Not Your Grandmother’s Victory Garden:

Why You Need to Grow Food NOW (And 5 Ways to Get Started)

BY MELISSA-MARIE MARKS

In the early spring of 2020, a bleak photo of empty shelves became the poster child for the novel coronavirus pandemic. It wasn’t just the toilet paper, though. Grocery stores across the nation were running out of food. Ground beef, wheat fl our, pasta, rice and beans; all gone within a period of two weeks or so.

The pandemic has highlighted many ongoing systemic problems that need addressing in the United States. Disruption to our food supply chain, however, is one problem that we can address ourselves.

If Your Great Grandmother Could Do It, So Can You

Victory Gardens made history during both World Wars. While America’s farms were sending the majority of their produce overseas to support the war eff orts, American families were turning every patch of grass they could fi nd into bountiful vegetable gardens.

Today, victory gardens are shining in the spotlight once again. Gardening puts fresh food on the table, provides immune-strengthening Vitamin D from the sun, and gives us a great workout.

5 Ways to Get Gardening Now

1. Start small. Build just one raised bed in your yard, fi ll it with potting mix, and plant some seeds. Be sure to check out your local growing zone before deciding which seeds to plant and when to plant them. 2. If you live in an apartment, you can still grow an abundance of vegetables by gardening in 5-gallon buckets on your patio. 3. Consider growing sprouts and microgreens indoors. Not only will you have delicious and nutritious greens year-round, you’ll also have cleaner air inside! 4. Utilize permaculture principles to transform your yard: catch rain in barrels to water your garden year-round, compost your food scraps to make free fertilizer, and put up bird houses, bat boxes, and bee homes to attract pollinators. 5. Create an LGBTQ+ friendly community garden! Start out by creating a Facebook or Meetup group and hold regular ZOOM meetings. Then, fi nd available space and get gardening! Hold weekly or monthly garden party potlucks, exchange tips, share supplies, and create seed boxes to share leftover seeds.

The coronavirus pandemic should motivate us all to learn how to grow our own food, engage our communities, and become resilient! The power to change your future is in your hands. Just add a little dirt.

MELISSA-MARIE

MARKS is a freelance writer based in North-Central Florida. She specializes in writing about green business and green technology, renewable energy, conservation and sustainability, and holistic health. Melissa graduated from The Florida School of Traditional Midwifery in 2012 and practiced as a Florida licensed midwife until 2018, when she retired from private practice to focus on her writing career. She spends her leisure time camping with her kids and manifesting a life she loves by utilizing the law of attraction.