Rooted + Ready: The Truth About Victory Gardens

And why we might need them again

You’ve probably heard the story of Victory Gardens — those charming little wartime plots that fed America during World War II. The way it’s usually told, neighbors simply rolled up their sleeves and planted beans for the boys overseas, basking in the glow of patriotic duty.

It’s the kind of story that fits neatly into a history textbook: wholesome, tidy, and uncomplicated.

But history… real history… is rarely that simple.

The Truth They Don’t Teach You

In early 1942, our government forcibly removed over 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes — two-thirds of them American-born citizens — and locked them in concentration camps. And we’re not talking about seasonal laborers here. Many of these were the owners of highly productive farms, people who had spent decades building thriving agricultural businesses despite racist land laws designed to hold them back.

By 1940, Japanese American farmers on the West Coast were producing a huge share of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. They were known for high yields, careful cultivation, and for making even marginal land bloom.

When the government ordered them out, they had days — sometimes only hours — to sell everything. Land. Homes. Equipment. Livestock. Most of it was sold for pennies on the dollar or simply seized. White farmers and corporations moved in, profiting from the displacement.

Overnight, the West Coast lost a massive portion of its agricultural capacity. Fields went unpicked. Crops rotted. And the commercial food that was harvested went straight to the military.

Patriotic Propaganda

Instead of admitting, “We just gutted our own food supply with racist policy,” the government launched a massive propaganda campaign: be a patriot – plant a garden. And Victory Gardens were born.

Posters appeared everywhere — smiling women in crisp aprons, men in neatly pressed shirts hoeing carrots, children holding baskets of shiny produce. It was sold as patriotic, neighborly, and wholesome. And it worked.

By 1944, about 40% of America’s fresh produce came from these so-called Victory Gardens. Not because people were feeling generous — but because they had no other choice. These gardens were not a charming hobby. They were essential survival.

The Quiet Replacement

Here’s the part you almost never hear in the official narrative: the same year Japanese Americans were forced into camps, the U.S. launched the Bracero Program, bringing in Mexican laborers to work American fields. (Please note that even the current Library of Congress blames the shortage completely on the war, not the Japanese concentration camps. History is written by who holds the pen.)

This wasn’t about filling a temporary gap. It was a calculated replacement of one targeted racial group with another the government could underpay, control, and send home when convenient. That program ran for more than 20 years, embedding a migrant labor system we still rely on today.

The pattern is clear:

1. Remove a group you’ve labeled “undesirable.”
2. Replace them with another marginalized group you can exploit.
3. Use patriotic messaging to keep the public focused on the appearance of unity and productivity.

The Pattern Repeats

Fast forward to now.

We have ICE raids tearing families apart. Migrant farmworkers — the backbone of today’s produce supply — detained in concentration camps. Corporate-driven agriculture consolidated into fewer and fewer hands. Trade wars and tariffs disrupting supply chains.

And hovering over all of it — manipulated markets, extreme wealth inequality, and natural disasters hammering our farmland with little to no meaningful government response.

This isn’t me saying we’re in the Great Depression all over again. But as someone who studies history and has excellent pattern recognition (thanks to trauma), I see familiar warning signs stacking up. The same toxic combination of economic instability, labor exploitation, environmental strain, and political distraction.

Last time, the answer — or at least the band-aid — was Victory Gardens. But those came after the wound.

Rooted + Ready: Before the Wound

We have an advantage the people of the 1940s didn’t: we can see the pattern before it fully plays out. And that means we can prepare now — calmly, intentionally, and without waiting for a crisis to force our hand.

Fall is the perfect time to start.

• Seeds are on clearance in most stores.
• The weather is ideal for building new raised beds, prepping soil, and mapping out a planting plan.
• Cool-weather crops like kale, spinach, carrots, and garlic can go in now.
• Perennial herbs planted this fall will be strong and ready by spring.

And while the physical harvest is important, there’s another layer to this:
planting as rebellion.

Growing even a portion of your own food loosens the grip of systems that have been weaponized against everyday people for generations. It roots you in self-reliance, connects you to ancestral wisdom, and builds community resilience.

This Isn’t About Panic — It’s About Power

Preparedness is not panic.
Planting a garden is not paranoia.

It’s looking at history honestly and choosing to write a different ending this time.

In the 1940s, Americans planted because they had no other choice. We have the choice to plant now — to be rooted and ready before the wound, to feed our families and our neighbors, and to stand in quiet defiance of the cycles that have stolen too much from too many.

If you’re ready to start, I’ve shared guides on stocking your pantry, making sustainable swaps, and starting a garden from scratch — all part of my Rooted + Ready series.

Because history may rhyme, but we get to decide if it repeats.