Fight the battle against food inflation and let’s bring food security home…
Food insecurity and inflation has been a reality for much of the 20th and 21st century.
Even though the average quality of life has thus far only improved year on year for the duration of human civilization, that doesn’t mean that there are not still millions of people suffering from food insecurity and chronic malnourishment even (if not especially) in our very own country.
As the growing season starts, we investigate the history, practices and benefits of the so called “Victory Garden”. (and rename it for our own use)
The term “Victory Garden” was coined in the UK during the second world war.
Britain, as an island, was heavily reliant on imported food, and with the fighting growing worse, food shortages were creeping into pantries.
The solution that wartime Britain came up with was to start planting so called “Victory Gardens”. These were small backyard gardens tended by families themselves, growing fruits and vegetables to supplement their meagre wartime rations and take some of the strain off of the formal agricultural sector.
Why are we talking to you about this?
Well – we think its time to declare war on food insecurity and we call upon all South Africans to plan, plant, tend to and find pride in, their very own victory gardens.
But let’s call our gardens “iMpumelelo” gardens…(the brits have no say here!)
(iMpumelelo is a Zulu word and given name that means success)
Traditionally these gardens were focussed around easy to plant seasonal vegetables that could be harvested for immediate consumption but also included hardy root vegetables that can be stored for the winter months. For this reason they were heavy on the turnips and onions. Yours doesn’t have to be.
Step 1: Decide what your goal is.
Are you planting herbs and leafy greens so that you can hand pretty bushels to your neighbours as they walk past, or are you going to go full out and feed the proverbial army?
Step 2: Find a spot.
A veggie garden needs at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. This means that you will have to carefully monitor your back yard for the best place to have your garden. The size of the space you have available will also determine what and how much of it you plant. If you only have a 1m x 2m rectangle available, you’ll probably not be planting a sprawling pumpkin patch and rows of mielies.
Step 3: Make peace with your family’s tastes.
Success, (or iMpumelelo) is measured by how much food from your garden makes it into people’s bellies, not by how wide your variety of unique plants are. As Instagrammable as white eggplants, kale and Carolina Reaper chillies are, who really eats that? Plant tomatoes, onions, spinach and peas. These are versatile crowd pleasers, and you’ll feel wonderfully self-important when you pick your first tomato.
Step 4: Dig in!
Get your hands dirty. Mark out your spot, dig in and make sure your soil is good. If you are uncertain, do a DIY soil quality test to find out what your garden needs.
Click here and scroll down for easy, DIY soil tests that you can do on your time.
Some tips to get the most out of your garden:
Don’t just sow seeds.
Many nurseries and garden centres have small trays of “transplants” available. These are veggie starter plants that are just a couple of centimetres tall and ready to be “transplanted” into your iMpumelelo garden. This will cut down on your growing time and help you get food on the table before summer is over.
Elevate your beans… (and peas/passionfruit)
You can grow an abundance of vegetables by incorporating vertical gardening into your iMpumelelo garden. Plant some bean poles or frames and train your beans, peas or other creeping vegetables up over them.
Do succession planning:
Plant radishes early and harvest them as soon as they are the size of a cherry tomato – they’ll be sweet and spicy and you can then double up on your growing space by sowing something else in their spot for a second harvest in the same season.
Make the most of our weather.
We have great sunlight, and relatively abundant rain in South Africa. To sustain your veggies through the long hot summer, invest in a rainwater harvesting tank and ensure a well hydrated garden all year round.
