Residents of Adams County would harvest wild and cultivated plants. Corn was grown because of its unlimited uses. In addition to providing food for the table, the ashes of corncobs possessed the alkaline property essential for raising dough. Whenever "soda" was needed for baking, corn was shelled, and the red cobs were used because it was thought that they contained more carbonate of soda than white cobs. The cobs were burned in a clean place, and the ashes were gathered and placed in a jar or jug. Water was poured into the jar according to the quantity of the ashes to form a good consistency. A tablespoon of the alkali was used with the flour to make bread.

Tea was enjoyed by everyone during the Civil War period. When it became scarce, the population tried various substitutes for this precious commodity. The leaves of the blackberry bush, huckleberry leaves, and the leaves of the holly tree were dried in the shade and used to make tea. Coffee was also scarce during the War. Dandelion roots (Taraxacum officinale) were dug up and washed. The roots were roasted for about four hours in an oven until they became dry and dark brown. They were then ground and brewed as real coffee, using 1 teaspoon per cup of water. Peaches were grown for their fresh fruit qualities and also to make 'Confederate raisins.' The peaches were dried and then clipped with scissors. The raisins were also used to add flavor to a pudding.

In place of kerosene for lights, the oil of ground peas mixed with the oil of compressed lard was used and served well the need for lighting during those times.

Gardening was essential during the Civil War because vegetation could be used medicinally when manufactured medicines were not available. The Confederate States Medical and Surgical Journal of July 1864 listed a "Standard Supply Table of Indigenous Remedies for Field Service and Sick in General Hospital." Stimulants could be derived from calamus, lavender, partridgeberry, sassafras, Seneca snakeroot plants, tulip tree, and Virginia snake root. Astringents came from the bark and leaves of sumac. Tonics were made from blackberries, dewberries, dogwood, hops, persimmon, sage, white oak, white willow, and wild cherry.

The berries of the dogwood were taken for quinine, as they contained alkaloid properties of cinchona and Jesuit's Bark, also called Peruvian bark. A soothing cordial for dysentery and similar ailments was made from blackberry roots, but ripe persimmons were thought by some to be more superior to the blackberry roots. An extract of the barks of the wild cherry, dogwood, and poplar were used for chills. For coughs and lung diseases, syrup made with the leaves and roots of the mullein plant (verbascum thapsus), globe flower (trollius), and wild cherry tree bark were thought to be infallible. Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) was used to treat heart conditions and syphilis. Women were encouraged to grow the red garden poppy in their garden because acceptable opium could be extracted from it. Heart stimulants were derived from wild cherry and bloodroot and those who grew and harvested them received high prices for their produce. High prices were also advertised for cranesbill, skunk cabbage, and wild cherry bark. Agents and circuit riders were employed by the purveyors to collect certain plants, and to encourage rural citizens to grow and harvest them.

The inner bark of the Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styracifua) contained an astringent. If it was boiled in milk, or a tea made with water, its astringency was so great that it was a great remedy for diarrhea and dysentery

Joseph Sherfy, a minister affiliated with the Church of the Brethren, purchased a fifty-acre farm along the Emmitsburg Road about a mile south of the town of Gettysburg, PA in 1842. At the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, the farm included the famous Peach Orchard to the south of Wheatfield Road as well as both Big and Little Round Tops and the Devil’s Den. Sherfy sold his peaches fresh, dried, and canned. This business supported Joseph, his wife Mary and their six children. The Sherfy farm garden is maintained to this day by the National Park Service and volunteers. It is worthwhile to visit this farm and view a reproduction of the 1863 family garden.

Alfred Hoyt Bill expressed the importance of gardening during the Civil War very eloquently by saying, "In this country, women were digging with their own hands in the earth of their smokehouses and tobacco barns to extract from it nitre for the manufacture of gunpowder. And yet these same dirt-digging dames were also angels of mercy, who strove, along with the male medics, to minister to the sick and wounded men in uniform. Thankfully, Mother Nature worked alongside in the soil, providing plants for sustenance and herbs for healing."