"Don't Waste Food While Others Starve"

If there is a vacant lot in your neighborhood, see if you cannot get the use of it for yourself and your neighbors, and raise your own vegetables. An hour a day spent in this way will not only increase wealth and help your family, but will help you personally by adding to your strength and well-being and making you appreciate the Eden joy of gardening. An hour in the open air is worth more than a dozen expensive prescriptions by an expensive doctor.

The only tools necessary for a small garden are a spade or spading fork, a hoe, a rake, and a line or piece of cord.

First of all, clear the ground of all rubbish, sticks, stones, bottles, etc. (especially whisky bottles).

Choose the sunniest spot in the yard for your garden.

Dig up the soil to a depth of 6 to 10 inches, using a spade or spading fork.

(Deeper for parsnips and some other roots. Ed.) Break up all the lumps with the spade or fork. If you live in a section where your neighbors have gardens, you might club together to hire a teamster for a day to do the plowing and harrowing for you all, thus saving a large amount of labor.

"Don't Waste Food While Others Starve" (ca. 1917-1919)United States Food Administration Poster - Contributor: L.C. Clinker. Artist: M.J. Dwyer. Source: National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD (NWDNS-4-P-145)