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Planning, faith, patience, perseverance – and victory! That’s what I grow.

It is planting time. Of course some things, like spuds, were planted weeks ago, now that the trees have arrived and been put in the soil, the vegetable garden is started.

Last week we had a winter storm warning, but the hills have greened up in the warm sun. Up here, the orchard trees are finally blooming, with a few leaves to feed browsing deer or dance in the breeze. Down in the valley it’s all blooming.

We have daffodils!

“She turned to the sunlight and shook her blue head,

And whispered to her neighbor: Winter is dead”

in apology to A A Milne

I hear a lot more people are interested in gardening again, some driven back to the land by fears of a plague, or government upheaval, or the general catastrophic disintegration of society as we know it.

Life began in a garden after all, and maybe we all feel a pining to get back there.

Who plants a seed beneath the sod, and waits to see – believes in God.

The Victory Garden

This is not the first time that the bounty of the earth plus a little self-sufficiency brought strength, purpose, and got things growing.

There was a time when planting a garden went beyond just providing some lettuce and flowers for the table.

In 1943, 20 million gardens were producing millions of tons of food. Back then, the whole nation got behind the defense of their country.

Victory Gardens, also called “war gardens” or “food gardens for defense”, were planted during World Wars I and II to free up the public food supply for soldiers. These gardens aided the war effort and boosted morale back home. They added about 41 percent of all the vegetables consumed in the nation. And this at a time when many more people lived rural lifestyles, remembered the Great Depression, and gardened anyway.

In every state, people plowed up yards, lawns, flower gardens and vacant lots to grow their own vegetables. Public land was put to use; everywhere, parks and vacant lots were planted. Then families bought pressure cookers and canned those goods, too. It turns out, 9-10 million tons was grown each year, equal to all the commercial production of fresh vegetables at that time.

There were other patriotic conservation sacrifices on the home-front too. Wilson’s Whitehouse lawn became sheep pasture in 1918, and the sale of the wool benefited the Red Cross.

During World War II, the government rationed foods like sugar, butter, milk, cheese, eggs, coffee, meat and canned goods.

A cowdog starts her garden

Now I know a little bit about gardening, too. At least I am very good at digging.

You know I help dig holes for the trees, but I am not asked to help dig when we plants seeds. It is my job to keep the chickens, cats and everybody else, out of the garden then. At least that’s how I see it.

We have lots of seeds, and there are many places to get good seeds. No GMO’s! Mom’s favorite seed source is Sandhill Preservation, a dedicated place in Iowa that raises poultry and plants for the preservation of old varieties. She also finds seeds from odd and unique little growers, like one who specializes in mountain grown seed for tough, short-season cool places. She saves seeds from a long-ago grower in Montana, the legendary Fisher Seeds.

Now we have a forest of tomato and pepper plants, taking over the house. Many things cannot go outside yet. The seed directions euphemistically say “After all danger of frost is past”, but up here, that could be near Independence Day! Or really – never. We’ve had frost almost every morning this week!

We do all we can to push warmth, and bet on heat instead of frost.

We plant in troughs and in the ground; and because Mom loves to garden year-round, she got this neat planter for growing inside.

But I’m not sure we can trust the cats not to tip it over. It is an Aerogarden: https://amzn.to/3LtNqDV

Soon fresh greens will be ready and I will get some in my dinner.

I monitor watering and I fertilize sometimes, too. I keep track of who has visited at night.

Gardening is quiet, purposeful work. With a world becoming ever more fearsome, we all need to “victory garden” again. We need something helpful, calming, focused – producing a tangible and tasty reward to save and share. We need the observations and lessons that come with nurturing different seeds, plants and produce.

We need the courage and confidence that comes with self-reliance.

No TV, no phones – a methodical plan, a goal to wait for, a hopeful reason without the instant, disjointed, loud way of the world today. The feel of the cool earth in my paws. There can be no fighting, no rioting, no accusing, no swearing in the garden. That is where we can find victory.