re also in a time of war right now. And while we don’t have any “rations” going on, I think everyone who has a yard, or has a deck, or even a little terrace, should grow some things they use frequently. Everyone uses tomatoes and herbs, and I’m a big pepper person. I’m looking forward to fresh pico de gallo and making more sauce with my tomatoes, and who doesn’t love peppers in fajitas? Not to mention homemade eggplant parmigiana made with my own eggplant. So far I’ve got a Cubanelle Pepper, another variety of sweet pepper, Celebrity tomato, Big Boy tomato, Black Beauty eggplant, zucchini Elite squash and Marketmore cucumber. I planted each in it’s own large pot, some with decorative flowers or Dusty Miller to make it look prettier (veggies on their own, before they begin to “fruit” look much like weeds). I’ve also got fresh mint (awesome in summer Mojitos or on top of sorbet), variegated oregano, sweet basil and parsley this year, all of which are thriving. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any cilantro or rosemary. I have tons of room in my yard for a full-size, full-on vegetable garden, but we have a lot of bunnies around here, so I figured container gardens would be better to avoid them munching on my veggies. I wasn’t even sure if I’d have any luck growing anything, so I wanted to keep it small and not tear up half my lawn and end up wasting the space on wilted lettuce & rotten tomatoes. So far I seem to be having luck, so next year I might expand to carrots, etc.
Exhibit A: Bunny.
…
It may seem “rural” from the pictures, but I live in a suburban commuter town about 20-25 minutes by car from Manhattan and 10 minutes from Belmont Racetrack. As far as the bunnies go, when I was a kid there weren’t any around here at all. Seeing one was a rarity. I’m thinking a pet store let some go or someone let theirs loose a few years ago and the population just skyrocketed into craziness (you know what they say about rabbits…). They’re super cute though, aren’t they? I love them.
I normally wouldn’t share any of this, but since it involves food, I thought why not. Maybe it’ll inspire others out there to grow some veggies! Bring new meaning to the term “organic” and take matters into your own hands… and soil. A really good resource if you don’t have a lot of space (or live in an urban area) is the book The Urban Pantry by Amy Pennington. If you live in a more rural area, in the country, and have tons of space (or maybe want to get a bit more serious about sustainable food & sustainable living), a good book to get is MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook: For the Farmgirl in all of Us by MaryJane Butters.
My basil and parsley are out of control! They’re huge! Anyone need some fresh basil and parsley?
…
Fresh mint and oregano are looking good, aren’t they?
…
My Cubanelle pepper plant has started to blossom, which means peppers are on their way. My other sweet pepper already has a pretty large pepper growing.
This is the same pepper three days before the following picture…
Which is three days before the next picture…
Can you believe that!? In just three (really hot and humid) days!
..
And here’s the pepper on my other plant… again, each picture is three days difference.
..
My zucchini squash is also coming along. Blossom = future veggie. Plus there are about 5 more blossoms just starting.
Once again, the difference between each of those pictures is just three days…
…
There’s no sign of life on the tomatoes yet, just teeny little “buds” starting to peek out. Same with the eggplant. I’m hoping for luck with those more than anything though. My cucumber has no buds or blossoms yet but it’s early. I’m hoping for a few tomatoes by the end of summer. It really is pretty awesome to see these things grow. I think nowadays we take it for granted- we walk into a supermarket, pick out some vegetables and pay for them without thinking about the effort it takes to grow them or even where they came from. It puts a whole new spin on eating when you grow your own materials, even if it’s just herbs. And if you have kids, I’m sure they’d get a lot out of it.
As things grow more, I’ll share pictures of them. Who knows, I might inspire some of you to start your own “Victory Garden.”
- WWI ca. 1914-1918 School War Garden poster
I'm Marilla. A 30-something artist, hobby baker, home canning enthusiast, gardener, DIY-er, wife, mommy of a baby boy and dog mom (to another baby boy) from New York. 
Love this Marilla!
Your garden looks just like mine! And I soooooo love mine. In my case, I live blocks from the state Capitol in an apartment. I have a front yard, but it’s not mine so I can’t dig it up. So I have pots full of everything you can imagine!
Your plants looks great! I did my first garden this year and have had so much fun with it. I am already planning to expand it next year.
Thanks ladies! I just went out to peek at it & in the two days since I took the picture above… that pepper turned bright red!! I am so excited haha… I’m a geek.
I can’t wait to see more of my stuff grow. And next year, I’d really like to plant more.
Loved this post. Reminded me of stories my grandparents told me of life during the war. Your garden looks absolutely lovely. I agree that there is nothing quite as satisfying as growing something that you and your family will enjoy.
Thanks Jessica. It really is incredibly gratifying.
OMC! Your garden is so deliciously awesome looking. I live at 7,000 ft., and our growing span is short. We do have many gardens up here, but in the other months we go out of town to buy local produce. I miss a big garden, and making dinner, lunch or breakfast right from the veggies picked fresh. You go girl..
Thank you redraven! I actually expanded recently… I now also have bell peppers & smaller tomatoes, as well as lavender, catnip, chives and rosemary. I’m getting really excited because I have a bunch of stuff blooming… I can’t wait to try everything.
Excellent pieces. Keep posting such kind of information on your blog.
Im really impressed by your blog.[X-N-E-W-L-I-N-S-P-I-N-X]Hello there, You’ve done a fantastic job.
I will definitely digg it and in my opinion recommend to my friends.
I’m sure they will be benefited from this website.
I really prize your work , Great post.
Since the admin of this web page is working, no question very quickly it will be
well-known, due to its feature contents.
Magnificent items from you, man. I’ve take into accout your stuff previous to and you are simply extremely magnificent.
I really like what you have bought right here, really
like what you’re stating and the way in which by which you say it.
You are making it entertaining and you continue to take care of
to stay it smart. I cant wait to learn far more from you.
This is actually a wonderful website.
Hello, Neat post. There is a problem with your website in internet explorer, could check this?
IE still is the market leader and a big element of folks will leave out
your excellent writing due to this problem.
I don’t know if it’s just me or if perhaps everyone else experiencing
issues with your blog. It appears as though some
of the text in your posts are running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them
as well? This might be a issue with my browser
because I’ve had this happen before. Thank you
I got what you intend,saved to fav, very nice site.
This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.
Hey there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after checking through some of the
post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be book-marking
and checking back often!
After looking into a handful of the articles on your web
page, I honestly appreciate your way of blogging. I saved it to my bookmark webpage list and will
be checking back soon. Take a look at my website
too and let me know your opinion.
The new Zune browser is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPod’s. It works well, but isn’t as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you occasionally plan on using the web browser that’s not an issue, but if you’re planning to browse the web alot from your PMP then the iPod’s larger screen and better browser may be important.
Your mode of telling the whole thing in this post is in fact nice, every one be able to simply be aware
of it, Thanks a lot.
For latest information you have to pay a visit the web and on world-wide-web I found this site as a finest website for hottest updates.|
Fabulous, what a website it is! This webpage presents useful data to us,
keep it up.
My spouse and I stumbled over here different
website and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you.
Look forward to finding out about your web page again.
Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet
effective. A lot of times it’s tough to get that “perfect balance” between superb
usability and appearance. I must say you have done a awesome job with this.
Also, the blog loads very fast for me on Safari. Superb Blog!
Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News.
Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying
for a while but I never seem to get there! Appreciate it