Do we need a 'Dig for Victory' campaign in the 21st Century?

A gentle knock on our front door at home causes Murphy, our Westie, Poo, to create such a racket; it would drown out a Black Sabbath concert. He then dashes upstairs and takes post on his usual perch, a sofa and that's another story.

This time it is our lovely neighbour opposite our house, Jack, who has popped around with a box of veggies and fruits from his allotment. Murphy is his friend and soon gets his obligatory tickles at the front door. Jack is a talented gardener and is pleased to share the results of his labours despite struggling with his dodgy hip, now thankfully replaced and pain-free...ish. We have had all sorts of beautiful vegetables, and they are so full of flavour and so much fresher than you can buy at the supermarkets.

Jack was proud earlier in the season when he bought us some asparagus, his first time growing them. They were delicious, and they are a vegetable that we quite often have when they are in season. And therein lies the secret, Jack's produce is in the season as it should be.

At the moment, flood inflation for the weeks to July 9th 2023, is 14.9%. That means anything bought for £1 last year will cost you almost £1.15 now. The Government tries to temper that by claiming that food inflation has slowed over the previous four months. However, that still equates to roughly a yearly increase of £300 for your food shopping alone this year. It's still incredibly high.

My Father, throughout his married life, was a gardener. Dad always tended the vegetable garden in the 60s and 70s, an extremely tight time for our family. Mum rarely had to buy many vegetables during the weekly shop; everything was seasonal and tasted terrific. Dad even supplemented our protein input by breading rabbits at the bottom of the garden that were undoubtedly not fluffy pets.

Those memories also bring to mind the wartime years in this country, and, no, I'm not that old before you ask. 'Dig for Victory' was the well-known cry. Food production and encouraged in all available spaces. The Public left behind after mobilisation dug gardens. The Government ordered that all available land be turned over for food production. Even then, there was a significant reliance on imported food, especially grain from North America. The Battle of the Atlantic was an immense problem for shipping. Rationing improved the country's health, a statistic kept quiet for some time. By the end of the war and rationing, food prices had risen by 20%. Considering five years of war and the rebuilding of the economy afterwards, it puts to shame the effects of barely three years of Brexit.

This summer, we have had a couple of troughs of salad leaves, which has saved a couple of trips to the supermarket. When I lived in Dartmouth, I did manage, one summer, to grow a large selection of vegetables in containers on a veranda outside of my flat. That kept me going all through that summer. Although an amusing story, one day, I found that my dog Molly had buried her bone underneath my onion sets. 

I'm sure that the ground in our small back garden is nutrient rich enough for a good crop of vegetables, but if things don't improve, we will all be considering containing growing next spring.