By Phoebe Coburn

World War II victory garden poster (image from Food and Drug Administration).

World War II victory garden poster (image from Boston Public Library).

Just over a hundred years ago, amidst the 1918 influenza pandemic and World War I, the “victory garden” was born. Twenty years later, during World War II, the U.S. government again rallied Americans to plant victory gardens to help alleviate food shortages and supplement rations. An estimated 20 million victory gardens were planted in backyards, on rooftops, and community green spaces across America. These plots produced about 9 to 10 million tons of food, or about 40 percent of the nation’s vegetables during that time. The effort was also considered a “morale booster” by empowering gardeners with a purpose during wartime, and rewarding families and communities and with fresh produce.

After the 2008 recession, victory gardens made a comeback. And they will again this growing season. Whether you’re new to gardening or you’re a green thumb hungry to learn more, the University of Idaho Teton County, Idaho extension is offering a free online Victory Garden course. The program was created to train individuals and families on how to “successfully plan, plant, harvest, prepare and preserve affordable and healthy food.” The self-guided class includes ten online sessions with videos, lectures, activities, and reading. The course is available to take at your own pace up until December 2020. There’s even a Facebook group where you can connect with fellow victory gardeners.

Ian McGregor, co-owner of Farmstead Cider and Farms, and Jennifer Werlin, Community Food Systems Extension Educator for the University of Idaho Teton County Extension, offered some tips on gardening in Jackson Hole. Our short growing season and wildlife (read: deer) can present unique challenges. Here are Ian and Jennifer’s tips for local gardeners:

Embrace the short season with hardy plants. The short growing season can be hard to get around without investing in an expensive greenhouse. Plant frost-tolerant greens, such as kale, chard, spinach, and arugula. Some veggies, like carrots, beets, and kale, thrive in cold weather and only get sweeter as the nights get colder in the fall.
A row cover can help extend your season without much cost. Using a row cover can help protect your germinating seedlings. Sow your seeds and then lay the row cover directly on the ground to help maintain even soil temperature and moisture.
Build a raised bed. Raised beds allow the soil to warm more quickly and can extend your growing season by weeks to months, especially if you use other season extension techniques like row covers, cloches, and cold frames. Plus, raised beds can help with weed and critter management.
Plant a little more densely than the packaging recommends. Ian likes to plant his veggies a little closer together than packaging recommends. This helps build a dense canopy quickly and will help soils stay moist that otherwise tend to dry out quickly in the intense Rocky Mountain sunshine. But, one thing to keep in mind with dense planting is that the plants will take up more nutrients, so adding ample organic matter is important. Jennifer adds compost to the top three to four inches of soil once or twice a year (spring and fall).
Start some seedlings inside and sow some directly into the ground. Ian likes to start some greens inside and sow some directly into the ground. “It’s like an insurance policy, if something doesn’t come up, I’ll have another crop,” he says. You can start head lettuces, kale, chard, and herbs in trays inside right now. In late April or early May, sow another batch of seeds straight into the ground. Parsley and dill take well to direct seeding outside, as well as cucumbers and peas. Root crops, like carrots, beets, and radishes, are best seeded directly into the garden. With real heat-loving plants, like tomatoes and eggplant, you can get a head start on the growing season by buying those as starts from a nursery. Jennifer has also had success planting her tomatoes from seed. She saves her favorite non-hybrid/open-pollinated tomato seeds that do well in our climate. She’ll then use “wall o’ waters” (another season-extender technique) and movable containers/planters, so the plants can be brought inside if there’s a mid-season frost.
Companion planting. Ian likes to mix certain veggies in the same row together. For example, mixing carrot and radishes is a good trick. The radishes germinate quickly, within just a few days, which helps mark your row so you can begin weeding without mistaking your baby veggies for weeds. The carrots can take around two weeks to germinate, at which point the radishes have grown quite a bit and provide the carrots with shelter. Then, as you begin to harvest your radishes, you’ll loosen the soil around the carrots, which the carrots like. Arugula and kale are also good companions.
Plant a crop later in the season too. Consider doing a second or third round of planting later in the season. Frost-tolerant leafy greens planted in July can make some good eating as late as October. This also gives you an opportunity to freeze or can some of your produce to enjoy over the winter.
Plant some low-maintenance perennials. Perennials, such as rhubarb, sage, thyme, oregano, lovage, and tarragon, grow well in Jackson and will come back with little maintenance year after year. You can also dry these herbs and enjoy them through the winter. Ian recommends considering where you plant your perennials wisely though, as they can be troublesome to work around when you’re tilling your soil.
Try smelly soap or an electric fence to deter deer. In the past, Ian has had some success deterring deer and elk for short periods of time by stringing chunks of a strong-smelling soap up around the perimeter of the garden. He says this can be a good tactic if you find that you only have problems with deer or elk a few days or weeks of the year as they’re migrating through your area. Another approach is planting deer-resistant veggies, like garlic and onions, around the perimeter of your garden. If you’re really struggling with uninvited guests in your garden, you might consider an electric fence.

We’d love to hear about your victory garden and share your photos on our social media pages throughout the season! Send your stories, gardening tips, and photos to phoebe@tetonconservation.org.