Page 18 - BOL Jul20 Edition

If You Took To Growing Veggies In The

Coronavirus Pandemic, Then Keep It

Up Now Lockdown Has Ended

The COVID-19 pandemic produced a run on the things people production. Community-based food production expanded, but it
need to produce their own food at home, including vegetable was not possible for everyone, and obstacles emerged. In Australia,
seedlings, seeds and chooks. This turn to self-provisioning was there were disruptions in the supply of seeds, fertiliser and even
prompted in part by the high price rises for produce – including rubber for garden hoses. In London, resourceful gardeners scraped
A$10 cauliflowers and broccoli for A$13 a kilo – and empty veggie pigeon droppings from buildings to feed their victory gardens.
shelves in some supermarkets. Another problem was the lack of gardening and poultry-keeping
skills and knowledge. The Australian government’s efforts to
As well as hitting the garden centres people looked online for provide good gardening advice were thwarted by local shortages
information on growing food. Google searches for “how to grow and weather conditions. Their advertisements encouraging
vegetables” hit an all-time worldwide high in April. Hobart outfit experienced gardeners to help neighbours may have been more
Good Life Permaculture’s video on Crisis Gardening - Fresh Food effective.
Fast racked up over 80,000 views in a month. Facebook kitchen
garden groups, such as Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Home food production has also increased during times of economic
Foundation, sought to share information and inspiration. distress. During the Great Depression in the 1920s and 1930s, a
health inspector in the inner suburbs of Melbourne reported, with
The Good Life satisfaction, that horse manure was no longer accumulating: “...
Given the many benefits of productive gardening, this interest being very much in demand by the many unemployed who now
in increased self-sufficiency was an intelligent response to the grow their own vegetables.” The high inflation and unemployment
pandemic situation. of the 1970s – as well as the oil shocks that saw steep increases in
Experienced gardeners can produce enough fruit and vegetables fuel prices – saw more people take up productive gardening as a
year-round to supply two people from a small suburban backyard. low-cost recreation and buffer against high food prices.
Productive gardening improves health by providing contact with The urge to grow your own in a crisis is a strong one, but better
nature, physical activity and a healthier diet. Contact with good preparation is needed for it to be an equitable and effective
soil bacteria also has positive health effects. response.
While Australians have traditionally valued the feeling of
independence imparted by a degree of self-sufficiency, Beyond The Pandemic
psychological benefits arise from the social connectedness The empty shelves at nurseries and seed suppliers seen earlier this
encouraged by many forms of productive gardening. year tell us we were again insufficiently prepared to rapidly scale
up productive home gardening. We need to develop more robust
Amid COVID-19, gardeners gathered online and community local food systems, including opportunities for people to develop
gardens around the world brought people together through and share food production skills. These could build on established
gardening and food. In some areas, community gardens were programs, such as western Melbourne’s My Smart Garden.
declared essential because of their contribution to food security. Particularly in built-up urban areas, provision of safe, accessible,
Although Australian community gardens paused their public free or low-cost gardening spaces would enable everyone to
programs, most remained open for gardening adhering to social participate. More city farms with livestock, large-scale composting
distancing regulations. and seed saving, can increase local supplies of garden inputs and
buffer against external disruption.
We Always Dig Deep In A Crisis
Vegetable gardening and poultry-keeping often surge in Like other crises before it, COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities
popularity during times of social or economic insecurity, such as in the systems that supply most Australians with our basic needs.
the COVID-19 pandemic. While we can’t grow toilet paper or hand sanitiser, there is a role
These responses are built on an established Australian tradition of for productive gardens and small-scale animal-keeping in making
home food production, something I have researched in depth. food systems resilient, sustainable and equitable. Self-provisioning
Yet history tells us it’s not easy to rapidly increase self-provisioning doesn’t replace the need for social welfare and wider food system
in times of crisis – especially for those in greatest need, such as reform. But it can provide a bit of insurance against crises, as well
unemployed people. This is another reason why you should plant as many everyday benefits.
a vegetable garden (or keep your current one going) even after
the lockdown ends, as part of a broader suite of reforms needed to
make our food systems more fair and resilient. Written by Andrea Gaynor
Associate Professor of History, University of Western Australia
In the second world war, for example, Australian food and
agricultural supply chains were disrupted. In 1942-3, as the This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the
theatres of war expanded and shortages loomed, the YWCA original article: https://bit.ly/2YL4NuE
organised women into “garden armies” to grow vegetables and the
federal government launched campaigns encouraging home food