THEY SOW SEEDS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 167, 13 October 1941, Page 6

THEY SOW SEEDS

BRITAIN'S BOMBERS GROW

TOMATOES

Between spells of strafing Nazi bases in Europe, Britain's airmen are growing vegetables for their own messes. And they are using American seeds, for a quarter of the consignment of vegetable seeds sent to Britain under the "Bundles for Britain" plan was allocated to the R.A.F.

One Fighter Command station near London, nest of Spitfire and Hurricane raiders, has ten acres of 'waste' land under cultivation and another three or four acres are being sown with winter vegetables. The men there imve planted 30,000 lettuces. 2500 tomato plants, 5000 cabbages, 2000 brussels sprouts, as well as acres of peas, beans and potatoes. This station is infecting Britain's onion shortage with half an acrc of onions. The gardening movement is part of a plan by which R.A.F. stations throughout Britain will have fresh vegetables for their messes from spare corners of their airfields. The Air Council have appointed a gardening expert, Mr A. H. Whyte Horticultural Adviser to the Aii Ministry, and it is his job to work in liaison with catering officers ami County Agricultural "Officers. He supervises questions of implements, seeds and fertilisers, and gives advice on cropping in relation tu differing conditions of soil and climate. The gardening work carried onl by the airmen is quite voluntary but, as the average Britisher is a keen gardener, there is no shortage of willing hands. The vegetables grown are normally sold to stations'

messes at current prices