Topic: *Dig For Victory*

[Lauren S]

Today, sat on my bench outside my summer house at the allotment, I was thinking (I know, I know...It's rare  ::))

During the World Wars, when people were encouraged to
*Dig for Victory*...

1. Where did people get their seeds?
2. What were people encouraged to grow mostly?
3. Because of food rationing, did many people lose much of the stuff they grew?
4. If they didn't have a garden, where did they grow their produce? Were there more allotments than there are now?

[tilts]

Have a look at this link, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWdig.htm
I also think that the BBC site Peoples War has some very interesting articles, straight as they say from the horses mouth.

[Lauren S]

Thanks Tilts.
The link answered alot of the questions  :)

[Eristic]

Seeds were bought from the local seed merchant or saved and shared between family and friends.

One of my jobs as a young lad was to go to the local seed merchant (Cannells of Loddon) with Dads seed list.

The man in his brown warehouse coat would then pull big wooden boxes of seeds out, bring them to the counter and weigh out the required amounts. Names were written on paper bags and the loose seed tipped in, often 2 vars in one bag.

Firms like Suttons and Marshalls etc all started out as local busnesses serving the nearby farmers and gardeners.

[Trevor_D]

I still have my father's gardening book, with a chapter devoted to the 'correct' way to plan an allotment to keep a family self-sufficient in vegetables, and another on "How to convert a garden in the present emergency" (including advice on where to site the Anderson shelter and how to cover it with trailing marrows).

My father kept chickens in the bottom third of our garden, with soft fruit in the middle third. I'm not aware that there was much in the way of pilfering, but there was a lot of bartering, so perhaps it wasn't needed. We didn't haven't any fruit trees, but we never went short of apples. And our neighbours didn't go short of eggs!

[saddad]

There was a much greater acerage of allotments... if you look at any town/city OS map from the late 30's or early 50's .... and large areas of parks were dug up as well..
 :)

[Lauren S]

I just find all the answers fascinating.
The *Where did they get the seeds* question is what I just couldn't find out on line. Thank you so much for your replies.  :)

[Trevor_D]

On the question of buying seeds, this method lasted long after the war. In Melksham, Wiltshire (& probably loads of other towns), the hardware shop used to have boxes & baskets in the street outside the window, with everything from beans to carrots. You scooped out as many as you wanted into a paper bag, went in, got them weighed and paid.

This was in the '70s and '80s!

And I remember Suttons when they were at Reading (the site is now Suttons Business Park). You went in with your seed order & they made it up on the spot for you. I seem to remember that the original office was just a converted detached house.

As for allotments, where we lived (in Greenford, NW London) there were two sites within a 3-minute walk. And both parks had allotments as well.

[Lauren S]

Wouldn't it be nice if you could still buy seeds in quantities you wanted instead of what the seed companies THINK you need.

[robkb]

Wouldn't it be nice if you could still buy seeds in quantities you wanted instead of what the seed companies THINK you need.

If you're ever in Trago Mills (the big one in Cornwall, near Liskeard) they still do this for some seeds (mainly bigger ones like beans and peas) and also for some varieties of seed potatoes.

And there were loads more allotments during the war - there's an excellent book called (surprisingly) The Allotment by David Crouch and Colin Ward that has lots of info about the amounts of land given over to allotments during WW1 and WW2 and how much has been lost since:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allotment-Its-Landscape-Culture/dp/0907123910/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194965390&sr=1-26

On a personal note, I recently found a fascinating photo of Greenwich Park during the war, and whole sections of it were under the plough, so to speak...

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[Lauren S]

I live not far from Trago Mills, Newton Abbot. I don't think I've seen seeds sold lose there, but I will look closely next spring.

Thanks Rob

[RosieMcPosie]

this is so fascinating. thanks everyone!

[robkb]

I live not far from Trago Mills, Newton Abbot. I don't think I've seen seeds sold lose there, but I will look closely next spring.

Thanks Rob

I've only seen them in the gargantuan store near Liskeard, but you never know...

Cheers,
Rob ;)

[Vony]

We use to get them from the Land Army Girls.

Vony

Ps Well my Mum and Dad did.

[valmarg]

My memories are of the late 40s/early 50s.

Mum and dad kept a small greengrocery shop, but they also sold seeds/seed potatoes, etc.  By this time they were in packets.  The Company dad bought them from was Harrisons of Leicester.  He also used to mark out a plot roughly 4' square, and sow rows of varieties of cabbages, caulis, brussels, and sell the young plants per score (20 plants to the younger contributors).

Most men had lotties.  It was somewhere to go to get away from the wife's nagging, and also a peaceful place for them to reflect on their experiences in the war.

When you look at the wartime rations, if you didn't grow your own, keep your own chickens, pigs, etc I wouldn't say you would have starved, but you would have gone hungry a few times.

At the more exotic end of the scale in his greenhouse grandad had the most fantastic muscat grapevine, he also grew pineapples, and where he worked they had an orangery with peaches.  Rare treats, but even now, if I shut my eyes and think back, I can drool.

valmarg
 

[Larkshall]

"He also used to mark out a plot roughly 4' square, and sow rows of varieties of cabbages, caulis, brussels, and sell the young plants per score (20 plants to the younger contributors)."

My father used to grow plant for sale. He had a customer came and wanted cabbage plants, he asked for 200, my father told him to take the lot (he didn't want to count and tie them up). The customer probably got about 500 for the price of 200. He went away very happy, turned out he was a farmer wanting to plant up part of a field.

[Jitterbug]

I have actual pdf copies of the actual Dig for Victory brochures that were handed out. Right down to how many rows etc. to plant.  If anyone wants me to send it to them let me me have your email addresses.  I cannot find my attachment tool here so am unable to attach to this message.

I know that Wilverley Plain was converted into a HUGE vegetable garden during the war as part of the Dig for Victory Campaign.

I got them off one of the members of this site's pages.

Jitterbug

[Jitterbug]

Sent to the two who asked  ;D

Also found the site where you can find lots more about this period and how they managed...

http://www.earthlypursuits.com/AllotGuide/AllotGuide.htm

Happy reading. ;D ;D

Jitterbug

[Lauren S]

Thanks Jitter, much appreciated  :)