FOOD GARDENS FOR THE 
DURATION... Beyond all emergency 
plans for more food production looms the vision of 
Llaude BR. Wickard, our Secretary of Agriculture. 
The world is hungering and battling for Peace and 
Freedom. But those blessings can be neither attained 
nor enjoyed without the driving power of human 
health and vigor—and that means there must be 
FOOD. The increased farm production goal set by 
the United States Department of Agriculture has a 
three-fold purpose: First, to develop better food habits 
and insure better nutrition for American people; as a 
nation, we have not been feeding ourselves ade- 
quately and intelligently. Second, to provide vast 
quantities of vital foodstuffs for the nations that are 
fighting the common battle against aggression. hire, 
to meet relief and emergency requirements and build 
up reserves against future needs. Primarily that is, of 
course, a farm program. But it concerns every last 
one of us. And many of us—many of you owners of 
small homes—can play an important part in it, So— 
Let's Think About Food Gardens 
1. They yield fresh vegetables and fruits—both es- 
sential factors in an effective, balanced diet. 
2. Surplus products can always be distributed locally 
to the needy, or dried, preserved or stored for future 
use. 
3. They can thus lessen the demand for canned and 
otherwise processed products that involve the use 
of metals and other defense materials. 
4. They can thus release at least some farm labor 
and some transportation facilities needed in con- 
nection with defense operations. 
9. Garden work is an enjoyable recreation and an 
unexcelled builder-up of both physical health and 
human morale. It's fun—and it pays. 
6. Food gardens offer a perfect solution for the prob- 
lem of how to utilize and improve idle, waste land 
in rural and suburban regions. 
BUT—In Planning for Your Food Gardens 
DON'T give way to the sort of war-garden hysteria 
that broke out during the last World War. 
DON'T sacrifice established lawns, flower gardens, 
parks, golf courses, etc. The need for that is not here; 
may never be. Abundant, suitable land is still avajl- 
able, and the need for beauty in our lives is greater 
than ever. 
DON'T try to cultivate more ground than you can 
care for well; nor try to grow more kinds of crops than 
can be grown successfully and economically in your 
locality, soil, climate, etc. 
DON'T start a food garden, have the soil prepared, 
spend money for seed and supplies—and then neg- 
lect and abandon it. 
DON'T let anything go to waste in your garden; if 
you cannot use part of a crop, see that someone else 
gets it. If it isn't needed as human food, it can still be 
used to feed some useful domestic animal. 
DON’T burn up vegetable refuse—leaves, pods, 
vines, etc. Add it to the compost heap where it will 
change to humus and plant food. 
Outline of Your Food Garden Schedule 
Late winter and very early spring: Select the plot 
you are going to use, either of your own land or as 
part of a community project. Clear it of rubbish, weed 
trees, etc. 
When the ground begins to warm up: Start plant- 
ing. (a) Sow seed of hardy sorts that can stand cool 
weoather or that need a long growing season. (b) Set 
out plants of semi-hardy sorts that have been grown 
from seeds started indoors, in hotbeds or in green- 
houses, and gradually hardened off. You can grow 
these yourself or buy them at a local seed store. 
Throughout the growing season: Give your crops 
the care they deserve. This means: Cultivate or stir 
the soil around them, especially as soon as it dries 
after a rain and, anyway, every fortnight or so; do 
this to keep down weeds and conserve moisture. 
Water when necessary on account of extended 
droughts or successive plantings. Protect against 
unfavorable weather, such as late spring and early 
fall frosts; also, at all times, against insect pests and 
plant diseases. 
As the season advances: Start harvesting the fruits 
of your efforts. Home-grown fruits and vegetables are 
superior because they can be left on the plants to 
attain maximum edible maturity; because they can 
be used while really fresh, at the height of their qual- 
ity and delicacy. Whenever possible use young vege- 
tables—beans, beets, lettuce, etc. If you cannot use 
all of a crop when it is ready, arrange to can or other- 
wise preserve it while at its best. Plant slow-growing, 
late or main-season varieties for autumn harvesting 
and winter storage. 
When the harvest season ends: Clean up the gar- 
den; save stakes, trellises, markers; put on compost 
heap all healthy plant refuse, but burn everything that 
might harbor disease or insects: cut and burn all 
weeds; loosen the soil of any vacant spaces and sow 
a winter cover crop. 
Excerpts from article published in The American Home 
ROBERT NICHOLSON SEED CO. 
eae Y Yale 
DALLAS, TEXAS 
