THE PATRIOTIC GARDEN 



CRQP CONSERVATION & DISTRIBUTION 



He also Fights who helps a Fighter Fight (h hoover) 



Authorized Statement of trie Assistant Secretary of Agriculture 



THE home garden campaign of 1917 ought to go down in 

 history as one of the most remarkable responses ever 

 made by the American people to a request from their 

 Government — the request to help win the War by growing 

 food. But the mere growing of food is only part of the bat- 

 tle. There is no use planting foodstuffs if the planting is not 

 followed up by intelligent cultivation and harvesting. There 

 is no use harvesting food unless there is efficient handling 

 and preserving of it. And there is no use expending energy 

 on any of these things, unless there is efficient marketing. 



I think that by now the American people, broadly speaking, 

 understand pretty well how to plant gardens and how to culti- 

 vate them. They are beginning to learn how to can and dry 

 foods for winter use, but they still have a lot to learn along this 

 line. If they are to conserve the crops of this summer, they 

 must dry and can a thousand times more than hitherto — and do 

 it more effectively. 



The marketing problem is the most difficult single problem 

 of them all. There is no easy solution of it. The one sugges- 

 tion which I would like to bring to the mind of every home 



gardener at this time is this — that the elimination of the un- 

 necessary or illegitimate middlemen is as vital to the winning 

 of the War as is the planting of food; that there may be plenty 

 of food in the country and yet the prices may be so high as to 

 be prohibitive and productive of the most acute suffering; that 

 there is the greatest need for practical cooperation on the part 

 of producer and consumer to the end that food produced on the 

 farm and garden or manufactured in the factory may reach the 

 consumer by the most direct route. The neighborhood com- 

 munity store run on a strictly cooperative basis and for service 

 alone is a long step toward a solution of these difficulties. We 

 have such a neighborhood store in Washington, D. C, and its 

 demonstrated success is a splendid sign of the times. 



I hope to see community stores springing up everywhere 

 throughout the United States, so that the produce of the 

 farm and of the garden, the food of the factory and the 

 mill may be distributed to the ultimate consumer for nearly 

 the cost of distribution — and no unnecessary waste or profit 

 in the process. 



Carl Vrooman. 



Eleventh Hour Opportunity 



"^[OW is practically the last chance for those 

 -^ who want to "do their bit" in boost- 

 ing this year's food supply. And every- 

 thing is in the gardener's favor — the soil is 

 warm, mellow, full of fertility; occasional 

 showers prevail; seeds sprout with a "pep"; 

 plants grow with an energy to mature before 

 Jack Frost arrives. 



The only point to guard when making the 

 August garden is to be sure that there is suf- 

 ficient moisture in the ground for prompt ger- 

 mination of seeds, or to sustain the roots of 

 transplants. Therefore, as a matter of in- 

 surance, water the drills or holes thoroughly, 

 before putting seeds or plants into the ground. 



Grow Your Own Fertility for Next Year 



PHE time to sow cover crops (which will put 

 ■*■ humus into the soil for next spring) is 

 when the free-growing crops now standing 

 and which will die with the first fall frost, are 

 too big to be cultivated any longer." If the 

 soil is very lacking in vegetable matter it will 

 be a good plan to sow a mixture of several 

 species of cover crop, so as to get the most 

 possible in a given time. A good combina- 

 tion for the vegetable garden is buckwheat, 

 rye, and crimson clover. The first will start 

 even in hot weather but will be killed by early 

 frost. In the meantime the others will have 

 grown enough to catch the falling leaves of 

 the buckwheat. The clover may die during 

 the winter but the rye will prevent loss of the 

 leaves and will live. Indeed, here is its chief 



disadvantage: it may be allowed to live too 

 long. It must be dug or plowed under when 

 only a few inches high. In sowing, just 

 scatter the seed broadcast among the plants 

 immediatelv after the last cultivation. It 



Timely and effective poster issued by the office of Food 

 Administration. It tells the story convincingly 



will not grow enough to injure the regular 

 crops before harvest. Then the stems of 

 these crops should be hauled to the compost 

 pile and burned. 



Thin the Ranks 



A LL root crops sown this month must be 

 •*■*• given every chance to grow easily. 

 Thinning of the row is the most effective fac- 

 tor in helping the final result. No other single 

 factor will more decidedly retard development 

 than letting seedlings stand crowded — they 

 then jostle and push each other instead of at- 

 tending to their own business of growing. 

 Thin early; giving three to four inches apart 

 for the plants left. This distance is standard 

 for all root crops sown in August. Early thin- 

 ning means early maturing. 



Prepare Now for Bigger Crops in 1918 



AS SOON as space becomes available in 

 **■ different parts of the garden, sow quick 

 "cover crops" such as rye or vetch or rape. 

 They'll keep down the weeds now, and 

 — dug under in either late fall or spring — will 

 enrich the soil with humus, that one dominant 

 factor for fertility counting before all else 

 that can be put into the soil. Make it a 

 point to boost the 1918 berry crop by growing 

 some berries of your own. Throughout Aug- 

 ust and September strawberry plants of 

 various kinds may be set out and they will 

 bear crops next summer. There should be 

 room for currants, gooseberries and a straw- 

 berry bed in every kitchen garden. 



