PART I 
WAR GARDENING MANUAL 
As a result of emergency created by war the home garden of America has 
become an institution of world-wide importance. The planting and growing 
season of 1918 demonstrated that the products thus raised are essential to the 
feeding of the people of the United States and the Allied Nations. Under the 
impetus given by the National War Garden Commission the people of this 
country last year produced a crop valued at $520,000,000 in gardens cultivated 
in backyards, on vacant lots and on other land previously untilled — the 
patriotic gift of the war gardens to the nation. 
Peace can in no wise diminish America’s responsibility for feeding 
Europe. The recovery of vast areas of devastated country in France and 
Belgium greatly increases the number of people to be fed and adds heavily 
to the food burden of America. Because of this the Victory Garden is no 
less necessary than the War Garden. 
WAR GARDENS HELP SOLVE TRAFFIC PROBLEM 
War-time brought the most serious traffic 
congestion the United States has ever seen. 
This condition has no meaning more signifi- 
cant than that the gardens of this year must 
do even more than those of 1918 in freeing the 
overburdened railroads from the need for 
transporting food products. With food short- 
age threatening the Allied Nations and with 
railroad congestion as an added factor, the 
war garden results of the coming season must 
be considerably greater even than the vast 
yield of last year. 
COMMUNITY GARDENING 
Excellent results are obtained through co- 
operative gardening work. If several fami- 
lies join forces they can reduce the cost of 
gardening in time, labor and money. Fami- 
lies having adjoining or neighboring garden 
plots may use one set of tools. To prevent 
clash of convenience it is well to have an 
understanding in advance as to the time 
when each gardener is to have the use of 
particular tools. By this arrangement it is 
possible to have complete equipment at ex- 
pense much less than if each gardener bought 
his own. Money can also be saved in buying 
seeds, fertilizers and spraying materials by 
clubbing together and gaining advantage of 
the lower prices for large lots. 
One of the advantages of doing commu- 
nity work is that it is possible for the gar- 
deners interested in the project to employ a 
man and a team to prepare their gardens by 
plowing and harrowing. In this way the 
man and team can be kept busy throughout 
the day and the expense to each gardener 
will be slight. 
On a larger scale this principle should be 
applied to garden plots on tracts of vacant 
land allotted to individuals in or near cities 
or towns. Each plot in such a tract is a 
separate garden, belonging to the individual 
or family to whom allotted. In many in- 
stances the municipal authorities, the mayor’s 
war garden committee or some similar local 
organization, will provide an expert to super- 
vise work on community gardens of this 
character. This expert will give advice and 
instructions as to preparation, planting and 
cultivation and on other technical subjects. 
If an expert is not provided in this way it 
is wise for the gardeners to club together and 
arrange for one at their own expense, if the 
project is large enough to make this possible 
without too great individual cost. The help 
of an expert is of great value. 
School children and parents may work to- 
gether to good advantage on these garden 
plots. In some communities school au- 
thorities allow the children to spend a por- 
tion of the school hours, on stated days, in 
their garden work. Through co-operation 
with street cleaning departments a munici- 
pal government may arrange to deliver 
manure to war gardeners at nominal cost. 
In at least one important city this is done at 
a charge of $2 per load. 
It is a good plan for municipal govern- 
ments to arrange for lectures at school 
houses or other places on practical problems 
in gardening. This increases efficiency. 
