Why you Need to Plant a Victory Garden

Everywhere you go these days you are reading about inflation, rising grocery, home, and gas costs. There has never been a better time to plant a victory garden. But what IS a victory garden?

During war times people were encouraged to utilize the space they had and plant gardens. If you had a backyard, plant a garden. If you had acreage, plant a garden. If you have a balcony and some containers, plant a garden.

They were encouraged to plant gardens because food was scarce and people were literally going hungry. Planting a victory garden gave people a sense of security when times were tough.

Well, guys, while we aren’t in depression times again (yet), times are definitely tough and getting tougher everyday. I don’t pretend to know just how hard times will be. I do know that almost everyone I know is feeling the pinch of expenses rising faster than we can keep up with.

While there are many other ways to save money, being able to walk to your backyard and go pick some vegetables instead of buying them at the grocery store feels like a big win. The truth is, a lot of what is going on in the world feels like it’s completely out of our control. However, being self-sufficient in any way is one way we can provide for our families during tough times.

But, what if you have never gardened before? Everyone can start somewhere.

The internet is full of different ways to garden. Some are super expensive. Let me tell you, while you can spend A LOT of money on a garden startup (which can still be worth it in the long run if you plan to garden in that space for years and years to come) you can start a garden just by digging up some dirt and planting some seeds, and thankfully, seeds are super cheap. 

Don’t let the idea that it costs thousands of dollars be the reason you don’t start gardening.  It doesn’t have to be that expensive.  You can read my post on how to start a garden from scratch on a budget for ways to get started with little cost involved.

WHAT SHOULD YOU PLANT IN YOUR VICTORY VEGETABLE GARDEN?

This is going to vary from person to person. First of all, don’t plant things no one in your house will eat. All that work will just go to waste.

Tomatoes are one of my top things I like to plant a lot of because I know we will eat it in a variety of dishes, and I can preserve extra and make it into sauce, salsa, and more. Lettuce is another top one so that we can have fresh salads in the summer months.

You know what I don’t plant? I don’t plant zucchinis. You know why? Everyone in the neighborhood is always trying to get rid of their extra surplus of zucchinis. I know I can either get those for free or super cheap as there is never a shortage. So, because I don’t have as much garden space as I’d like, I didn’t plant zucchinis so I could use that space for other things.

I also didn’t plant potatoes as much as I’d like to. I’ve yet to figure out a way to store them throughout the winter as I don’t have a cold storage place. I’m hoping to create something in the future that would work. However, I do plant squashes and pumpkins because while they do better in cold storage, as long as you don’t have them in a super hot room there is a good chance they will last for months.

You want to make sure if you are going to have a surplus that you can store them somewhere and they won’t go to waste.

IS IT TOO LATE TO PLANT A VEGETABLE GARDEN?

When I first started gardening I thought that if you missed the planting window you had to wait till next year to try gardening. While there are some things that you need to plant at certain times and if you don’t it’ll be too late, there are plenty of cold weather crops that are great for a fall (or spring) garden. Planting a fall garden is an excellent way to continue to save money on groceries and you can read this post here on how to do it.

WHAT IF I’M BAD AT KEEPING PLANTS ALIVE?

So, for some reason I can’t seem to keep indoor plants alive. However, I can keep a garden going outdoors. That doesn’t mean, though, that I haven’t had to learn some lessons the hard way.

The first year I started all my seedlings indoors and the space wasn’t warm enough so they ALL died. I learned and the following year I had a different set up and they survived. I also learned which plants I should just plant into the ground instead of going through the effort of growing seedlings indoors because it didn’t make much of a difference.

My encouragement to you is to try, try, again. Most homesteaders will tell you they learned a lot of their skills by trial and error. You are going to fail, it’s guaranteed. But you will also succeed too, if you don’t give up.

 

DON’T PANIC AND JUST PLANT YOUR GARDEN

The truth is, if you scroll too long through the news you’ll feel doom and gloom and maybe even a sense of panic. But you can’t control inflation. You can’t control decisions being made by the leaders of our countries, provinces and states, and cities. HOWEVER, you CAN control the self-sufficiency that goes on in your home to take care of those you love during tough times.

 

You can control whether you plant a garden, or preserve some food, shop the sales, and learn to cut your budget and do whatever you are able to. If you focus more on that you may find you feel more at peace by doing something you are able.