VICTORY GARDEN -- DO YOU HAVE ONE? WE DO & OTHERS DO TOO

Are there any of you out there who remember what a Victory Garden is?  You can either tell the truth or fib a little to hide your age.  If you have vivid memories of this phenomenon you are at least 7 - 10 years older than 70 years old.  During the time that I remember well, the population was accustomed to the concept.  It was something that had begun during World War I.  During the second World War the majority of home owners who had any kind of land around the house, had a garden.  It was not a time when ordinary people [now we call them middle class] bragged about a lawn.  They did brag about their garden.  

We had one at 1 Hartford Street.  My grandfather Thibault did most of the work during the week days.  We, EFR Dion and I and my brother would help one another on Saturday.  It was a fairly large garden and it was very bountiful.  It did provide us with goods to trade for ration tickets.  <Ration Tickets?>  I guess I just used a word that not too many of you know about.  Yes, during WW II people had to prove that they had the right to buy food by surrendering stamps or tokens to the vendor.  It was something like 3 stamps for a dozen eggs; 10 stamps for a three pound pullet; 4 stamps for a half-pound of butter, etc.  Yup, this is a real story.  That's why it was better to have a garden than to have a front lawn.  So, when I saw this today, I thought of WW II and all you young people out there.

Doesn't that look beautiful?  You should see it live and in living color.  It's 300 square feet of lush squash plants.  It is the front lawn.  It reminds me of 1975.  May and June of 1975.  Saigon had fallen and many people flooded into continental USA.  When that would happen in the 1940's we called them DP's [displaced persons].  So these Vietnamese came to Southern California and other parts of the country and one of the first things that shocked them was all the "wasted" arable land that stood in front of the residences of even the simplest family.  They were shocked that people would work so hard to grow green grass that they would not eat rather than to plant food that they could eat.  So, in many neighborhoods where they settled, front yard vegetable gardens actually sprung up.  Not only the Vietnamese did it, but others saw the wisdom of it as well.  We have a few families in our San Diego neighborhood who have front yard gardens.  We, as a family also have a garden.  We do rather well with it too.  In many ways, I agree with those who say that a front yard garden is better than a lawn.  We don't have a front lawn, but some who do have land in front of the house prefer to have a vegetable garden rather than a lawn.  You have to admit, it is better to grow people oriented veggies in the front yard than to have grazing sheep and/or goats.  True?  Worse yet, have simple grass and yipping and yelping dogs...or even growling ones.  

That's the thought for today.  Put me down as in favor of home gardens, front or back or both. Just do it.