For decades, seed catalogs were the most popular way for home gardeners to order their products. This is the back cover of the John A. Salzer Seed Company catalog from 1898, which is part of the Wisconsin Historical Society collection.

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While many may no longer order seeds through catalogs (though they do still exist), today’s home gardeners still plant them just like their parents and grandparents. Here, Nettie Witter of McFarland plants peas in her backyard garden.

Credit: Dean Witter

Seeds & Home Gardening

Wisconsin is nationally known for its proud agricultural history, but the COVID-19 pandemic is sparking a new appreciation for this beloved part of our state’s heritage.

As warmer weather arrived with the calendar turning to the seed-planting month of May, many people staying home are deciding that this is the perfect opportunity to give gardening a try for the first time, or expand on previous harvests.

Some are dipping their green thumbs in with limited container gardening, while others are going all-in by cultivating a patch of their yard. As a result, businesses that sell seeds and plants are reporting record-breaking demand.

It represents the latest chapter in Wisconsin’s history of residents taking advantage of our state’s fertile soil.

Then

Throughout the state’s history Wisconsinites have gardened for subsistence, as landscape ornamentation, and as a pleasurable pastime.

Native Americans have tended the soil for over 2,000 years. The first gardeners domesticated native crops such as squash, sunflowers, and lambsquarters. Between the years 1000 and 1400, corn and beans arrived from the South and were added to the mix. Native peoples carefully managed soil chemistry to enhance fertility and sustainability, crafting distinctive ridged fields that still survive in a few locations.

Settlers from the East and Europe integrated their own gardening traditions. Europeans introduced crops such as melons, potatoes, and millet to Native populations, and in return accepted corn, squash, and beans for their own gardens.

During World Wars I and II, citizens were encouraged to grow their own food to support the war effort. “Victory Gardens” were promoted as a way to direct more of the nation’s food production to the armed forces and refugees overseas. They were part of a wider program of self-sacrifice for the greater good that included the rationing of materials such as rubber, paper, and gasoline; and the purchase of war bonds and stamps, among other supportive actions. A Victory Garden was a way to show your participation in the national effort, but also offered the practical benefit of growing your own food when shortages and rationing were common.

Now

There are countless reasons for the surge in agricultural attraction during the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, it’s a chance to rekindle traditions passed down by ancestors who grew up on family farms. For others, it’s a way to keep busy while at home, or to engage children in a meaningful and long-lasting project. Some see it as a practical source of food and an opportunity to avoid the potential risk of extra trips to the grocery store. At the very least, gardening is an excuse to get outdoors and relax while engaging in a rewarding activity away from the cares of the world.

Media outlets from New York to San Francisco have covered the surge in garden-related sales. A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story reported on a firm that had to temporarily stop taking new inquiries after orders had doubled from the previous year. “People are looking to get into it whether it’s for growing their own food or having a project to do at home,” Nathan Zondag, vice president of J.W. Jung Seed Co., told the paper. The Journal Sentinel also spoke to others facing similar demand. “We are selling out,” added Zannah Crowe, horticulturist at Johnson’s Gardens in Cedarburg. “It’s a nationwide trend. There is a huge, huge demand for it. … I hope these people have success because then we have a whole new generation of gardeners.”

"We are 500% busier than we normally are this time of year," Mario DiGrande, owner of Oakland's Thornhill Nursery, told the San Francisco Gate. "I've already sold as much soil in six weeks that I do in an entire year. It's just crazy."

Resources

Plant A Garden!

Consider planting and tending a garden this season as a way to relax outdoors, keep busy, and/or provide some fresh alternatives for the table. A bounty of tomatoes like this could be yours!

Nettie Witter shows off her tomato crop last year in the backyard of her McFarland home. Credit: Dean Witter