Bill Dugan, of Aurora, recalls that most of the vegetables he consumed as a child came from his family's victory garden
Jill Connor / The Citizen
Ed Ratazzi, of Rome, and Susan Boylan, of Westmorland, take in the rows of greens and herbs at the farm.
Ed Ratazzi, of Rome, and Susan Boylan, of Westmorland, take in the rows of greens and herbs at the farm.
Dugan, now 71, maintained a vegetable garden in Jersey City, N.J. when he was in elementary school during World War II - when basic food supplies were rationed.
“It was the thing to do back then,” Dugan said.
Dugan remembers food being in such low quantities at the grocery stores. If the supplies dwindled, people were forced to go without. His family's victory garden included peppers, tomatoes, carrots, onions and squash, which they canned.
Dugan doesn't maintain a victory garden any longer, but his yard features a flower garden and he has tomatoes and peppers growing in pots.
“I love to garden,” he said. “I plant for the sheer pleasure. You can take out all your anger on the world through pulling weeds. It's good therapy.”
And if locals want to relieve stress
and strain on their pocketbooks, several upcoming workshops on growing and maintaining a garden will be offered
locally.
According to Lou Leggo, owner of Elderberry Pond Farm, victory gardens were born in the 1930s during a time of economic recession. The government campaigned for people to grow part of their own food supply in their yard.
“With the current economy, the same idea applies,” Leggo said. “Lots of people quit gardening because of the dangers of chemicals and fertilizers. People can choose what they put on their own food if they have a garden.”
To plant a victory garden, Leggo recommends avoiding the use of chemicals and using natural methods.
Elderberry Pond, which was certified as an organic farm in 1999 by the Northeast Organic Farming Association, will teach organic gardening this weekend.
The intensive day-long workshop, “Fruit Tree Selection, Planting, Pruning and Care Using Organic Methods,” will cover the principles of organic orcharding and the best varieties for organic production. Also, a demonstration on pruning techniques and insect monitoring and trapping will take place.
“We teach in our classes that if the soil is healthy, than you don't have to use chemicals on a plant,” Leggo explained. “Sprays can kill micro-organisms that help plants kill the life supply they need, forcing you to use more chemicals and pesticides.”
Elderberry Pond Farm uses predatory insects and pheromone traps to control insects rather than chemicals and pesticides. They also use rye grain pasteurized as living mulch.
“There is a need for (information on vegetable gardening),” added Kathy Bardwell, Dickman Farms' garden center general manager.
Later this month, Dickman Farms will host its Va Va Bloom Garden Show. This year's show will enhance its efforts to promote the benefits of growing one's own food, especially the cost-saving benefits.
Bardwell stresses that using good soil and adding compost or manure will greatly benefit the outcome of one's garden. And to start one's garden off well, Cayuga County Master Gardeners will be on hand to provide soil testing during the workshops.
If you go
Organic Gardening Workshop
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 4
Where: Elderberry Pond Farm, 3728
Center St. Road, Auburn
Cost: $40, lunch included
For more information: Visit
elderberrypond.com or call 252-3977
Plant Workshop
When: 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 4
Where: Cayuga County Cornell
Cooperative Extension Education
Center, 248 Grant Ave., Auburn
Cost: $7
To learn more: Call 255-1183.
Va Va Bloom Garden Show
When: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 17; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 18, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 19
Where: Dickman Farms Greenhouses & Garden Center, 13 Archie St., Auburn
To learn more: Visit dickmanfarms.com for complete schedule, to register and costs for each event or call 253-3030
“It was the thing to do back then,” Dugan said.
Dugan remembers food being in such low quantities at the grocery stores. If the supplies dwindled, people were forced to go without. His family's victory garden included peppers, tomatoes, carrots, onions and squash, which they canned.
Dugan doesn't maintain a victory garden any longer, but his yard features a flower garden and he has tomatoes and peppers growing in pots.
“I love to garden,” he said. “I plant for the sheer pleasure. You can take out all your anger on the world through pulling weeds. It's good therapy.”
And if locals want to relieve stress
and strain on their pocketbooks, several upcoming workshops on growing and maintaining a garden will be offered
locally.
According to Lou Leggo, owner of Elderberry Pond Farm, victory gardens were born in the 1930s during a time of economic recession. The government campaigned for people to grow part of their own food supply in their yard.
“With the current economy, the same idea applies,” Leggo said. “Lots of people quit gardening because of the dangers of chemicals and fertilizers. People can choose what they put on their own food if they have a garden.”
To plant a victory garden, Leggo recommends avoiding the use of chemicals and using natural methods.
Elderberry Pond, which was certified as an organic farm in 1999 by the Northeast Organic Farming Association, will teach organic gardening this weekend.
The intensive day-long workshop, “Fruit Tree Selection, Planting, Pruning and Care Using Organic Methods,” will cover the principles of organic orcharding and the best varieties for organic production. Also, a demonstration on pruning techniques and insect monitoring and trapping will take place.
“We teach in our classes that if the soil is healthy, than you don't have to use chemicals on a plant,” Leggo explained. “Sprays can kill micro-organisms that help plants kill the life supply they need, forcing you to use more chemicals and pesticides.”
Elderberry Pond Farm uses predatory insects and pheromone traps to control insects rather than chemicals and pesticides. They also use rye grain pasteurized as living mulch.
“There is a need for (information on vegetable gardening),” added Kathy Bardwell, Dickman Farms' garden center general manager.
Later this month, Dickman Farms will host its Va Va Bloom Garden Show. This year's show will enhance its efforts to promote the benefits of growing one's own food, especially the cost-saving benefits.
Bardwell stresses that using good soil and adding compost or manure will greatly benefit the outcome of one's garden. And to start one's garden off well, Cayuga County Master Gardeners will be on hand to provide soil testing during the workshops.
If you go
Organic Gardening Workshop
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 4
Where: Elderberry Pond Farm, 3728
Center St. Road, Auburn
Cost: $40, lunch included
For more information: Visit
elderberrypond.com or call 252-3977
Plant Workshop
When: 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 4
Where: Cayuga County Cornell
Cooperative Extension Education
Center, 248 Grant Ave., Auburn
Cost: $7
To learn more: Call 255-1183.
Va Va Bloom Garden Show
When: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 17; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 18, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 19
Where: Dickman Farms Greenhouses & Garden Center, 13 Archie St., Auburn
To learn more: Visit dickmanfarms.com for complete schedule, to register and costs for each event or call 253-3030
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