There was a large plot of land designated as the communal gardens. This gave each kitchen a garden section. There were two kitchens that had their own gardens aside from the communal one. These were Ruff's and Ackerman's kitchens. Otherwise, each kitchen had a section of planted land to supply vegetables for their meals.
Each kitchen had beets, beans, cabbage, cucumbers, citron melon, carrots, onions and other common vegetables planted in their section. Potatoes were not planted here. There was a communal potato field located north of the Rock Island R.R tracks. Each kitchen also had a small tool shed and outhouse in each section. The kitchen help for the specific kitchens took care of their own plots.
Onions were also sold by rail to other cities. My oma remembers that there would be about 100 one-hundred pound sacks that went away by rail to Chicago. Proceeds were divided among the kitchens as a small bonus for their hard work. There was a lot produced in these gardens. It was these vegetables that fed the village throughout the year!
The following picture was scanned from the April, 1971 Palimpsest. It is of a garden tool shed. Note the vegetables in the fore and back ground.