Cheryl told me that during World War II, somewhere around 40% of all produce in America was from victory gardens*(see citation below). This nearly blew my mind. It also says a great deal about how much cultural knowledge in regard to growing has evaporated since then. So what are we at now? 5 – 7 percent tops? Everyone in Indiana can’t not plant a few tomato and pepper plants, so the ratio here might be different — maybe:
8% homegrown produce
22% gravy
70 % ground beef, mixed meats and pork chops.
So this year I’m shooting to grow/forage** 10% of the household food (& maybe up my gravy consumption). These are the seed we have either under the grow light or soon to be in the ground :
Swiss Chard (2 varieties)
And we’ll throw wildflower seeds at the edge of woods to encourage more disorder there.
Onwards!
Joe
*Kitchen table, Sunday 3.22.09
**Last year I foraged a negative amount of food. Throwing up being involved.
