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Will Seed Company 1944 catalog back cover
SHSND# 10190Victory Gardens did have the desired effect of reducing ration point value of commercially canned vegetables in 1943. By the time this report was written (6 months after D-Day), the Victory Garden planners were already preparing for the end of the war. Graves noted in his letter that many Victory Gardeners had ceased gardening after World War I, but improvements in techniques and equipment since then had made gardening easier than it was in 1918, so it was expected that many Victory Gardeners would continue to practice home gardening after World War II.
Oscar H. Will & Co. Seed Catalog used Victory Garden imagery and language on the back cover of the catalog in 1942, 1943, and 1944. The page advertises Will’s Defense Garden Collection for $1.25. There are sixteen vegetables in the collection (no potatoes) and the company inserted a “cultural leaflet” with the seed packets. The seeds were to be raised in a garden 25 ft x 80 ft (2000 sq ft). In 1943, Will’s Seeds changed the name of the collection to Will’s Victory Garden Collection” and the price rose to $1.35 (post paid). Superimposed over the lush collection of vegetables is a large V. In 1944, the image included canned as well as fresh vegetables and the price had increased again to $1.60. In 1945, the catalog which was mailed to homes in January (four months before VE Day) did not include the Victory Garden image or title, but offered the same collection of seeds as Will’s Pioneer Home Garden Collection.