Confessions of...an urban gardener

Better World’s editor, Emma Williams investigates the ‘Grow your own’ trend and asks how relevant the ‘Digging for victory’ ethos is to today’s need for more sustainable lifestyles.

“Use spades not ships!” declared the posters, part of what was to become one of the best known slogans of the Second World War. The ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign was launched one month after the war began when 75 per cent of Britain’s food was imported. With the key supply line across the Atlantic the target of sustained attacks by German U-boats, it was feared Britain would quickly run out of food.

The success of the campaign is legendary. Parks, gardens and football pitches were turned over to the growing of vegetables in an effort to make Britain self-sufficient. Families were encouraged to keep chickens and ducks for their eggs and whole communities jointly reared rabbits, pigs and goats. Nothing was wasted - even table scraps were collectedfor pig feed.

It is estimated that over 1.4 million people had allotments by 1945 and acreage of land used for food production had increased by 80 per cent. Food imports were slashed in half between 1939 and 1945.

More than 60 years later the ‘Dig for Victory’ ethos is enjoying a resurgence. Many new initiatives have adopted the slogan to represent their ‘grow your own’ activities and it seems that the concept is spreading as a solution to the sustainability challenge.

Back to the land

Claire Grove, a marketing manager from Warfield in Berkshire, is one devotee. After installing raised vegetable beds last year, she recently added three hens, much to the surprise of her suburban neighbours. So what prompted her?

She says: “I wanted to know exactly what we were eating and how it was grown. The chickens were my six year old son’s idea but the more I looked into it, the more sold I was. They are easy to look after, have great characters and the excitement it gives the children when they go on the hunt for eggs is fantastic. It's creating great childhood memories for them.”

She adds: “It's also great they know how food is produced, what it should look like, and that it doesn't come automatically wrapped in clingfilm.”

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