Market gardening included growing crops, such as tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and brussel sprouts ready for the market. After being picked, this produce to be boxed off ready for the market. Land Girls were responsible for the growing of vegetables and As Joan Mant recounts, some girls were given a book entitled ‘How to Grow and Produce Your Own Food’ and were expected to follow those instructions when undertaking their work. She also remembers how Land Girls would end up not smelling like roses, but ‘a harvest festival’.
Land girls harvesting cabbages. A group of women stand in a field close to the coast. In the background there is a ship out at sea, and the Isle of Wight lies in the distance. WW2 caption: “The scene is Hampshire, with the Isle of Wight beyond. Milk, poultry and vegetables are all supplied to the Naval hospital ships, mainly through the efforts of the Women’s Land Army”.