The resurgence of home vegetable garden in making a comeback with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the rising food costs. So to help Ceres residents get started on planting a vegetable garden as the warmer weather approaches, the Ceres Garden Club is doing its part by offering a free consultation and a few seeds to get started.
Members of the Ceres Garden Club will direct residents on where and what vegetables and herbs to plant in any yard based on site location for sun, radiant heat off of buildings, water source, and any potential water run-off. The free consultation is provided by members experienced in home gardening, who are certified through National Garden Clubs, Inc. as Gardening Consultants, are Master Gardeners, and/or are Food Preservers. Members will make recommendations on whether to use flower beds, boxes and patio flower pots.
Home gardens or “victory gardens” were popular during both World War I and II to decrease the pressure on food supply.
“Eager to improve the environment while promoting a healthy lifestyle, I consider a victory garden a contribution for civic engagement,” said Manjeet Dosanjh, chairman of the club’s Victory Gardens project.
Available on a limited basis, most of the free seeds are heirloom vegetables and herbs which can be harvested with seeds saved to be planted in the next growing season. Seeds will be offered to project participants who have prepared the recommended spaces.
In 1942, roughly 15 million families planted victory gardens. By 1944, an estimated 20 million victory gardens produced roughly 8 million tons of food—which was the equivalent of more than 40 percent of all the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States at that time. Some of the most popular produce grown included beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, peas, tomatoes, turnips, squash and Swiss chard.
To get started with a home Victory Garden and to schedule a free consultation, residents may contact the project Dosanjh at 410-8845; or member Stephanie Pino by email at ponderosahouse@gmail.com.
A charitable organization offering college scholarship and promoting civic beautification, the Ceres Garden Club, along with other federated garden clubs by National Garden Clubs, Inc. is also “dedicated to preservation and conservation of the natural resources of the planet Earth, and to promoting education so that all may become caretakers of the air, water, forests, land and wildlife.” The Ceres Garden Club is a California Garden Clubs, Inc. awarded Blue-Ribbon Achievement garden club that promotes gardening, floral design, civic beautification, environmental responsibility, and the exchange of information and ideas.
Membership is open to like-minded individuals interested in continued learning about gardening and participating in community projects. Meetings are held monthly (except July and August) on the third Thursday of the month at 10 a.m. at the Ceres Community Center’s upstairs Conference Room, at 2701 Fourth Street. Currently meetings are being held virtually online or outdoors allowing for social distancing to follow county mandates.
