Victory Gardens Take on New Purpose in Ohio
In partnership with: Ohio Department of Agriculture
Gardening is making a comeback because of the pandemic, and Victory Gardens are having a revival.
Even though she grew up on a farm, Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Director and avid gardener Dorothy Pelanda had never thought much about Victory Gardens until she heard the effort was making a comeback during the COVID-19 outbreak. The original Victory Gardens sprouted during World War I to combat the severe food shortage and boost morale by teaching Americans how to grow their own. The more she dug into the original project, exciting ideas began to grow for starting a similar initiative for Ohioans isolated during the shutdown.
Pelanda’s team at ODA contacted their partners at The Ohio State University, who agreed the new program would give the college’s Master Gardeners an opportunity to get involved with the community.
“It’s a way to educate people on how to grow their own produce and about the joys of getting outside and getting your hands dirty. It can be a stress relief and something good for your mental health,” says Shelby Croft, ODA director of communications. “It is important for people to understand where their food comes from. When kids, for example, go to McDonald’s, they think their food comes out of the golden arches. With this, you get the aspect of teaching people about nutrition and inciting a whole new generation of gardeners.”
See more: Gardens and Good Grades: Ohio Programs Reach Diverse Student Population
Learning Through Growing
The Victory Gardens project officially kicked off in summer 2020 when seeds for fall crops were handed out to gardeners across the state through Extension offices. ODA staff built a website with a wealth of information, produced podcasts, and conducted media outreach to help get the word out. Meanwhile, OSU handled public education and recruited many Master Gardeners to offer instruction and assemble seed packets containing a combination of vegetables. The packs included variety from spinach and beets to lettuce and turnips, along with pollinators like buckwheat and sunflowers.
Complying with social distancing mandates, in September 2020, OSU Extension in Franklin County held a drive-through event in conjunction with ODA that allowed area residents to pick up their seed packets and instructions on how to grow the cool-season crops, all from the safety of their cars.
More than 400 families showed up. The same thing happened this spring, with many new Franklin County gardeners returning to retrieve no-cost packets of warm-weather seeds. OSU later led workshops and hands-on instruction at three community gardens.
“The first year, everybody was super excited about gardening,” says Michael Hogan, OSU Extension educator and associate professor. “At first, I wondered, ‘Is this just the nice shiny new thing that will fade away after the toil and sweat of the first gardening season?’ But it appears that it didn’t.”
Gardening Success Story
Like the first Victory Gardens introduced more than 100 years ago, Ohio’s modern-day versions have been wildly successful. ODA introduced the program in 10 counties in 2020. In 2021, it expanded into 25 counties and gave away 8,300 seed packets.
“The feedback has been tremendous,” Croft says. “At every seed giveaway, the seeds always run out quickly.”
Hogan has heard from several happy home gardeners with success stories of their own.
“They’ll say, ‘We harvested our carrots the day before Thanksgiving and put them right into our dinner.’ They even showed us pictures on their phones of their carrots.”
One of the biggest payoffs, however, has been helping foodinsecure Ohioans. Some residents planted Victory Gardens and gave the bounty to neighborhood food pantries or directly to families in need. Franklin County OSU’s Master Gardeners alone produced nearly 15 tons of vegetables, fruits, and herbs and donated to 28 food pantries, Hogan says. The number of youth gardens has also skyrocketed.
“I don’t think this is just a passing fad,” Hogan says. “There’s potential to see a significant increase and interest in all types of gardening.”
This program has succeeded more than the original coordinators ever thought.
“The program has done gangbusters,” Croft says. “We plan to just continue to grow. We are hoping to be statewide by 2024.”
For more information or to start a Victory Garden, visit u.osu.edu/ohiovictorygardens.
