VICTORY GARDENS 3 



Large-town and city dwellers generally are in no position to under- 

 take gardening successfully. Those living in outlying or suburban 

 areas and having large sunny lots, away from interfering buildings, 

 structures, trees, and industrial smoke or gaseous wastes, have a better 

 chance of growing successful gardens than large-town or city dwellers. 

 It is wasteful, however, to attempt gardening in cramped, poorly 

 drained, poorly lighted spots in the heart of a city or in most highly 

 developed industrial neighborhoods or within the branch or root spread 

 of large trees. If a person insists upon making a garden under such 

 adverse conditions, for exercise or for pleasure, he should realize the 

 odds against profitable yields. In such locations some of the more 

 common annual flowers might give greater satisfaction for the 

 efforts expended. 



CONSERVE SUPPLIES— FOLLOW THROUGH 



No profit will accrue to the Nation or to the individual if prospective 

 gardeners undertake the impossible or even the impracticable. It is 

 wasteful and unwise to devote energy, seeds, fertilizer, and tools to 

 gardening under conditions where success is very doubtful. As long as 

 the United States has the task of helping to feed much of the world, 

 seeds and fertilizer should be carefully conserved. There will probably 

 be enough if they are used with care, but there will be none to waste. 



Perhaps the worst waste among gardeners has resulted from neglect 

 and abandonment of gardens planted in a flush of enthusiasm but 

 without adequate means or will to carry each crop through to harvest. 

 The Nation cannot afford such waste of labor and materials when it is 

 at war. Every crop planted should be properly sown at the right time, 

 tended to harvest, then harvested at the proper stage of development, 

 and utilized without waste. Unless the product is actually consumed 

 by those who need it, there is no point in spending seeds, fertilizer, and 

 energy in growing it. 



A CONTINUOUS SUPPLY SHOULD BE THE GOAL 



When growing vegetables for vitamins and health, a continuous 

 supply of a few health-giving kinds should be the goal. One should 

 guard against planting so much of one vegetable at one time that it 

 wiU result in a surplus and probable waste only to be followed by long 

 periods during which nothing is available. Although some vegetables 

 are suited to planting at intervals over a long period to furnish a con- 

 tinuing supply, others are suited to such a narrow range of changing 

 season that successive plantings are not recommended. Thus, a 

 number of kinds of vegetables or varieties of one kind must be de- 

 pended upon to provide a continuity of fresh produce. Single plant- 

 ings, however, of lima beans, some pole beans, chard, and tomatoes 



