The recent turmoil has not only made us reconsider our purchasing patterns, vacation plans and menus, it has also re-ignited the concept of Victory gardens here in the region.

Victory gardens were a movement that turned households and communities into backyard farmers. They were implemented during the 20th century’s two world wars to provide fresh produce to local communities, when food was otherwise needed to feed armies and shipping was threatened by U-boats.

Food production was the initial motivation for governments to encourage war or Victory gardens.

But at the start of the First World War, when Britain was embracing backyard food gardening, the Canadian government was discouraging it.

Officials thought that turning Canadian city dwellers who had never planted a carrot or rutabaga in their lives into gardeners would produce little food and waste resources.

Besides, most Canadians at the time lived on farms or in small towns and were already growing some, if not most, of their own food. The nabobs in Ottawa didn’t see how backyard gardens in the country’s cities would make much difference.

More intrinsic benefits to war gardens soon emerged, however. It became clear that local........

© Times Colonist