A VEGETABLE GARDEN FOR EVERY HOME. 219 



THIS YEAR! 



A Vegetable Garden for Every Home. 



R. S. MACKINTOSH, MINN. AGRI. EXTENSION DIVISION. 



The greatest attention should be given to the home garden, 

 especially this year of greatest stress, in order that vegetables 

 produced may be used to take the place of the more stable food 

 products, as grain and corn. It is urged that enough be grown 

 to supply the table during the summer and sufficient amount 

 canned, preserved or dried for two years. 



We may know where our food supply is for today, but we 

 do not know where it is for a year from today. It is a well- 

 known fact that the quickest way to replenish our short supply 

 of food is to raise vegetables. 



The Minnesota Experiment Station has gathered consider- 

 able information regarding the cost of living on certain farms 

 for a period of years. The average cost of growing the potatoes, 

 vegetables and fruits in the garden was only $6.87 for each per- 

 son per year. This included all the labor, taxes, seeds and other 

 expenses connected with the garden. In a survey made by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture it was found that, of 

 the total food cost, the value of fruits was 6.4 per cent, and of 

 vegetables, 11 per cent or a total of 17.4 per cent. The cost was 

 less in the groups using the most vegetables. In the high meat 

 consuming groups the total food cost was from $20 to $25 per 

 person per year more than in the high vegetable consuming 

 groups. If even $10 per person per year can be saved by the use 

 of more vegetables it means a great saving on the 160,000 farms 

 in Minnesota. These figures easily take the "sting" out of such 

 statements as these: "Fruits and vegetables can be bought 

 cheaper than they can be raised," or "the garden is the most 

 unprofitable part of the farm." 



The size of the garden depends upon the number to be fed 

 and the fertility of the soil. In most cases all the vegetables, and 

 some of the fruits, can be grown on half an acre. No doubt a 

 garden 50x200 feet, well fertilized, tilled and planned so as to 

 use every available square foot, will be large enough to supply 

 the vegetables for an average family of five persons. It is better 

 to have a small garden well tilled than a large garden in weeds. 

 In a small garden most of the cultivating can be done with a hand 

 cultivator, for it is always ready, while with horse cultivators 

 perhaps the work cannot be done at the right time. One of the 



