How would you take another dig for victory campaign?

[Digforvictories]

There are lots of worries involving the food industry these days-
•loss of biodiversity due to mono crops
•worries about climate change and how that could lead to famine
•loss of nutritional value in our food compared to 50 years ago
•fertiliser shortages (as we are seeing now)
•even fruit rotting due to lack of fruit pickers

How would you respond to posters and adverts, incentives or propaganda basically, asking you to dig a little veg patch, plant a fruit tree, harvest/ forrage berries or leaves? What about mushrooms?

I think myself I would feel a bit annoyed if the tories came out of their mansions and private jets asking me to dig for a victory against climate change. However if the green party put out a campaign I'd be all over it. (I would be happy but annoyed if the tories did it because it seems hypocritical, however I would still be pleased if they took any step toward not destroying the world)

This is purely hypothetical, I'm not some tory scout looking for young voters but I would be interested to know how people on here would take it and I'd also be interested to know what ot would take to make the average mumsnetter think about starting a garden or engaging in a community garden (I've lived in a flat and I know how pissed off I used to get at the eco warriors asking me to start a vegetable garden)

I know allotment holders aren't allowed to sell produce (annoying when it comes to gluts and you can't give enough away or freeze/ preserve/ eat) but would you consider buying fruit and vegetables from local allotments and community gardens? Would you pick fruit from a free orchard where you don't have to talk to anyone or pay? Would you set up a vegetable patch if you get get the resources (compost/ seeds/ pots/ information) freely and easily (and locally?)
Would you be interested in forraging for something more than blackberries if you knew what was safe and edible?

i always look in the eco groups and other groups on other websites and everyones tip posts just get bombarded with 'it's not that easy to grow your own' and I'm just interested in opinions on what would make it easier and how it would be taken if we were asked to dig for victory?
I imagine it would have been taken up less if there weren't rations to deal with back in ww2 and perhaps dig for victory was only as successful as it was because people were scared and hungry?

(can you tell I've been talking to my grandad?)

and no wont use slug pellets as we have hedgehogs round here

Would you donate and buy from a back yard producer who saves their own seeds? Or grows their own courgettes and leafy greens?
Or would you buy or trade home made jams and jarred goods?

There is an amazing dynamic at our allotment where all of the sahms (so the ones who have the time basically) make jams and chutneys and we all swap and give eachother tomatoes or beans or courgettes (they go to the newbies) apples and anything where you get a big crop. It's very sweet and I just don't see why it works there but not further?
I suppose the main reason would be we all have similar interests and know the work involved I suppose.

I have a garden and I grow my own veg. It takes a lot of work, seeds are relatively cheap, but facilities to get seedlings started are expensive or limited, weather is not always your friend and we are still under a hosepipe ban (Thames Water). Growing your own is a fun hobby and fresh veg is lovely, but it doesn’t exactly sustain DS and I. And it’s erratic and unreliable. 2021 was a glorious year of absolute abundance and a full freezer. 2022 was an absolute cock up and I got tomatoes from patio pots and pretty much nothing else.

So encouraging community gardens, more allotments, getting people into the fresh air, engaging kids with food sources, sharing knowledge about gardening and growing and generally making the country a nicer place are all absolutely laudable suggestions. Dig for Victory as a way to overcome food shortages arising from government policy, my fat arse!

There's a reason for most of history people have left the countryside for cities. It's hard work and risky.

I think it's a great idea but the reality of most Poole growing their own is so far removed from peoples skills these days. Working full time then spending evenings on allotments would be a significant change of lifestyle for most.

Honestly? I don't have time, to grow homegrown veg or plan buying it. There's a reason I don't drive 20 minutes to the local milk station or get my eggs from the farm shop that's only open mornings.

it actually works really well, the parents all take turns depending on who us here, watching eachothers kids but they can play together and go on the sings etc so the parents can still get things done. The kids aren't always interested and you can never get everyone (kids) on board to plant onions or something at the same time.
I gave my son his own bed to do as he pleased and he grew 2 pumpkins with no adult help at all. But he also goes crazy on the swingset and seesaw on his friends plot.

All of the kids (mine and friends) seem to be able able identify shoots and plants and know things that is just amazing. And none of us (bar one set of parents who homeschool) actively teach out kids anything, yet they are absorbing the information all the same.

The idea that kids aren't allowed on allotments or that kids should be involved in the work is what put off loads of us from coming and having a go, but then covid hit and 10 families joined in a year and the site is full, most of us are still here and loving it. But we have all said that we love the communal aspect for our kids and ourselves more than the food.

This is so surprising for me as I said before I am an anxious person and struggle with people. But i have my own space and some days I can go and speak to nobody and its fine, other days I can chat to everyone and its just lovely.

You need to get some raised beds, and fill them in with brought top soil. Then start a compost heap and keep adding organic material to the beds. By only doing a small area it still costs but a less.

You can also grow green manures (examples here) and then dig in the crop, which will really help your soil.

I think people romanticise it and are unrealistic. Working people, and especially parents, don't tend to have the time required to do this kind of thing.

It would get a lot of flak when "guests" take houses and benefits etc.

Plus companies like Shell make billions.

We have an organic growers Co operative locally. A bit like a community run giant allotment really. They do sell produce and it’s lovely. It only works as were an honest lot though. It’s left on shelves outside the field you put money inthehonesty box or transfer it online. I’d like to see more of that sort of thing as it spreads the responsibility.

Well I do grow my own veg so would be perfectly happy to expand on what I've got.

the bigger issue we have though is the current position in the UK of having farming and economic policies which are actively harmful to food production.

vast swathes of land previously used for food production are being planted with trees instead, for green washing or rewilding.

We've lost a significant percentage of the labour force required actually harvesting the produce that is grow.

Agricultural subsidy schemes (which historically were designed to keep food prices low/below the real cost of production) are increasingly favouring environmental schemes over food production.

Yes, all of the above. We spend a lot of time seeking out local providers - well, shacks at the side of the road really. Our 3 year old is farming and gardening obsessed and it's so sweet and wholesome we want to encourage him.

We live in a village known for amazing apple trees and it breaks my heart how people just leave them on the ground. We used to help collect for the community garden but it tailed off during covid. I'd love to help reinstate.

have you looked at those beds that are above ground?
you start off by layering logs and sticks, then add hay, then add food waste/ leaves/ and top it off with compost. The sticks and logs break down and encourage fungal network and the other bits break down and basically just become beautiful compost. I think its called hugle or something. you can make them waist high and plant on both sides.

How would you respond to posters and adverts, incentives or propaganda basically, asking you to dig a little veg patch, plant a fruit tree, harvest/ forrage berries or leaves? What about mushrooms?

I am EE immigrat😂 I do all that😂
You can't sustain yourself with it though. It is really just for extras

Well, I suppose we don't use the croquet lawn that much so we could grow things there. Perhaps keep chickens in the tennis court, and maybe trout in the swimming pool. Certainly food for thought (excuse the pun!).

We'll still have to have the tomato ketchup delivered from Waitrose though.

I live in a 1950s ex council flat, the gardens were sized with this in mind but I don't think many new builds were. However back in the 50s people had the time to sort out a vegetable plot, which as a single parent I don't really have, and although I've got the Internet and Monty Don I'm not sure I have enough know-how to grow enough veg to sustain a family. Although homegrown tomatoes can't get much better and we do grow a few things each year.

My grandparents family owned the greengrocers in their town from before WW1 - 1970s and sold their own produce grown in their garden in the shop.

With regards to the food shortage, do you realise that most of the shortage is in grain? Are you proposing that everyone starts growing their own wheat and milling it?

To be fair this probably only works for us because I am a sahm, but my dh works 6 days a week and he gets a lot of his excessive from the work involved
I'm interested in no dig (no prizes for the reason why!)

I like this idea, but that's now that my DC are teenagers and I work from home.

I did have an allotment in the past, but the DC were younger, I was a single mum and worked full time, had a commute, and there just weren't enough hours in the day so I had to give up the allotment. How to make it easier? Maybe small patches instead of full sized allotments. Also if someone is inexperienced it's easier to have less to look after. I thought the playground idea mentioned upthread was good, but there would need to be a clear divide between the play area/plants so nothing gets trampled etc. Not sure how practical that would be.

One thing I didn't like with the allotments was how some people would kind of try to take over, we didn't have running water there but there were large tanks that the council would fill up, and one guy padlocked the taps to stop anyone in the neighbouring houses taking the water (I'm not sure any of them ever did that anyway!). It took ages to get him to allow the other allotment people to have a key!

I grow my own veg in the garden now and I think on balance it does save money but I've been doing this since I was a kid helping my grandad and there have been loads of total failures over the years.

Seriously op how am I supposed to do any of that? I am physically disabled?

adaptations can be made, which will depend on the disability
eg there are raised troughs that allow a wheelchair user to access the soil
also, there's an amazing gardener on Gardeners World (sorry I don't know her name) who has v short arms and basically does everything with her feet

I’m a single working mother on a low income, I barely even have enough time to do the basics (laundry, cooking, washing up) and now you want me to grow my own food? When??

How would you respond to posters and adverts, incentives or propaganda basically, asking you to dig a little veg patch, plant a fruit tree, harvest/ forrage berries or leaves? What about mushrooms?

I wouldn't. One, because I don't have a 'little veg patch' to dig or to plant a fruit tree and as it's been pointed out, waiting lists for allotments can be years. Two, because in a city suburb the opportunities for foraging anything that will keep me fed are pretty much non-existent, people do it already and I prefer to leave stuff for wildlife. Three, with mushrooms you REALLY need to know what you are doing, and see point two.

I'd treat it as I treated most of the nudges and propaganda of the last two years - i.e ignoring it.

The campaign wouldn't be aimed at those who can't grow their own or who don't want to. The Op isn't suggesting that you have to do it.

It has got me thinking, I'd love a small patch to supplement bought fruit and veg. I certainly wouldn't be able to supply to others as we only have a tiny garden. I think an information campaign would be great.

Exactly.

I am disabled. I work f/t and look after myself. I have zero capacity for anything more.

I would feel so incredibly guilty and I already do. Because I don't do enough. It would just be another layer of guilt.