In Topanga and around L.A., the 'victory garden' is back

These days, digging some holes and planting a little lettuce or a few beets is a political act. Just ask Julie Stern, who shares a backyard organic garden with her neighbor in Topanga Canyon. Stern worked at the polls on election day. "There's a feeling you had," she said. "You saw your neighbors, and you felt good about what you did." Growing food, she added, "I sort of do feel the same way."

The Times' Mary MacVean reports on the return of the "victory garden" around L.A.:

"Decades ago, the victory gardens planted at the behest of the federal government helped the United States cope with food shortages during World War II. (In World War I, they were liberty gardens.) By 1943, Americans planted more than 20 million victory gardens -- at homes and schools and in parks -- that were reported to produce 8 million tons of food that one old film called "America's hidden weapon."

Now, in community gardens and backyards, and of course on the Internet, a new victory garden movement has captured the attention of people who want to lessen their reliance on mass-produced or imported food, reduce their carbon footprint, foster a sense of community or save on their grocery bills in a fractured economic climate."

--Shelby Grad

Comments

[Diana B]

I read today's article in the L.A. Times about the return of Victory gardens with interest, but I think it's well to remember that the pollution from lead-based gasoline that blanketed the Los Angeles area for decades has made the soil in some areas unfit for gardening. I remember a few years ago that homeowners in the foothills of the east San Gabriel Valley were warned not to eat backyard produce because the lead content in the soils where the smog had backed up for so many years was high enough to make home-grown food unsafe.