The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-05
VACANT LOT GARDENS IN :: MINNEAPOLIS :=:: What One City Did in Beautifying and Utilizing the
 Waste Land Within It's Limits

Leroy J. Boughner, City Editor of
 The Minnea polls Tribune and Chair
 Gardens of the American Civic As
 sociation.
 Exclusive Service The Survey Press
 Bureau)
 The Garden club of Minneapolis closed a successful vacant lot gar dentng campaign in the fall of 1911, with harvest of vegetables that dem onstrated the practical value Of cul- tivating city vacant lots, put Minnea- polls on the map as one of the most progressive cities in the country, and resulted in other cities less successful in a similar venture, swamping myself as president of the Minneapolis Gar den club with requests for informa tion in regard to our plan and methods of campaign.
 The members Of the Minneapolis Garden club planted 325 vacant lots to vegetables and flowers in the year of 1911-200,O GOO square feet to vege- tables and 250,000 to flowers. It dis tributed 22,O00 pacg Ages of nastur- tium seeds to children, covered every vacant lot along two miles of the main cleared 500 acres of rubbish and screened 10000 feet frontage with bushy plants. Under it's influence, TOO persons. (not it's members) also gardened vacant lots and 1s,000 had gardens at home. Nineteen hundred acres in all were improved. The cost the GaTQ6n CluD was S0. .064.4S. InS value of the crop was s11, ,SO1.7S.
 In Minneapolis there are 5000 acres of vacant lot, sufficient to supply the entire state with vegetables. The eco homie value of vacant lot gardens to those who took them up greatly out weighed the cost. So many vegetables were grown that complaints were made by the grocers Many of the etables at lower cost. People in vacant lot gardens neighborhoods bought from the gardeners. the hotels during the week of the Minneapolis Civic Celebration served vacant lot vege tables.
 Three hundred and twenty-five va cant lot gardens were started. Of through lack of interest on the part of the gardeners. The motive for the general garden movement, was pro apolis a city of gardens in honor of the Civic Federation Week held early in July. The appeal was made first to civic pride to get people to do what was for their economic benefit.
 For a fee of one dollar. the Garden club gave seeds for lot 40 by 12o feet. plowed and narrowed the lot, provided supervision and instruction all sum mer, and offered valuable prizes. It was soon discovered that 1t was not necessary to get formal permission for the use of lots. Since there was no cost to them and the lots were to be restored in the same. if not in bet ter condition the owners had no ob- jections. The local congressman se- cured government seeds for all the planting.
 Before the middle of the summer the garden fever had spread like con. tagion. Appeals were made through the newspapers and then by members of the club personally appearing be- fore the clubs, lodges, improvement orga nizations and other associations.
 When the aeitation had progressed a little the Young Mems Christian Associa tion organized a course of six lectures on gardening. the farm school supplying the lecturers. 4 local seed house planted a model vacant lot gar den in a pen eight feet long and dis played it in a show window. Hun