4 ms·

Totally agree. I think a lot about victory gardens since I moved to rural Virginia. Commercial agriculture is big here and some I've spoken with assume that be

Totally agree. I think a lot about victory gardens since I moved to rural Virginia. Commercial agriculture is big here and some I've spoken with assume that because so much of the land is farmed, that individuals have gardens or know how to grow fruit and vegetables. But this is just not true. There is a huge difference between commercial agriculture and home gardens. I haven't looked into it enough to determine if people don't know how to garden, rent so can't create a garden, or what. But I'll keep taking about it and maybe someone will do something about it.

bobthepanda 2y ago
It is important to note that people in 1939 often did not have experience with this either. A lot of WWII rationing and planning focused on educating people on how to do these things in the first place.
- singleshot_ 2y ago
  Also in 1939, people did not have experience self-organizing into bands of likeminded internet-enabled jerks. I posit this helped avoid civil strife immeasurably.
  - wileydragonfly 2y ago
    If you put three people in a room, two clubs will be formed immediately that leave one of them out. Internet has nothing to do with it.
    - ssl-3 2y ago
      So the two clubs have a membership of exactly 1 person each, and the remainder of exactly 1 person is unaffiliated? Why not two clubs with 1 permanent member each, with one person swinging between them? Why not one club with 2 or 3 people? Why not 3 "clubs"? Why must it be as you describe?
      - faggotbreath 2y ago
        [flagged]
      - wileydragonfly 2y ago
        Don’t overthink this
        ssl-3 2y ago
        Too late. It remains your move.
- ForOldHack 2y ago
  I lived next door to a PhD in plant biology, who would almost foam at the mouth from anger about monoclonal farming. I asked him about alternatives...he said without even a thought: "victory gardens." Time for me to find out exactly why. Turns out the USDA brought all the regional managers and all the researchers to get together on very best practices. It has withstood the test of time. My sister in law planted one exactly out of the book. Plant for plant. Not even full sun and the crops explode. Another friend tried it at a rental unit with 5 galllon buckets. A bit screwed, but he also got great results. Fundamentally a Victory garden is small scale soil managment at its very best. Thanks Gabe.
_heimdall 2y ago
One thing I learned after moving to a rural agriculture area is how few farmers produce their own food. It just doesn't happen with anyone farming commercially. We're the weirdos around here with a small herd of dairy cows, pigs, and chickens along with a small-ish garden for ourselves.
- HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
  Of course. They're far too tired after dealing with the farm all day.
  - _heimdall 2y ago
    My grandfather managed a pretty large hog ranch back in the day. They still had a garden on the ranch that helped feed most of the families of the people who worked on the ranch.
ttepasse 2y ago
You may be interested in the early 90s BBC series The Wartime Kitchen and Garden, a series somewhat reenacting the homefront gardening effort in WWII Britain. It’s on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSxMUY_E07w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSxMUY_E07w The series itself is a spinoff of the weirdly charming The Victorian Kitchen Garden which reenacted a year of growing in a victorian walled kitchen garden for a great house with a master gardener who learned his trade before WWII. It’s rather soothing, as the New Yorker noted at the start of the pandemic: https://archive.is/iAGgr https://archive.is/iAGgr (Findable on Dailymotion)
krisoft 2y ago
> I'll keep taking about it and maybe someone will do something about it What would you like to happen? Where I live there are multiple allotments within walking distance from me. These are basically enclosed gardens where people can rent small plots to grow vegetables on. It is a nice hobby. You are outside a lot, have a nice comunal feel to it, you get produce you can feel proud of. But it is not really going to replace grocery stores for anyone. (Nor is it meant to.) I can imagine scenairos where skills obtained from it would help resiliency and survival. But i can also imagine lot of other scenairos where other hobbies would do the same. Why is it growing small scale vegetable gardens is the skill to concentrate on?

bobthepanda 2y ago

It is important to note that people in 1939 often did not have experience with this either. A lot of WWII rationing and planning focused on educating people on how to do these things in the first place.

singleshot_ 2y ago
Also in 1939, people did not have experience self-organizing into bands of likeminded internet-enabled jerks. I posit this helped avoid civil strife immeasurably.
- wileydragonfly 2y ago
  If you put three people in a room, two clubs will be formed immediately that leave one of them out. Internet has nothing to do with it.
  - ssl-3 2y ago
    So the two clubs have a membership of exactly 1 person each, and the remainder of exactly 1 person is unaffiliated? Why not two clubs with 1 permanent member each, with one person swinging between them? Why not one club with 2 or 3 people? Why not 3 "clubs"? Why must it be as you describe?
    - faggotbreath 2y ago
      [flagged]
    - wileydragonfly 2y ago
      Don’t overthink this
      - ssl-3 2y ago
        Too late. It remains your move.
ForOldHack 2y ago
I lived next door to a PhD in plant biology, who would almost foam at the mouth from anger about monoclonal farming. I asked him about alternatives...he said without even a thought: "victory gardens." Time for me to find out exactly why. Turns out the USDA brought all the regional managers and all the researchers to get together on very best practices. It has withstood the test of time. My sister in law planted one exactly out of the book. Plant for plant. Not even full sun and the crops explode. Another friend tried it at a rental unit with 5 galllon buckets. A bit screwed, but he also got great results. Fundamentally a Victory garden is small scale soil managment at its very best. Thanks Gabe.

_heimdall 2y ago

One thing I learned after moving to a rural agriculture area is how few farmers produce their own food. It just doesn't happen with anyone farming commercially. We're the weirdos around here with a small herd of dairy cows, pigs, and chickens along with a small-ish garden for ourselves.

HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
Of course. They're far too tired after dealing with the farm all day.
- _heimdall 2y ago
  My grandfather managed a pretty large hog ranch back in the day. They still had a garden on the ranch that helped feed most of the families of the people who worked on the ranch.

ttepasse 2y ago

You may be interested in the early 90s BBC series The Wartime Kitchen and Garden, a series somewhat reenacting the homefront gardening effort in WWII Britain. It’s on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSxMUY_E07w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSxMUY_E07w The series itself is a spinoff of the weirdly charming The Victorian Kitchen Garden which reenacted a year of growing in a victorian walled kitchen garden for a great house with a master gardener who learned his trade before WWII. It’s rather soothing, as the New Yorker noted at the start of the pandemic: https://archive.is/iAGgr https://archive.is/iAGgr (Findable on Dailymotion)

krisoft 2y ago

> I'll keep taking about it and maybe someone will do something about it What would you like to happen? Where I live there are multiple allotments within walking distance from me. These are basically enclosed gardens where people can rent small plots to grow vegetables on. It is a nice hobby. You are outside a lot, have a nice comunal feel to it, you get produce you can feel proud of. But it is not really going to replace grocery stores for anyone. (Nor is it meant to.) I can imagine scenairos where skills obtained from it would help resiliency and survival. But i can also imagine lot of other scenairos where other hobbies would do the same. Why is it growing small scale vegetable gardens is the skill to concentrate on?