Iowa's WPA Gardens Part 1
Hot House, 1924, Courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory Project
1930s and early 1940s WPA food sources located in the archives of the US Library of Congress cover a wide range of topics including gardening. Over the next couple days I’m sharing excerpts/stories from a Iowa folder titled Special Studies and Projects, Almanacs, Iowa, Anecdotes/facts/proverbs/recipes Notes, Reports, and Essays. I have produced the content in a paraphrased format when necessary to make them legible and indirect quotes as often as possible.
Hothouse Soil
In preparing hothouse (greenhouse) soil, use equal parts of rotted manure and garden loam. Swift the mixture through a ¼ inch screen into a flat plant box. Keep the box of prepared soil and seeds in a warm place for about 60° temperature until the seeds germinate. When the first true leaves begin to develop transplant the seedlings 1 ½ to 2 inches apart. Mushrooms can be grown in the soil, too, provided it is kept in a warm, damp, and rather dark place.
