Lost Farm Knowledge
War Gardening and Home Storage of Vegetables for the Southern States
National War Garden Commission · 1919
Bibliographic record
Title
War Gardening and Home Storage of Vegetables for the Southern States
Author
National War Garden Commission
Date
1919
Subjects
Southern gardening, Vegetables, Food storage
Rights
Public domain — Library of Congress
Why it matters
This WWI-era guide addresses Southern gardening and home food storage as part of the national war-garden movement. It connects home food production to national food security and provides region-specific guidance for the Southern states, making it both a practical manual and a document of wartime agricultural mobilization.
Modern-use caution
Use current USDA and NCHFP guidance for food preservation. The canning, drying and storage methods in this 1919 publication predate modern food-safety science. Following period preservation instructions without cross-referencing current standards poses real health risks, particularly for low-acid foods and home canning processes.
WWF historical method
Preserve the source; do not confuse it with current guidance.
Wholly Water Farms includes historical agricultural texts in its knowledge library to support research, context and agricultural literacy. These sources are preserved as historical evidence. They are not endorsed as current practice, and readers should always verify specific recommendations against modern science, Extension publications and regulatory guidance before applying any historical technique.
Research value today
War Gardening and Home Storage of Vegetables for the Southern States shows how national food-security campaigns were adapted for regional conditions. The Southern focus means the text addresses crops, growing seasons and storage challenges specific to warmer climates, which makes it a more targeted document than the general war-garden literature.
Researchers can use it to study how food-production messaging reached civilian households during WWI, how Southern agricultural conditions shaped the guidance, and how home preservation techniques have evolved in the century since publication.
Research questions this source can help answer
- Which crops does the guide prioritize for Southern gardens, and why?
- How does the text connect home food production to national food security during WWI?
- What storage and preservation methods does it recommend, and how have those changed under modern food-safety science?
- Where do the 1919 methods pose the greatest safety concerns by current USDA and NCHFP standards?