Victory Gardens in 2013

I love The Greatest Generation. They weren't called The Greatest Generation for nothing... they were amazing in so many different ways. The Great Depression and World War II are both examples of when people had to "use it up, wear it up, make it do, or do without". Restaurants were a rare treat. They had to eat leftovers, they had to make sure they used up every last bit of butter in that container. Since food was rationed so tightly, gardening was encouraged, and they were called "Victory Gardens". Planting Victory Gardens taught people to be a little less dependent on the supermarket, because sometimes not everyone got their "fair share"because of rationing.

Disclaimer: I own none of the following pictures. All are used for education purposes.

You definitely won't see any of these pictures in this day and age, which is really sad. I hope these posters will encourage you to can food. When canning you avoid all the nasty pesticides and perservatives big companies put in your veggies. And believe it or not, despite all those fancy different labels, an intense research shows that most of the vegetables are all from the same place, with a different label slapped on the can/package.

For gardening tips, tricks, and inspiration - Pinterest! :) Now it doesn't have to be super-fancy or cute, a garden is a garden and food is food.

Last year, with four rows of tomato plants and two rows of peppers, we canned spaghetti sauce and salsa constantly. But hey, it was completely worth it, and now store-bought salsa doesn't even sound appealing to us anymore.  You can see our salsa recipe here.