The Wartime Kitchen and Garden television series and book by the BBC. The big swerve in 19th century British horticulture away from ornamental gardening to domestic food security. A television series and a book explore low tech solutions, reuse, thrift, and home grown food.

Part one of the series begins during the ‘phoney war’, as flowers are cleared out to make room for vegetables and the larder is filled. Plus help is on hand from the land army and an evacuee.

See:

Home food production: Lifelong skills anyone can learn. I grew up in a ‘Dig for Victory’ garden in London. My paternal grandmother taught me how to prune to encourage fruit at the age of four. By the age of seven, I was growing salad vegetables and potatoes. By the time I was ten, I was in charge.

You can be in charge too: Buy your copy of The Seed Savers’ Manual and DVD: how to grow and maintain the genetic vigour of over 100  essential food plants and sustain your health and your own food supply .

Jerry Coleby-Williams
Director, Seed Savers’ Network
Friday 13th March 2020