It appears that hand sanitizer, masks and toilet paper are not the only things in hot demand right now — seed suppliers and garden centers are seeing a spike in sales due to the resurgence in ‘victory gardens’ to guard against possible disruptions in the food chain.

The term ‘victory garden‘ refers to the vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks during World War I and II. Back then, victory gardens were not just a way to supplement the food supply, but also to boost morale — and the concept is catching on again in a big way.

Normally, we would be offering free seed packets through our seed ‘lending’ library at this time of year, but since we’re closed, we at least wanted to remind you that OverDrive/Libby has a number of practical eBooks (accessible with your library card) that might be helpful if you’re planning on creating your own ‘Corona Victory Garden’ this year — including one on gardening with kids. Go here to see these and more gardening titles:

While you’re there, feel free to browse the entire digital collection of nearly 18,000 books for when you need a break from digging in the dirt. If you need help getting started with OverDrive/Libby or have trouble with your PIN, email Lauri at eplcollection@cliu.org.

For even more gardening books, head on over to Ebsco eBooks (part of Power Library), where you’ll find nearly 400 eBooks on gardening (and eBooks on every other topic) — all free with your library card. Just log in with your library card, enter ‘gardening’ in the search box, and you’re set to go. Happy gardening!