You’re probably climbing the walls by now as the lockdown caused by the Coronavirus goes into its third month. As states try to open up, there is still a threat of a spike in the virus causing us to lockdown again.
One-way to cope with the temporary new normal is to pursue your gardening passions. Many of you may be too young to realize that pursuing the hobby of gardening during troubled times is a legendary undertaking.
History
In World War I, there were food shortages. As a result, the federal government urged citizens to create “Liberty Gardens.” You are probably unaware that a school was created called the U.S. School Garden Army to teach children how to garden. The effort helped to make the little ones feel that they were contributing toward the war effort.
The Liberty Gardens went away at the end of the war because the United States had a robust farming industry.
But, the desire to turn to the garden was resurrected during the Great Depression when millions of Americans were out-of-work, and many people had to garden just to survive. Since some of them may not have been pursuing the gardening hobby, gardeners at the time grew basic foods that were easy to grow. These included potatoes and beans. These foods were high in calories and nutrition.
The Depression and the gardening trend continued on to World War II. Encouraged again the help the country’s war effort and “National Victory Gardens” appeared in the countrysides and the cities. The effort was essential at the time. In 1944, 40 percent of the foods grown in the United States were harvested from the National Victory Gardens.
Again, as in the case with the “Liberty Gardens” in World War I, “National Victory Gardens” faded away after World War II and the farming industry took on the task of feeding America again.
For those of you who don’t remember the oil embargo of the 1970’s that forced a shortage in gasoline and high prices for it. In many cases the cost of gasoline made it difficult for people to buy enough groceries to feed their families. Gardening again became very popular.
And now, here we go again. Gardening is an important hobby that is helping many of us to cope with the new reality.
For those of you who are not well versed in the endeavor of gardening, there are many blogs here at Lawneq.com that educate you on the topic. There are also other sites on the Internet where you can get your questions answered.
Another good source of information for gardening neophytes is a university cooperative extension. A number of land-grant universities throughout the United States have these programs.
Teaching The Kids
The lockdown experience now involves parents home schooling their children at with assistance from schools through the Internet. Children’s passion to learn has been transferred to their homes.
For parents or a mother who has a gardening passion, now is a great opportunity to hand that passion down to your kids. Get them involved in your gardening projects and encourage them to get involved in projects of their own. No doubt their school can provide you with ideas on how to carry their education to the garden. There are also websites that offer ideas on how to get your children involved.
So, as you can see, there is no reason for staying locked up in your home during the pandemic. Pursuing a gardening hobby doesn’t need to involve a lot of people. Just be sure you wear a mask and wash your hands. Go out and have some fun.
(Source: Sebsnjaesnwes.rutgers.edu)
