Show U S gardeners aid in nations Na rions victorya Victory 9 drive increased number of gardens this year vital for balanced diets released ne leAsed by western newspaper union uncle sams wartime food needs have put the allbut all but forgotten family vegetable garden back on the map millions of americans are now poring over seed catalogs checking tools and eyeing likely planting sites once the frost is gone an army of gardeners recruited from farms small towns and big cities will prepare the the earth with spades and fertilizers then will come seeding weeding and cultivating in a vast effort to produce plenty of fresh vegetables F 0 B the kitchen door this effort is part of a great national victory garden program in the weeks since pearl harbor om ohl dais of the U S department of agriculture rl ri anve been consulting with gardening experts from every state organizations everywhere havo have pledged their old aid garden clubs boy scouts girl scouts campfire Campf lra girls 4 11 clubs As the program develops activities will follow two major lines 1 farmers and their families throughout the united states will operate cooperate co by planting vegetable gardens 2 small town and big city dwellers will sponsor community and school gardens and wherever possible individual family victory gardens this newest move in the war on the axis Is reminiscent in many ways of the stirring days of world war no 1 when backyard back yard garden 51 e U 2 P miss reg fes reaps the results of having baving a garden of her own the green beans she Is collecting will be dell clous at the fam ilys evening meal ers did their bit to make good the slogan logan food will win the war but there are wide differences too and it Is hoped that many of the mistakes of the war garden program will be avoided this time lime the last war demonstrated that home gardening can contribute importantly port antly to the food supply in 1917 alone acres of city and town land were under cultivation by 1918 there were gardens which produced pounds of food but thero there was waste and unnecessary sacrifice too many a hopeful big city garden yielded nothing but blisters and backaches in some places park lawns golf courses and public recreation areas were plowed up and planted to potatoes pen ornamental plantings in private grounds were sacrificed flowers were forgotten to make room tor for vegetables and gardens were attempted in congested big city locations where success was obviously impossible today an abundance of land Is available for victory gardens without sacrificing landscape beauty or the growing of flowers which are just as important to morale as vegetables are to physical well being this Is particularly true in small towns and in the suburban areas of big cities nutrition Is watchword nutrition is the watchword of the present program first of all our soldiers must be well nourished so must defense workers in fields and factories britain russia and our other allies must be kept supplied with food but the program goes beyond that A battle is being waged on the home front against malnutrition regardless of how long the world war lasts the nutrition battle at home will go on until every american is receiving enough of the right kinds of food in considering the two main phases of the victory garden p program ra the farm effort will of course be the backbone every farmer who can possibly do so will have a dar garden where he can produce fresh vegetables and fruits for home use and have some surplus to market secretary of agriculture summed up the movements philosophy when he told delegates attending a recent conference in washington this situation is different from 1917 then the effort was to save food so there would be plenty tor for our troops in france now the need Is for a balanced diet when the farm family grows its own vegetables it eats more and thus improves proves S the fam ilys health we hope tor for a an increase of farm vegetable gardens in 1942 the goal we have set is growing vegetables on the farm puts the food right where it is to be ba used it take any freight cars or trucks to move food to those families home vegetable gardens release more commercial vegetables tor for other purposes commercially canned vegetables are packed in tin and we are short of tin As a reinforcement to the farm garden movement the work of small town and big city gardens will help swell uncle food output in communities large and small every family that has access to a favorably situated plot for producing part of its food supply Is s being asked to join a victory garden club these town and city gardeners are arc being cautioned that their gardens must be economical that every seed every pound of fertilizer and every implement counts that there must be no waste the members of these garden clubs will meet and discuss their problems together and obtain guidance from experts provisions are being made in many cities by the civilian defense organization for the establishment of community gardens in which plots are assigned to families that do not have fertile garden soil soft of their own schools and organizations are promoting the program now how big a job Is it to put in a garden and make it produce successfully cess fully simple to garden TV its s relatively simple according to I 1 g gardening ar dening experts they point out that with modern knowledge of soils plant foods new tools and the improved vegetable varieties developed by plant breeders bleeders bre eders it Is possible to grow fresh vegetables for the family in a favorable location with only a few hours light exercise each week the secret of effective gardening lies in the size of the plot too big I 1 ILI 91 W 1 Y fresh radishes for salads are what this young lady Is gathering her VW tory garden will give the feces sary balance to the fam ilys dally meals a garden Is likely to bo be neglected one just large enough producing the vegetables a family needs and no more in balanced proportions can be kept well without hard work another secret Is ln in not trying t to 0 grow too large a variety one authority suggests six different vegetables as a basis tomatoes snap beans carrots cabbage lettuce and greens all are high in food and vitamin value moreover tomatoes beans carrots and greens can be easily canned these gardening experts will tell you one more thing that youve got to feed the soil if you expect it to produce tor for you this means providing it with plant food and this Is just as true if you garden on the farm or in town the average farmer knows by experience with field crops that fertilizer will enhance the size of his crop increase its resistance si stance to disease improve the quality and promote allaround all around hardiness ile he will apply that knowledge in making his victory garden contribute to the national defense the city gardener can profit by the tha farmers experience the three fertilizer elements most needed for plant growth are nitrogen phosphorus and potash these elements are mentioned in this order in the analysis of commercial fertilizer for effective gardening use said one authority it has been found advisable to apply the liser before planting time mixing it in thoroughly with the soil when the first spading or plowing is done the quantity to apply will va vary ry with the soil type but the victor victory Y gardener will be safe in using 5 pounds of a mixture such as 5 t to 0 each square feet of garden once having undertaken its gardening project the average family will reap dividends tar far exceeding the crop of vegetables at harvest time of prime importance in wartime Is the morale factor gardening Is a morale bull bulher der without equal anywhere there is n no 0 better anti dote tor for war alnes bli ies than a session with a hoe gardening provides a release from rom tha worries and nervous tension of long hours spent at a desk or lu in the machine shop of a munitions i factory it gives the housewife a change of pace from the routine of domestic duties |