- Author: Chris M. Webb
The current resurgence in home and community gardens is similar to previous calls to garden in our country – most notably the victory garden movements of WWI and WWII. Using gardens and the food that comes from them, we can profoundly change our lives and our communities.
Both World War victory garden movements were extremely successful. The goals for WWI were covered in a previous post . While there were similar goals for WWII, some additional goals included:
- Improving health by gardening
- Proper storage and preservation of surplus
- Enabling families and institutions to save money on vegetables, so the money could be used for other necessities
- Gardens for urban dwellers
- Mobilizing and unifying Americans.
And as it had been in 1917, the American people pitched in together and went to work. The early 1940’s were also years of great food production by everyday people.
We are in the midst of a new cycle of a garden movement. While there are many reasons people are gardening today, there is a growing demand for food that is tasty, nutritious, and economically and environmentally sustainable. In 2009, there were 4 million new gardeners nationwide. We are even happier to report that the enthusiasm and planting continues!
To learn more, please see our previous posts on Victory Gardens and or contact our office .
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Join expert composter Lorraine Walters on Saturday, September 4 and learn about composting, vermicompost and mulch to improve the health of your soil. Healthy soil can increase production, reduce the likelihood of insects and disease, reduce water needs and more.
This class will be held at Community Roots Garden. Scheduled topics include:
- How to make compost from common materials such as food scraps, grass clippings, and leaves.
- Faster composting methods that take more attention as well as the slower, easier methods.
- How to make extra high-grade compost using redworms (called vermicomposting).
- How to use compost to build your soil.
- How to use mulch to build your soil, and the difference between compost and mulch.
For further information please contact Community Roots Garden at 805/616-2326, info@communityrootsgarden.org or www.communityrootsgarden.org.
Composting expert, Lorraine Walters
- Author: Chris M. Webb
UC ANR’s Weed Research & Information Center (WRIC) is an important resource for weed management. Their mission statement is:
The Weed Research and Information Center is an interdisciplinary collaboration that fosters research in weed management and facilitates distribution of associated knowledge for the benefit of agriculture and for the preservation of natural resources.
In addition to information about the program, their website has a calendar of upcoming related short courses and provides links to UC ANR publications and other resources and organizations for weed management.
In addition to this statewide resource, our website has a “Weed and Invasive Plants of Ventura County” page. To find out more please click here!
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Ventura County UCCE Director, Rose Hayden-Smith is passionate about increasing self-sufficiency and nutrition through gardening. In addition to being our director, Rose is currently a Kellogg Fellow. As a Fellow, she is currently working on food policy on a national level. Her tag line is, "A Garden for Everyone. Everyone in a Garden."
We have a wonderful example of these goals in action right here in Ventura County! Community Roots Garden in Oxnard covers a full acre of ground, and is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished by people working together towards a shared goal.
From their website, “The mission of Community Roots Garden is largely to increase food security, both by providing the harvest to those in need and by empowering the community to grow their own food. Besides growing food we are eager to grow community. We want to help ourselves and others become more self-sufficient and food secure. We want to share our food and share our knowledge about how to grow food. And we invite your involvement.”
Please visit the Community Roots Garden website for inspiration, details and contact information.
More about Rose’s work as a Kellogg Fellow can be found her Victory Grower Blog.
Community Roots Garden
- Author: Chris M. Webb
So you’d like to plant a vegetable garden but you don’t have room at home? Or maybe you do have room at home, but would enjoy some camaraderie while you plant and harvest? Community gardens can be a great solution to either of these situations.
Ventura County has lots of opportunities for those who would like to have a plot at a community garden. On the Ventura County UCCE website we offer a guide to local gardening resources, which can be found here.
In addition to available garden plots, this resource also includes contact information for groups such as the Grow Food Party Crew and the Ventura City Corps that assist others in establishing their own gardens. The UCCE Master Gardener Speaker’s Bureau is another great resource and is available for talks to groups on a variety of subjects.
Several local food banks are a great place to take your excess harvest. The food banks in turn can quickly deliver the fresh fruits and vegetables to outlets throughout our community for those in need. Local food bank contacts are also available in this resource.
Lastly there are many places one can find locally produced compost and mulch. David Goldstein, an environmental resource analyst for the County of Ventura explains the difference between compost and mulch in addition to providing details on how the products are produced. He also includes contact information to find locally produced compost and mulch -- some is free, and the costs of the others vary. Some places can even deliver directly to your home or community garden for an additional fee.