Victory Gardens Are Making a Come-Back
During WWII war years, most food shoppers were limited to what they could purchase at the corner market. Housewives had to shop with rationing stamps. Most households had to use the majority of their stamps for the most important food items on their list such as, meat, sugar, flour, and butter.
To help stretch the food budget just about everyone began to plant a vegetable garden in their backyard. If they lived in an apartment, they created community gardens where people could grow their vegetables and share with one another. It was a way to help the cause for freedom and soon they were known as America's "Victory Gardens."
If you were born during those war years, then it’s likely, like myself, you have a vague memory of visiting your Italian relatives and in every backyard there was a well kept, abundantly producing, garden of string beans, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and much more. Most Italian housewives knew how to jar and preserve all these backyard fruits and vegetables so they had food for the winter months as well.
Today's gas prices are soaring to outrage highs and food costs are climbing right along with them. American consumers, in an effort to economize are growing backyard vegetable gardens. I'm not sure what these new gardens will be named, perhaps we will call them "economy gardens," that's why I'm growing mine, with the hope it will help keep my food and gas budget down. One of my favorite veggies to grow is the eggplant.
The eggplant is a member of the potato family and like the potato it’s a great source of fiber in our diet and it contains low amounts of vitamins A, B and C. Low in calories, about 25 per serving the eggplant is also low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It also has amounts of thiamin and vitamin B6. The plant can be grown as an ornamental in containers.
The Easter Egg is most commonly used for this purpose. (52 days; small white, egg-sized, shaped, turning yellow at maturity; edible ornamental). For your backyard garden there are several varieties to choose, they include: Dusky (60 days to harvest, good size, early production), Epic (64 days, tear-drop shaped), Black Bell (68 days, round to oval, productive), Black Magic (72 days) For best results eggplant should be started from young seedlings.
Select plants in individual containers 4 to 6 to a pack. It's important to get the plants off to a good start. Always plant after the soil has warmed and there is no longer a danger of frost. Eggplants are more susceptible than tomato plants to injury from low temperatures and won't begin to grow until soil has warmed. Plant in raised rows 12 to 24 inches apart, depending on the size of your eggplant at maturity.
Eggplants thrive in the heat of summer and tolerate dry weather but need good irrigation during dry periods. Harvest the fruits when they are 6 to 8 inches long and still glossy. Grow plenty of tomatoes; they’re good for you! Like my grandma before me, I like to have a variety of tomatoes in my garden, but sometimes because of our enthusiasm some of us overstock with plants and run out of garden space. That’s when I turn to container gardening.
The biggest advantage to growing tomatoes in containers is that you can grow them just about anywhere in the yard providing they get at least 8 hours of sunlight. Keep in mind when you use containers they will dry out sooner and require a generous watering schedule. When selecting a container pot be certain it is at least 12’ in diameter. Anything smaller would cramp a growing plant and produce smaller fruit. If you’re not good at regularly watering your plants, try using a plastic pot: they don’t dry out as quickly as clay pots.
Whichever pot is used, it is essential that drainage holes be placed in the bottom of each pot to prevent water from pooling and rotting the plant roots. Tomato seeds can be started indoors in individual pots in mid March to April. But, like grandma, I prefer to start with seedlings in May. Tomatoes require a loosely packed, well-drained soil generous in organic matter. A good mix consists of one part each of potting soil, perlite, peat moss and compost. Pure garden soil isn’t a good idea as it most likely is filled with soil pests. When grandma grew her bountiful garden she nourished it with her own homemade recipe for compost.
Made from kitchen scraps and yard clippings, the highly nutritious compost created extraordinarily large produce. Every compost mixture must contain these basic ingredients: nitrogen, carbon, water and air in order to transform yard waste and kitchen scraps into nutrient-filled compost. Grandma combined an equal amount of nitrogen rich plants such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps (any fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee ground, leftover pasta) with carbon rich plants such as fallen leaves, twigs, and garden clippings.
Once she had the green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) components assembled, she layered them intermittently or chopped the ingredients, which hastened decomposition. Grandma kept her compost heap behind the garage and made sure to water it every day, keeping it moist but not wet, and always well aerated. Compost heaps can heat up to 140F and 160F.
Diseased organisms and the seeds from added weeds are destroyed. Grandma used a garden hoe or rake to rotate the contents of the compost every other day, to make sure the leaves from the outside of the pile were moved toward the center. When using compost, make sure temperatures during the composting process are high enough to kill pest organisms. What’s a garden without garlic? There are some gardeners who think it takes a special knack to growing garlic. Old country secrets, perhaps, or large sunshine filled fields in which the plants may sprout and propagate. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
Garlic, like most annuals, some perennials and even small trees and shrubs will thrive in containers. They are a very hardy plant and, like many herbs and vegetables, they will happily grow in pots. The best container for garlic, generally speaking, is made of wood, clay or stone. But the simple fact is any container with drainage holes will most likely do as well. So don't be afraid to try something different, something that pleases your gardening imagination.
The first thing to do is set your pots in a well-lighted, sun filled area. Garlic, like tomatoes, loves the sun. Unless your own garden soil is of the best quality, I'd suggest using a package mix of potting soil. This soil has been sterilized to prevent weed seeds from germination and the peat most helps to prevent the clomping of the soil. Compact soil can suffocate a young plant. If you decide to use a container then you must remember to water your pots more frequently and, because of the constant watering you must also fortify your pots with additional fertilizer.
Organic fertilizers are good, but they all come with specific instructions on the package you should check out. Now all you need are some great garlic recipes: the benefits of garlic are many and the joys of growing your own will be a constant and healthful summer gift from your garden. GROWING HINTS Garlic plants need room to grow, they have a huge flower and a long neck, the plant is anywhere from 3 to 5 feet tall at maturity and the flower ball 6 to twelve inches around. I would suggest planting them one or two to a large container, 12" or more around.
The plant is a lovely leafy plant and its bloom a sweet attraction to honey bees. Three or four plants may be grown in a larger, two foot round container, the blooms are spectacular! Don't forget parsley and oregano! Parsley prefers full sun but will tolerate light shade. Plant in a rich soil amended with compost. Seeds may be planted in the very early spring or in the late fall in the warmer climates. Because we have such warm summers, and our weather is much like that of Italy, Grandma planted her parsley in the fall. Seeds must be planted at least 1/4 inch deep.
Keep the soil damp until the seeds have germinated (six to eight weeks). Seedlings may be thinned to 3 inches apart when they are 2 to 3 inches high. Harvesting: Parsley leaves can be harvested when the plant is 6 inches tall. Leaves can be used fresh or refrigerated, frozen or dried. Grandma dried her parsley in the oven on low heat over-night, similar to dehydrating. Oregano is a must herb for Italian cooks... A small plant will spread and grow like a hedge, so it would make a good border plant. This aromatic plant may be more than just a herbal ingredient.
The green, tasty herb has been found to have 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples. Fresh oregano may prove to be a powerful disease fighter. Previous studies have shown that antioxidants may help fight cancer, heart disease, and stroke by protecting cells and destroying free radicals in the body. New plants should be spaced 10 or 12 inches apart. In full sun, they love the sun and don't like to be over watered.
Harvest the stalks and dry them in paper bags, hang in warm dry place.... When dried, shake hard and they will come away from the stalk. But the leaves should still be looked through for small sticks from the plant stalks. ZUCCHINI IS A VERSATILE GARDEN VEGGIE Grandma planted her zucchini in mounds, about four to a mound. I do the same and prepare the soil so that it is approximately two feet in diameter. You can add compost to the soil prior to building up the mound.
Traditionally, there should be at least three feet between each mound that you will be using for this spreading plant. Watering should be done deeply once a week, but try not to get the leaves wet, it can damage the plant, especially on a hot day. Zucchini are fast growers. Grandma insisted on picking them when they were about six inches long. She said they get tough if allowed to stay on the vine too long.
Zucchini are delicious fried with onions, stuffed and baked with seasoned hamburger and tomato sauce, or battered and deep-fried, and... and... Whatever you decide to grow in your backyard garden just do it with love and a sense of doing something that is an American tradition.
In grandma's day it was created to help the war effort, today we've created it to help with skyrocketing food costs. And like the words on those old "Rosie the Riveter" posters once said, "WE CAN DO IT"!
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