Part 3: Home gardens in World War I
by Don Audette, Fall 2008
In an 1918 book by J. W. Studebaker, called, “Our Country’s Call to Service Through Public and Private Schools,” the Des Moines Public School system put out a book that summarized many government documents on gardening and suggested that a daily period of 25 minutes in grade school and 25 minutes per week in high schools be set aside as a Service Period for the discussion, planning, and performance of subjects covered in the book. The purpose was to cause “pupils to think and work intelligently and unselfishly for others. The result will be a real conservation of resources, a stronger nation-wide morale, and the development of an unwavering determination to stand together and fight for democracy to the end.”
The children were encouraged to have their parents read in the evening the pages bookmarked during the day by their children at school.
There was also a catechism of nine questions and answers at the start of the book. For example, they were asked, “How can they help in the production of food?” The answer was, "By planting and caring for gardens at home or on vacant lots. They thus increase the food supply.”
The book also pointed out that soldiers needed beef, pork, and mutton, so they should eat poultry, eggs, fish, cheese, nuts, and rabbit. It was suggested that they observe one meatless day a week on Tuesday. They were also to observe two wheatless days a week, Monday and Wednesday, and one wheatless meal each other day of the week, thus there would be 11 wheatless meals a week.
The book devoted a chapter to Home Gardens, and it might be worth quoting parts to show the nature of the instruction. First, there were five reasons given on why every American boy or girl who was able should raise a home garden.
"1. As the preceding lessons in his book have shown you, the food supply for us and our Allies is insufficient. Your back yard can make it sufficient. Don't let your yard be a slacker.
2. Our railroads are greatly overcrowded carrying war supplies. Every pound of food that is brought to you from some part of the country takes space in a freight car that might be used for munitions of war. It doesn't take any freight cars to carry vegetables from your backyard garden to your kitchen. Help lighten the load that our railroad must carry.
3. The vegetables you grow yourself will reach your table fresher and with finer flavor than any you can buy. If you never have eaten home-grown vegetables, raise a backyard garden and give yourself and your family a treat.
4. It costs money to buy vegetables; why not save it? A garden 25 x 40 feet if carefully tended will produce most of the vegetables needed for a family of four or five people for several months. Such a garden will save your family many dollars. Your country needs those dollars! Loan them to the government, by investing them in War-Savings Stamps or Liberty Bonds.
5. Gardening is one part hard work (which is just as good exercise as baseball) and two parts fun. Start your garden with hope, enthusiasm, and determination; you will end in success, pleasure, and patriotic service."
Subsequent pages spelled out in detail the considerations involved in planning and caring for a home garden. Summarized, they were as follows.
Location and Size of Plot
First, there is the consideration of location and size of the plot, such as using well-drained, light, fertile soil, and, under ideal conditions, sloping to the south or west. Avoid areas of much shade and hard, infertile soil. A garden 25 by 40 feet if taken care of will produce vegetables for a small family without a discouraging amount of work.
Fertilizing the Soil
If the soil is not rich, use well rotted barnyard manure or other needed fertilizing material, applied in the fall and well worked into the ground.
Preparing the Seed Bed
If not plowed, then spade deeply enough as vegetables must have loose, fertile soil, well-pulverized. Follow this by smoothing and more pulverization to a depth of several inches using a hand rake if necessary; no lumps. Remove all stones and trash. Don't use raised beds as such allows the soil to dry out, especially in hot months when vegetables grow rapidly and require much moisture.
The Best Vegetables to Grow
Select five or six of the most common vegetables, including several early crop types for planting before tomato planting time. For example, onion sets, lettuce, early bush peas, and radishes are hardy plants and can be planted as soon as the soil is prepared. Beets can be planted a week after the radishes, then early bush beans when the danger of frost has past. Tomatoes are planted late in the season. Space in a small garden is too valuable to plant potatoes or vine crops; plant elsewhere.
Make a Plan of Your Garden
Plan it on paper, taking care of winter vegetables first, and then the rest. Vegetables that ripen quickly should be planted between rows of crops that are slower in growth, and permanent crops before temporary crops. Permanent crops for winter supply are beets, late cabbage, carrots, onions, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, tomatoes, and possibly celery, beans, and salsify.
Plant Good Seed
"One of the essentials of a good garden is good seed. It does not pay to plant inferior seeds. Buy only from a reliable dealer or secure seed grown in the neighborhood by some reliable person, even though you may have to pay a little more for it. When you grow a good variety, save your own seed for next year."
The layout of a good garden, 25 by 40 feet is shown below:
Planting
At this point is might be well to quote directly the instructions to be followed by the student in planting a garden:
"Most vegetables should be planted as early in April as the conditions of the soil and weather permit. This will vary with different vegetables according to whether they are hardy or tender.
"Plan to make several plantings of peas, radishes, lettuce, sweet-corn, and other vegetables desired for the continuous fresh successive crops. The plantings may be made every few weeks. Some of the early plantings will be harvested soon enough to give room for planting of later vegetables, thus allowing two, three, or more crops on the same ground during the season.
"Beans, melons, cucumbers, squashes, eggplants, peppers, corn, and tomatoes are tender and generally should not be planted out of doors before May 1-15 or even later. One can secure early cabbage, tomatoes, and cauliflower by planting the seed in a box indoors, or in a hot-box, and transplanting to the garden when the ground becomes warm. Melon seeds can be planted in the house in pasteboard boxes, or strawberry boxes, during March. The boxes can be torn away and the little vines may be planted in the open very successfully. Thus early melons can be secured.
"Be careful not to cover seeds too deep. Plant most garden seeds within one-half inch of the surface. Corn, beans, peas, and melons may be covered two inches. Potatoes generally do best when planted three or four inches deep.
"Before planting mark off rows straight and even. For a small garden, use a piece of twine and small stakes.
"Cover the seeds with only fine, mellow, moist earth. Keep dry clods and trashy material away from them.
"Whether the planting be done in a large garden with a garden drill, or in a small garden by hand, be sure to press the moist, loose soil firmly about the seed. You can do this easily by pressing gently on the seeds after they are covered.
"Unless you know how the little seedling plants look when they first appear, you may destroy some of them when you hoe, or pull them them out when first weeding the garden by hand. Observe plants, find picture and descriptions and ask other people until you learn just how each little plant looks. Great care must be exercised the first time you hoe or weed your garden to prevent covering the plants, pulling them up or cutting them off with the hoe. Avoid crippling any of them. Give each plant a fair chance to grow. If the plants are too thick in some places pull them out or cut out the weakest looking of them without disturbing the others more than necessary."
Cultivating or Hoeing
"Keep the garden free from weeds at all times. It pays. Keep the top soil mellow, so as to prevent crusting. It is best to cultivate about every week during the growing season. Continue to cultivate through June and July, or as late as plants continue to grow. Moisture will be kept in the ground for the use of plants and plants will grow rapidly all the time, the yield will be large, and everything will be crisp and tender.
"It is best not to cultivate when the ground is wet. When there are no weeds or when the weeds are small, a garden rake is an excellent tool with which to cultivate. But if the ground gets hard on top, or weedy, it may be necessary to use a hoe."
Stick to the Task
"Make the best use of everything connected with your work and no matter how many failures and discouragements come, show the true American spirit by sticking to it until you accomplish something definite. Keep cheerful, work patiently and carefully, profit by your mistakes and misfortunes, and keep at it until you succeed. This is the spirit that will help American boys and girls to take an active part in the great army of Service."
One Home Food Garden's Production
Among the records of the National War Garden Commission was one about a garden in Pennsylvania measuring 40 x 40 feet. Over a year, it produced the following vegetables:
Beets: 25 bunches
Carrots: 2 pecks (1/2 a bushel)
Radishes: 15 bunches
Rutabagas: 64
Early peas: 32 quarts (pods)
Potatoes: 7 pecks
Cabbage: 20 head
Cauliflower: 14 head
Tomatoes: 6 baskets
Bunch beans: 2 ½ pecks
Telephone peas: 40 quarts (pods)
Peppers: 9 dozen
Cucumbers: 100
Celery: 450 stalks
Rhubarb: 10 bunches
Scallions: 12 bunches
Parsley: used freely
Dried beans for winter use: 20 quarts
Peaches from two trees in corner of garden: 7 baskets
Lettuce: 60 head
Horseradish: all desired
Onion sets: 3 quarts
Onions dried: ½ bushel
Pole beans: 108 quarts
The total weight of the food grown in this single garden was a little over half a ton.
Part 1: "Eat Local" movement has roots in history
Part 2: Women organize to support the World War I effort through food production and conservation
Part 4: School gardens in World War I
Part 5: Community gardens in World War I
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