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COMMUNITY PLOTS ON AN ALLOTMENT BASIS
Another type of community Victory gardening to which consideration
should be given by committees is the renting of larger areas of suitable
land, located conveniently with respect to public means of
transportation, which may be allotted in parcels or plots to families.
Parcels may be all of the same size, for convenience in laying out
walks; for larger families, two or more adjacent plots may be assigned,
in proportion to the requirements of the respective families.
In connection with community gardens of the foregoing character,
community services similar to those suggested for vacant lot gardens
become doubly advisable, because of greater savings in costs and greater
increases in efficiency which may be effectuated. In addition, sheds
should be provided, with lockers for garden tools and supplies, or even
with community tools which may be checked out to individual gardeners.
Such a provision eliminates the necessity for gardeners to carry tools
back and forth from their homes to the gardens, and greatly increases
the convenience of caring for the gardens. The costs of these services
of course should be pro-rated among the families participating in the
community enterprise. SUPERVISION SHOULD BE PROVIDED
It is highly desirable that capable supervision of large community
garden areas be provided, preferably on a volunteer basis. The committee
should ascertain the extent of experience in gardening among the patrons
of community plots as well as among other persons interested in the
project, and competent persons should be designated as supervisors, to
be available for consultation by gardeners while working on the plots,
at assigned, specified times. It is specially important that such
supervision be present during periods when most of the planting is done,
and also when insect pests may require control measures.
Bulletin boards should be set up, for posting announcements, rules,
timely information, plot numbers and assignments, and other notices.
PROTECTION MAY BE NEEDED Frequently it is
necessary to provide protection, in addition to the usual police
service, against theft and vandalism. Volunteer guards serving for brief
scheduled periods may solve this problem in many cases. The posting of
names of families conspicuously on their respective plots often will
serve as a sufficient restraint from trespass by patrons upon each
others' gardens.
Usually it is desirable to draw up a set of simple rules about the
maintenance of the gardens, including weed control, disposal of rubbish,
insect control, and the like. AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM IS
HELPFUL Courses of lectures on gardening by
qualified persons are a means of stimulating interest in community
gardening and of improving the chances for success of the patrons. In
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Victory Garden Committee has required that
prospective patrons attend such a course of study, presented during the
early spring before outdoor activities begin, before they become
eligible to be assigned community garden plots. Occasional
demonstrations of proper tillage, disease and insect control, watering,
and harvesting methods at proper times during the growing season are
very valuable to patrons. |
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click for larger photo
Victory Gardens
Handbook of the
Victory Garden Committee
War Services, Pennsylvania
State Council of Defense
April, 1944
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page v
page vi
page vii
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