Victory Garden Farms is a new Portland company that does design, installation, and maintenance of organic home vegetable gardens. Owners, Katie Boeh and Nicole Barrett, say they named it after the Victory Garden movement during World War I and II. During that time, the U.S. government encouraged people to start their own gardens to help alleviate the food strain on the home front. Eleanor Roosevelt called for one at the White House, something First Lady Michelle Obama is doing today.

Victory Garden Farms says it wants to increase the presence of urban agriculture in the city of Portland. Boeh says with a little planning everyone has the ability to start their own urban farm.

Her first tip is to invest in a resource that tells you what can be sewn when.

For those growing in the western United States, Boeh recommends the Maritime Northwest Garden Guide.
Mid May is a vey opportune time to get a lot of stuff in the ground. She says carrots, radishes, lettuces, spinach, and kale can all go in by seed. You’ll want to use a transplant though she says for hot season crops like tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. Boeh warns, nurseries sometimes put those plants out earlier than they can safely go into the garden without protection. If temperatures where you live are still cold overnight she recommends cutting off a milk jug and setting it on top of a small tomato start at night through the end of May.

Some of Boeh’s other tips include:

1. When picking what to plant in your planter boxes, plant fast growing plants (radishes, lettuce) with slower growing crops (tomatoes) so they’re not competing.
2. Make planter boxes out of cedar, not pressure treated wood. Pressure treated wood is treated with chemicals that can leach into the soil.
3. Install a drip irrigation system on a timer or hand water. The idea is to water less frequently and more deeply. Look for a wrung out sponge consistency in soil.
4. Feed the soil not the plants. This means turn compost into the soil. It’s a great way to get rid of your leftovers and the organic matter in compost will create healthy soil.
5. Plant flowering plants in your garden. This attracts predatory insects like lady bugs which will kill plant eating pests.
6. When harvesting lettuces like spinach, pick the outer leaves so the smaller inner ones can continue to grow and regenerate.
7. Remember, gardening takes time and consistency, don’t give up mid summer!

For more information about Victory Garden Farms go to www.farmingforvictory.com