Do you remember the story of Chicken Little? He ran around shouting, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” Of course, the sky wasn’t falling. We’ve heard so many scary stories lately… the economy is going to crash, we’re headed for WW III, and more pandemics are on the horizon. And maybe you’ve heard the rumors of a coming food shortage.

We don’t have a crystal ball to tell us if any of these predictions will come to pass. And we shouldn’t live our lives in fear of what might happen. However, we don’t want to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the possibilities of problems.

While I can’t address the economy, pandemics or war, there are currently some indicators that point to problems with our food supply. Being aware of these issues can help us prepare for the possibility of a shortage.

One of the best things you can do to lower your risk of food shortages is to grow a garden. If food shortages are around the corner, then growing your own produce can help lessen the impact.

Maybe you’ve heard other people talking lately about Victory Gardens. Just in case you don’t know the history of these gardens, let me share a little about them.

What is a Victory Garden…

During World War I and WW II, many food manufacturers began producing food for the war efforts. This meant there was less food available for the American people. There were also shortages of tin during WW II which meant less canned foods were available. The canned foods that were produced went overseas to provide food for the troops.

To compensate, the government encouraged Americans to grow a garden in their backyards, parks, schools, vacant lots, churchyards, and even parking lots. Any place they could find to grow food was utilized. These gardens were called Victory Gardens to show solidarity with the war effort.

Americans were quick to jump on the bandwagon and grow food for themselves and to share with others. They weren’t the only ones growing extra food in their backyards. Canadians, British, Australians, and others were also growing Victory Gardens as well.

At the height of the Victory Garden movement, there were approximately 20 million Victory Gardens growing about 40% of our nation’s produce. During these wars, many staple foods such as butter and flour were rationed. And less manufactured food was available for consumers. But Americans who grew gardens had food to eat and to share.

Why am I talking about growing a Victory Garden again? Even without a crystal ball, you can tell that we are moving into a perfect storm of potential shortages. These shortages could affect the amount of food you have available. Based on several concerns, it would be beneficial for all Americans to consider growing some food for themselves. Here are 5 reasons growing more food in your backyard would be beneficial.

5 Reasons to Grow a Victory Garden…

Fertilizer Concerns

For many reasons, fertilizer is an issue this year for large farms. Not only are there possible shortages in the coming months, but the cost of fertilizer is going up as well.

They make fertilizer from natural gas. With the war going on in Russia and Ukraine, this has reduced the natural gas that is available to produce fertilizer. As growers are nearing the spring planting, some farms are having difficulty getting the full amount of fertilizer they need.

Today’s large corporate farms rely heavily on the need for fertilizer. Small farms and backyard gardens can use other techniques, such as composting and regenerative methods, to grow precious crops. But large farms need nitrogen-based fertilizers to grow their crops.

While we won’t see the effects of any fertilizer shortages immediately, down the road this could impact availability and cost of food.

Supply Chain Breakdown

We have all seen the breakdown of the supply chain in the past few years. Fewer goods are making it into the stores. And we are seeing fewer choices among the foods that are available. With the rising cost of gasoline, we will continue to have delivery problems.

There are a plenty of reasons for the supply chain issues… lack of workers, shortages of parts, ships sitting in the harbor not being unloaded, fewer trucks to deliver, etc. And while we have food available in our local stores, today we don’t have the variety of products that we had just a few years ago.

Energy Costs Are Skyrocketing

I really don’t need to explain this topic. It’s quite obvious to all of us that the cost of gasoline, natural gas and propane are all rising dramatically. Consumers are feeling these rising costs in a trickle down pattern.

If the farmer has to spend more money to fuel his equipment, that costs us more in food prices. When the manufacturer has to pay more to process the food, they pass the cost on to us. We feel it when the shipper has higher delivery costs. Even the grocery stores increase prices to cover their increased costs. If the cost of energy goes up, so do our food prices.

A Hedge Against Inflation

With rising inflation, we’re seeing our money purchase less of everything. Inflation can make it difficult for us to buy all the food we need. When you grow some of your own food, you’ll save on your food budget. This will give you peace of mind that you can help to feed your family.

There are many ways to make your money go further. Here are a few ways you can stretch your food dollars with your garden…

• Save seeds from your produce for next year.
• Learn to preserve your extra produce such as canning, freezing and dehydrating.
• Extend your growing season by starting and ending with cool season crops.
• Create a sharing system with your friends and neighbors. You can trade some of your bumper tomato crop for their extra green beans.
• Consider adding ways to protect your crops such as a cold frame or greenhouse.

An Opportunity to Practice

Remember the old adage… practice makes perfect. Even if you have gardened for years, there’s always more to learn to improve on your ability to grow food. Now is the time to develop skills while we still have an abundant supply of food available. If your tomato seedlings don’t grow, you can pick up the tomato plants you need at your local garden center. If your pepper plants aren’t producing, you can head to the farmer’s market.

When you fail at something, you can learn to do it better next time. Starting now gives you time to figure out why your tomato seedlings died or what you can do to boost your pepper crop. So that next growing season you’ll be better prepared not to fail. By practicing, we learn from our mistakes.

Many of us have never experienced long-term shortages of food. You might think that this is crazy talk. Believe me, I get it. But in this time of the perfect storm, we might face some major shortages. I’m not trying to be Chicken Little. Instead, I’m planning ahead, preparing for the worst case and praying for the best.

Do I think that next month we’ll see totally bare shelves? No, but we don’t know what this summer, autumn or next year will bring. What I know is that this is the time to learn. We have an opportunity to grow more of our own food. And we’ll be better prepared to deal with shortages if they come. Growing a garden can help keep your food costs down, even if shortages never materialize.

Benefits of Growing a Victory Garden…

Besides the possibility of some food shortages coming, there are many other benefits and blessings of growing food in your garden. Here are some additional benefits of growing fruits, vegetables and herbs.

1. Fresh produce you grow and harvest tastes so much better than store-bought.
2. You get to spend more time outdoors in the beautiful world God created.
3. Sunlight provides a healthy dose of Vitamin D, which can strengthen your immune system and improve your mood.
4. You’ll have fruits and vegetables to share with your friends and family.
5. Working in the garden gets your body moving. Lifting, bending, stretching, and walking can help keep us active and healthy.
6. Grow herbs to create medicinal products such as my Sage, Honey and Lemon Tea.
7. Preserve some of your homegrown produce for the winter months by freezing, canning, and dehydrating.
8. In the garden, you can tune out all the noise of the media and political problems that constantly bombard us. Instead, enjoy the sounds of the bees buzzing and the birds singing.

READ: 10 Proven Ways to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden All Season Long

Steps to Grow Your Victory Garden…

Many of you already garden. You grow lovely flowers in your beds and borders. Soon your flower pots will burst into bloom. Gardeners love to grow. But it’s sometimes hard to find the time to grow both flowers and produce. And where do you find the space when your garden is filled with beautiful blooms? This is a dilemma for many of us. Here’s how to get started…

Step 1: Assess

Take some time to think about what space you have available to grow some of your food. Walk around your yard and garden and get a feel for what options you might have available. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How much space do you currently have for growing food?
• Do you regularly grow produce in your garden? If so, what and how much do you grow?
• Do you grow any herbs?
• Are there any areas that you could convert into garden beds?
• Could you add in fruiting landscape plants such as blueberries?
• Are there any areas where you could build a raised bed?
• Do you have a grassy area that you could convert to growing beds?

I am not suggesting that you destroy your yard and garden to grow more food. Instead, use your gardener’s eyes to see what opportunities you have available. Can you squeeze in a few more plants into your current garden area? Could you convert a few large flower pots into herb pots? Could you add some perennial vegetables to your flower beds? Do you have a wasted side yard that you could set up to grow plants? Could you grow produce in window boxes?

Step 2: Plan

You now have a better idea of where you can grow some produce. What would you like to grow? Take some time to plan what you will grow in your garden. I highly recommend you only grow produce that your family will eat. If your family hates broccoli, then don’t grow it. Plant that space with something your family loves, such as tomatoes or spinach.

While you’re in this planning stage, make a list of what supplies you need. Although you might not want to try indoor seed starting this year, it’s not too late to get some seeds started outdoors if your weather allows for that. This year you might start with nursery-grown plants but practice growing some seeds so you know what supplies you need to get for next year.

What Should You Grow?

There are so many options for growing produce in your garden. Here’s a short list of easy-to-grow options:

• Garlic
• Onions
• Beans
• Peas
• Tomatoes
• Summer squash
• Winter squash
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Sunflowers
• Herbs

Prepare your beds, borders and pots for the season. As soon as your weather allows, get started planting.

Most likely, the shortages that we’re facing will be a multi-year process. So keep that in mind as you plan for this year’s garden. Consider what you will grow for the next few years as well.

Step 3: Start Small

If you’ve never grown produce before, the entire process can be overwhelming. And when we get overwhelmed, we tend to do nothing. Instead, start small. When you’re first starting out, add in one small growing bed and plant something easy, like a cherry tomato and some green beans. Or grow some produce in large flower pots if you’re not ready to create a new garden bed. You might also consider adding some grow bags on your patio if you’re not ready to give up garden space for produce.

If you already grow a vegetable garden, consider expanding it so you can grow a little more food. That was one reason we added in the new No Dig beds. We wanted to expand our space for growing crops such as potatoes. We usually grow a small amount of potatoes, but we wanted to grow more. This year, we’re also experimenting with sweet potatoes.

Encouragement for your Victory Garden…

Growing more produce in your garden takes some extra effort and practice. This garden season gives us the chance to learn from our mistakes. In the past, my husband and I grew flowers and vegetables from seeds outdoors. That meant we didn’t need indoor growing supplies. This year, I tested the process to start our seeds indoors. I’ve learned a few important things along the way. First, I don’t have all the equipment I need and second, ‘damping off’ is a thing… a terrible thing (expect a post on that in the near future).

Am I tearing out all of my flowers and garden plants that are so dear to me? Absolutely not. I’m still planning to grow my cutting garden and can’t wait for this year’s beautiful blooms. But I’m focused on growing more vegetables and adding in more fruiting plants such as strawberries and blueberries into my landscape. I’m increasing the amount of herbs I’m growing. And of course, we added in those No Dig beds to help expand our growing area. What’s a little less lawn to mow?

We can grow food for ourselves and our families. Just a few generations ago, it was unheard of that Americans didn’t grow some of our own food. Yet today, very few people take the time to grow their vegetables, herbs and fruits. We have the opportunity now to grow some of our food. Let’s take this time to grow our own Victory Gardens.

There’s nothing better than going out to your garden and picking a fresh tomato in the summer or serving up a pot of homegrown green beans with your meal. The more you grow your own produce, the more excited you’ll get to try even more things.

So even if the sky never falls, the shortages never materialize, and the supply chain provides farmers with the fertilizer they need, growing a Victory Garden, will provide many benefits. You’ll have improved your garden skills, filled your table with delicious bounty and you’ll have extra to share with friends and family.

Now get out there are start growing your very own Victory Garden!