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The New Organic Victory Garden
Now Even Big City Dwellers are Doing it in the Back Yard!

In the mid-1940s the United States government asked the people to plant gardens to help support the downwardly spiraling economy and the war effort. During that time millions of people all over the country planted gardens called "Victory Gardens," and harvested nearly one third of all the vegetables consumed in the country. Gardening became a popular family or community effort planting vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees.

Now with the ever expanding state of economic uncertainty, many people are again looking for ways to not only stretch their food dollars, but also to avoid the high cost of healthcare by making better lifestyle choices, and so, the idea of the "Organic Victory Gardens" speared on by yours truly is tackling many of our current problems.

Now, even Michelle Obama is setting an example by planting a food garden at the White House, as did Eleanor Roosevelt in 1943 during another time of national crisis. It was reported in national news, in Eleanor's time; some 20 million people grew their own food to help relieve the food shortages of WWII.

While Michelle Obama's 1,000-square-foot organic vegetables garden will help to provide food for the first family's meals and possibly even formal dinners, she also talked about the garden as a means to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruits and vegetables.

With the growing national concern about obesity and diabetes especially among our children, more physical activities and better natural food choices should be encouraged. Creating and maintaining an organic garden perfectly fits that prescription.

When you think about it, growing your own food becomes part of the solution to many growing problems associated with modern living. Such as global warming and reducing your carbon footprint, like me, many people today are concerned about the foods we buy in the supermarkets, what kind of chemicals were used on them, how far have they traveled to reach the shelves in your local store and how long have they been there.

Growing your own organic food can be both fun and healthy. Not only is it great physical exercise and a way to slow down and reconnect yourself with your environment, it also provides an opportunity to take full control of what you put into your body.

Organic gardening/farming is nothing new, it was once the only way to farm. We then began to depend on chemicals and other unnatural methods to grow more, bigger and better. Now that the earth has suffered largely from damage due to these practices, and many of us suffer needlessly from health disorders associated with chemicals, steroids and other unnatural additives to soil, water and food, we are again returning to the way nature intended us to grow.

Organic farming doesn't mean sacrificing quality or quantity of product. You will find that since organic farming replenishes the soil rather than robbing it of nutrients, eliminates build-up of chemical products and allows for growing massive amounts of lush, healthy, pest-free produce, your yield will be the same, if not better, than with other methods of farming.

Getting Started in Organic Gardening is all about how you can start your first garden or farm or begin to convert your existing garden or farm into a healthy, productive and profitable, natural source of organically grown produce, plants and flowers. There is always something new to learn which makes for a great new hobby.

There are few greater satisfactions than slicing a fresh, juicy tomato and putting it on your sandwich, preparing a salad and knowing all the ingredients came from your own backyard, or picking fresh organic beans for a hearty dinner meal. Starting a successful organic vegetable garden may take some know how and some help in getting started, and practice that may span over several seasons, but don't become discouraged if you make some mistakes because we all learn from our mistakes. You will find that organic gardening may become the most rewarding hobby, or lifestyle, you have ever started and shared with your family and neighbors.

For many organic growers, farming or gardening is a passion. We feel a connection to the Earth and believe it has become a moral duty to protect her and provide for her. Aside from the apparently spiritual affiliation, it's just plain fun to be out in the sun playing in the dirt and watching things grow.

Happy Growing and Eat Organic. It's the Best for You and Your Family.

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Jay North is a pioneer in the organic farming industry. He authored Getting Started In Organic Gardening for Fun And Profit, as a means of sharing his philosophy of renewal and self-sustained living. He is an internationally recognized authority in organic gardening. www.GoingOrganic.com.