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A6RI CULTURAL DEPi
The Backyard Garden
By the Same Author
THE COUNTRY HOME
MONTH BY MONTH
A book for all who, to quote the author,
"tread the pleasant path of country living."
All the activities of the country home are
competently covered. Stables and live stock,
poultry, orchard and fruit garden, greenhouse
and window garden, flower garden, vegetable
garden, bees and their care all receive due
attention. It is replete with new ideas and
suggestions that even the experienced will
find of inestimable value. To the inexperi-
enced it will prove an indispensable adviser.
It gives definite plans and accurate directions
for each month's routine the right things
to do at the right time. Full and dependable
reference tables, with due regard to climatic
conditions, make this a complete book.
Quarto, Cloth, Illustrated
Price, $1.OO Net
ii
The Backyard Garden
A Handbook for the Amateur,
the Community and the School.
By
EDWARD I. FARRINGTON
I
Author of "The Country Home," etc.
Chicago
LAIRD & LEE, Inc.
Publishers
fiv
Copyright, 1918
By
LAIRD & LEE, Inc.
Foreword
a*
IF MOST garden books were not written over the heads
of the average amateur or else lacking in those details
which the beginner most needs to know, there would be
neither reason nor excuse for this little volume. With-
out proper guidance, the backyard gardener may waste
seed, time, labor and enthusiasm. This is unfortunate,
both for the individual and the nation at large, for
waste of any sort cuts into the country's resources. Every
garden which is a failure results in the loss of potential
foodstuffs as well as in the loss of seed. It is the pur-
pose of this book to help smooth the way for the begin-
ner in gardening, pointing out the pitfalls before he
stumbles, and thus have a part in filling the nation's
market basket.
Many garden-makers will insist upon learning their
lessons by experience only, but those who are willing to
take advice will find their garden operations simplified
and the results more satisfactory if they will accept and
profit by the experiences, successes and failures of others
as here summarized. The writer is not crossing the
bounds of modesty in making this statement, for he is
frank to say that he has had the assistance of a great
many amateur and commercial vegetable-growers in
preparing this handbook. In this connection he desires to
express his appreciation of this help, and also to acknowl-
edge his indebtedness to the Boston Globe for allowing
him to use some of the material prepared by him for
the garden department of that paper.
VII
394741
Table of Contents
For alphabetical index: see page 185
a*
PAGE
1. PLANNING THE SEASON'S WORK 1 1
2. THE SQUARE-ROD GARDEN 18
3. GETTING THE GARDEN READY 21
4. INDISPENSABLE TOOLS, AND SOME OTHERS 24
5. FEEDING THE HOME GARDEN 28
6. WHY LIME is USED, AND How 31
7. COLD FRAMES AND THEIR BABY SISTERS 35
8. STARTING SEEDS IN THE HOUSE x 39
9. WHEN AND How TO PLANT 43
10. CULTIVATION AND WATER 47
11. WITCH GRASS AND WEEDS 51
12. WAGING WAR ON THE BUGS 53
13. SUCCESS IN TRANSPLANTING 59
14. SUPPORTING CROPS THAT CLIMB 62
15. COMPANION AND SUCCESSION CROPS 64
16. THREE PERMANENT CROPS 68
17. GARDEN BEANS OF MANY KINDS 72
18. CABBAGES AND CAULIFLOWER 77
19. GROWING THE SWEETEST SWEET CORN 81
20. GOOD LETTUCE ALL SUMMER 86
21. ONIONS FROM SEEDS AND SETS 89
22. A LONG SEASON OF PEAS 92
23. THE ROOT CROP QUINTET 96
24. THE LITTLE POTATO PATCH 101
25. SPINACH AND OTHER GREENS 107
26. CELERY FOR HOME USE in
27. SQUASHES FOR SUMMER AND WINTER 115
28. GROWING QUALITY TOMATOES 1 18
29. BACKYARD CUCUMBERS AND MELONS 125
30. TWELVE NEGLECTED VEGETABLES 128
31. MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLES 132
32. MAKING A VACATION GARDEN 136
33. GROWING VEGETABLES TO CAN AND EVAPORATE 139
34. VEGETABLES IN THE FLOWER GARDEN 143
35. WHEN TO PICK THE VEGETABLES 145
36. STORING THE WINTER VEGETABLES 148
ix
Table of Contents
PAGE
37. A GARDEN IN THE CELLAR 152
38. THE BACKYARD FLOWER GARDEN 156
39. SHORT CUTS FOR HOME GARDENERS 159
40. EACH MONTH'S WORK 163
APPENDIX
Handy Reference Tables for the Home Garden-maker
FERTILIZERS IN SMALL GARDENS 173
VEGETABLES FOR A SUCCESSION 173
GERMINATION OF SEEDS 174
How MUCH TO PLANT 174
SPRAY MIXTURES FOR SMALL GARDENS 175
PLANTING TABLE FOR VEGETABLES 176
PRINCIPAL INSECTS AND REMEDIES 178
PLANTING TABLE FOR FLOWERS 179
GOOD VARIETIES FOR THE HOME GARDEN 181
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS 183
Plotting the Home Garden
Planning the Season's Work
BACKYARD garden-making has of late been given
an impetus which will last for many years. Of course
there have always been little gardens. In making them
many thrifty people have found their daily recreation.
With the war came the necessity of making gardens in
order to help feed the world. Men and women took up
gardening as a patriotic duty, but they will continue it
because of the pleasure they find in the work and the
superior quality of the vegetables which they are able to
produce. Thousands of people never knew the real flavor
of sweet corn, garden peas and string beans, when at
12 Planning the Season's Work
their best, until they began to grow them in their war
gardens. Many a commuter has laid aside his napkin
with a sigh, after his first meal of Golden Bantam corn
had been consumed, and remarked that he had never
eaten anything in his life to compare with it. Certain
it is that thousands of people who have learned the ad-
vantages of a home garden will never be content again
to eat the stale and withered produce which comes from
the stores.
The first step in the making of a backyard or vacant-
lot garden is the drawing of a plan. It is especially
necessary that the garden be plotted in such a way that
there will be no waste, either of seed or produce. Seeds
are scarce, and food must be conserved.
The bulk of the garden area should be devoted to
what may be termed the essential crops that is to say,
those which contain the greatest amount of food value.
In this list are peas, beans, corn, spinach, beets, car-
rots, parsnips, turnips, cabbages and tomatoes. It is
well to figure out roughly the amount which will be
needed of each kind, and to plan accordingly. All the
root crops can be stored for winter use, and an extra
amount of seed should be planted with that purpose in
view. Tomatoes and other vegetables can be canned
for winter, so that a surplus will not be wasted.
Such crops as Swiss chard and New Zealand spinach,
which can be cropped continuously, will require only
a small amount of room. It is a common mistake to
plant long rows of vegetables belonging to this class.
The amount yielded is then much more than can be util-
ized. The same statement holds true in regard to let-
tuce and radishes. These crops should be used as fillers
Rear of Garden
10 Ft. * |O Ft.
1...
Corn 2 Ft. apart
Tomatoes
Cabbage IS.In. apart
"- Peas ( 2 Rows )
Beans ( 3 Rows )
Green Onions
Spinach
Radish
Lettuce
Potatoes 2 Ft. apart
I Ft
I Ft
I Ft
(ft
i rt
20. Ft.
(13)
Front of Garden
Suggested Plan for a Backyard Garden
14 Planning the Season's Work
rather than given a large amount of space which could
be devoted more profitably to more substantial crops.
Of course the natural tastes of the family must be
taken into account. If peas are especially liked, and
cabbage is not in favor, the output of the former should
be doubled, and of the latter restricted. Whether or
not potatoes should be grown, the garden-maker must
decide for himself, bearing in mind that they require a
large amount of room and often can be purchased for
less than they cost to grow. Moreover, there is no par-
ticular advantage in having potatoes from one's own
garden.
Naturally the backyard gardener has got to take his
land as he finds it. It is true a southerly slope and a
good sandy loam are most to be desired. But the lack
of these advantages should not discourage the garden-
maker. Good crops are grown on northerly slopes,
while almost any soil can be put in condition to pro-
duce high-grade vegetables of some sort. Methods of
improving the soil are dealt with in another chapter,
and if any special difficulty arises, the State experiment
stations will be glad to respond without charge to any
appeal for help. A list of experiment stations will be
found in the back of this book.
One point, however, must be taken into considera-
tion. It is impossible to grow good crops on land which
is shaded most of the day, or in ground which is filled
with tree roots. Most of the vegetables must have at
least six hours of sunlight if they are to thrive, and
an open exposure is a great advantage. If there hap-
pens to be a shady corner in the garden, which is reached
by sunlight only two or three hours a day, it can be
Rear of Garden
30 Ft.
Corn
(2 Ft apart ) o
Potatoes
(2 Ft. apart)
Ift
in
1
<\i
iFt.
in
1
C\J
in
^
0)
CD
IFt
IFt.
in
1
(M
m
8
U
Iff
IFt
^
m
(/>
V
CO
Sin
18 In
18 In.
Peas (3 Rows)
(Rows 18 inches apart )
Tomatoes
CauliFlowcr
(Plants 2 Ft apart)
|^ Onions (3 Rows)
IFl
Cabbage
(Plants ISinches apart)
.1
C
w
Iff.
Cucumber (2Hills)
Endive x
Swiss Chard '
Salsify ^
Radish x
Spinach (ZRows) }
Lettuce (2 Rows) J
-3 Ft.
5t.-
30. Ft
15 Ft.
Front of Garden
Suggested Plan for a Vacant-Lot Garden
Ontario Department of Agriculture
(15)
16 Planning the Season's Work
devoted to the leaf crops, like lettuce, Swiss chard, New
Zealand spinach, and the like. If there is a piece of the
garden which is naturally low and wet in the spring,
it can be used for late cabbages and celery.
An excellent plan for the garden-maker is to keep a
little account with himself. The result may surprise him,
and perhaps check a little tendency to egotism at the end
of the first season. At the same time it is likely to prove
the actual value in dollars and cents of a well-kept
garden. In this account book there should be a debit
column for fertilizer, seed, labor, etc., and a credit
column in which all the vegetables eaten and canned or
evaporated should appear at market prices. To be fair,
a one-fifth depreciation on the garden tools should be
figured in each year, the assumption being that all tools
will give five seasons' wear.
It would be difficult to put too much emphasis upon
the necessity of getting to work early. Almost every
year the seedsmen are swamped with orders just be-
fore planting time. The result is that they are slow in
filling these orders, to the exasperation of their cus-
tomers, and that in the hurry and rush many mistakes
are made. Moreover certain kinds of seeds and sup-
plies are likely to be exhausted long before the close
of the season. The man who orders early will get what
he wants, while his neighbor who orders late will get a
substitute or nothing.
It is well to begin actual work in the garden as soon
as possible, yet not before the ground can be properly
worked. Many a garden has been ruined for years by
plowing it before it has dried out, the soil being com-
pacted so hard that only time could make it loose and
Planning the Season's Work 17
friable again. Soil is ready to work when it will just
crumble if a handful is squeezed. V-
It is well for the backyard garden-maker to figure out
about how much ground he can care for before he be-
gins his season's work. It is a great mistake to have
the garden too large. A small plot well tilled is much
better than a big one neglected. A man who cannot
count on more than two hours a day should not figure
on a garden which measures much more than 50 by 50
feet, although, if his land is in good condition, he may
easily be able to care for a plot 50 by 75 feet. No man
who is doing a full day's work in a shop or an office
can expect to devote more than two hours a day, on
the average, to his garden. That will probably mean
giving all of his Saturday afternoons to the work,
because there will be many mornings or evenings when
it will be impossible to work in the garden because of
rain or some other reason. Naturally the garden-maker
who can have the help of his children or possibly his
wife can manage a larger piece of ground.
There are some people who always begin any kind
of work without adequate preparation. These are the
kind of people who make a failure of backyard gar-
dening. Also they are the kind who waste seed, land
and labor. It is important that the backyard gardener
make himself reasonably familiar with the operations
which he is planning to carry out. He can do that by
reading up on the whole subject, and especially on those
crops which he expects to grow. The Government has
iss'Ued many bulletins which can be had for the ask-
ing, and similar bulletins are put out by several of the
State experiment stations.
The Square-Rod Garden
AS SHOWING how even a very small plot of ground
can be made into quite a comprehensive garden
a bulletin issued by the University of Minnesota pre-
sents the following plan of "a square-rod garden."
One hundred and sixty of these make an acre. Very
few back yards are so small that they do not afford
the necessary room to carry out this plan.
A garden of this size can be made to produce a large
amount of food. Thousands of them should be started
in the crowded cities and thus add materially to the
nation's food supply.
The schools, too, everywhere, should take up this
good work. Many have done so already. In Iowa, for
example, and in several other States, gardening has
been placed on the regular course of study.
The plan is adapted particularly to concerted garden-
ing efforts by the pupils of the public schools. One va-
cant city block will accommodate several hundred
square-rod gardens. A block 300 by 400 feet, for in-
stance, will afford ample space for more than 250 pu-
pils to exercise their individual talents in horticulture,
and still leave room for at least five feet of walk be-
tween the square-rod plots.
Allotting one of the plots to a pupil and encouraging
the boys and girls of our schools to competitive effort
will result in a spirit of emulation of untold education-
al as well as economic value to the country.
To get the best results from a garden of this size the
amateur gardener should proceed as follows, after first
fertilizing, spading and raking the soil :
Rows i and 4 Mix radish and carrot seed together
18
The Square-Rod Garden 19
and sow from twenty-five to thirty seeds to each foot of
row as soon as the soil is ready. A trench about one inch
deep is opened for the seeds. Use the radishes when large
Row No. Inches between rows
12
1
Radish and carrots followed by tomatoes .
18
2
Early peas
12
3
Early peas
18
4
Radish and carrots followed by tomatoes.
18
.... 5....
Early peas
a
12
$ 6
Early peas
18
w 7
Lettuce followed by tomatoes
H
18
..-. . 8
String beans
12
9
String beans
13
10
Spinach followed by tomatoes
18
11
Early beets
12
. ...12
Early beets
12
16Vo feet
Plan for a Square-Rod Garden
enough so as to give the carrots a chance to grow. About
June I, set out six tomato plants 3 feet apart. A few
carrot plants will have to be pulled out where the tomato
plants are set.
20 The Square-Rod Garden
Rows 2, 3, 5 and 6 Early peas. Sow about fifteen
seeds to each foot of row in a furrow about four inches
deep. Use an early dwarf variety like the American
Wonder. Peas can be sown as soon as the garden is
ready.
Row 7 Sow lettuce in a furrow one inch deep and set
tomato plants as in the carrot rows.
Rows 8 and 9 Plant string beans in hills 12 inches
apart about the middle of May. Cover to the depth of
two inches.
Row 10 Sow spinach the same as the lettuce in row 7
Set "tomato plants as already described.
Rows ii and 12 Sow about fifteen beet seeds per foot
of row the same as radish and carrot.
If the soil is rich and one is careful when working the
garden it is possible to grow spinach between all the rows.
The carrots and beets should be used while young, either
on the table or canned for winter. The tomatoes are
supposed to have all the space when they need it. Consid-
erable space will be saved if the tomato plants are trained
to a single stem and fastened to a strong stake.
Getting the Garden Ready
a*
IT IS a waste of time and labor, to say nothing of
enthusiasm, to plant a garden which has not been
properly prepared. One reason why amateur vegeta-
ble gardeners often lose heart and say that they can't
make anything grow is just because they will not take
the time to make the ground ready for the seed before
they start planting.
Merely turning over the earth with the plow and
then smoothing it down with a harrow will not suf-
fice. It is actual cultivation which the soil needs, with
all clods broken up and all large stones removed. The
finer the soil can be made, the better the crops will
grow.
In the old country gardens are made ready by the
trench system, which is accomplished by this means :
First a trench the length of the garden and the depth
of a spade is dug; then a second trench is dug in the
same way, and the soil thrown into the first; the soil
from a third trench is used to fill the second; and so
on, across the garden; finally the soil dug out of the
first trench is wheeled to the other side to fill the trench
dug last. In this way the whole garden is well worked
over, and a perfect seedbed is made. This may seem
too laborious a process for the backyard gardener in
this country, and yet even here it is often the secret of
the prize-winning crops, sometimes a secret which is
not disclosed to the neighbors. In small gardens the
bottom of each trench can be filled with manure.
If the garden^maker happens to :have very heavy
soil, it can be improved to some extent by working in
a considerable quantity of sand or coal ashes. Neither
21
22 Getting the Garden Ready
has any fertilizing value, but they help to make the
soil more porous. The only real panacea for .poor
soils, however, regardless of their nature, is stable
manure, which lightens up heavy soils and gives body
to those which are light. Manure which is partly rotted
is far and away the best for all crops. If wood ashes
are available they can be used to advantages where corn,
tomatoes and leaf crops are to be grown. If commer-
cial fertilizers must be relied upon alone, as in sections
where manure cannot be obtained, they must be sup-
plemented with some such crop as rye or buckwheat,
planted late in the season, to be plowed under the next
spring. The decaying vegetable matter will provide the
humus which is furnished by the coarse material in
manure when that is used. Humus, which is decayed
vegetable matter of any kind, is absolutely indispensa-
ble if good crops are to be grown. Of course the first
season new land will probably give satisfactory crops
even with commercial fertilizers alone.
If only sod land is available for a garden, the ama-
teur will find himself with some special problems to
solve. It is a very difficult matter to get sod land ready
for a kitchen garden the first season, unless the sods are
removed and the soil shaken out. This plan is wholly
feasible in a small backyard. If sods are simply turned
over by the plow, the land cannot be worked except
with the greatest difficulty. It will be full of airholes,
and about the only crops which can be grown will be
potatoes and corn. If one happens to get hold of a
particularly good plowman, who will turn the sods en-
tirely over, so that the grass will be on the bottom, and
will then go over it with a disk harrow, it can be put
Getting the Garden Ready 23
into fairly good shape. Such land will usually grow
everything except root crops well, provided the season
is not too dry. Sod land, however, is pretty certain to
be a discouraging proposition for any amateur to tackle,
unless the sod can be removed.
It may be said in passing that these sods actually
contain a great amount of humus and plant food, and
should not be thrown away. If piled up, they will
soon disintegrate, and after a year or two may be put
back again, when they will greatly improve the gar-
den.
After sods have been turned over and the soil kept
cultivated for one season, as will be the case if corn is
grown, they will have rotted sufficiently by the next
year to make the garden available for all crops.
Indispensable Tools, and Some Others
a*
ONE of the best garden-makers whom it is the writ-
er's privilege to know does practically all of his
work with a rake, a spade and a hoe. Even a large gar-
den can be carried on successfully with these three im-
plements. It is not wise, however, to restrict one's self
to this trio, because several other tools will go far toward
minimizing time and labor. The average backyard ama-
teur has only an hour or two each day for his garden
work and must make every moment count. The brief
list given might well be supplemented by the following:
A wheel hoe with extra attachments, a scuffle hoe, a
garden fork, a potato hook, a hand weeder, a good trowel
and a garden line. In addition you should have a wheel-
barrow if the garden is a large one.
It is true that a wheel hoe is not indispensable, and
the man who has a garden of limited space does not need
one. This implement, however, makes it possible to
go over a vegetable plot much quicker than the work can
be done with a hoe, and with less exertion. The vari-
ous attachments are so arranged that the operator can
get under the leaves of the growing plants without cut-
ting off the stems, and can either pulverize the surface
of the ground or work it to a considerable depth. The
plow attachment is particularly convenient when seeds
are to be sown in furrows. The furrows can be opened
and the seed covered without any handwork.
Several kinds of wheel hoes are now on the market,
but the most satisfactory for the amateur is one with
a single wheel having a diameter of two feet. Some
of the best makes have smaller wheels, but are wholly
satisfactory nevertheless. Many times double-wheel hoes
24
Indispensable Tools, and Some Others 25
are recommended, because they can be used astride the
rows. There is a slight advantage in this, but on the
other hand these implements are harder to handle, and
the average amateur will find a single-wheel hoe much
more desirable. A good machine can be purchased for
$3.00, while those with numerous attachments cost up
to $8.00. A seed-sowing attachment can be purchased
for a few dollars extra, but it is not to be recommended
to the man or woman who owns a small backyard gar-
den. It is, of course, a great saver of time and labor
when the garden is several hundred feet square.
The scuffle hoe is a popular tool with market garden-
ers and can be used to advantage in any garden where
the soil is rather loose and not stony. A large plot
can be gone over quickly with this tool, which can be
both pushed and pulled. It makes a very good substi-
tute for a wheel hoe in a garden of limited proportions.
The need of a potato hook may be questioned, as pota-
toes are likely to be ruled out of a little garden ; but the
use of this device is not restricted by any means to the
digging of potatoes. It is one of the best of tools for
cultivating around young and tender vegetables, and
far preferable to some of those sold for that purpose.
A trowel is almost indispensable when plants are be-
ing set out. It should be a strong and sturdy tool, how-
ever, and not of the ten-cent store variety.
Most amateur gardeners have a pride in straight rows.
These can be obtained only by the use of a garden line,
and the only way to keep the line from getting snarled
is to wind it on a suitable reel.
Getting back to the hoe, which cannot be given up,
no matter how many more modern tools may be intro-
26 Indispensable Tools, and Some Others
duced, it is worth while pointing out that the wise gar-
den-maker will choose his hoe with great care. It should
be strongly made and balance well in the hands, feeling
comfortable when placed in the proper position for work.
It should not be too light nor too heavy, and it should
have a sharp blade. The only way to do good work with
the hoe is to keep it sharp and clean. Practical garden-
makers keep a flat file in their pockets when at work
and apply this frequently to the hoe edge. If the blade
is allowed to become dirty or rusty, earth will adhere to
it and increase its weight, a point not to be overlooked.
It is true, of course, that filing wears away the blade,
and some garden-makers with whom economy is a fetish
pound the blades with a heavy hammer on .an anvil, in-
stead of filing them. This flattens out the blade with-
out wearing down the edge. A mere touch with the
file will then make it a keen cutting instrument.
It is not always realized that a hoe has numerous uses.
Furrows are opened easily by using one corner, and
the soil can be tamped down with the flat side after the
furrows have been covered. An old hoe with the blade
filed down to half its width makes an excellent tool for
use in the strawberry bed. Sometimes badly worn hoes
are cut diamond shape, and then are particularly useful
at seed-sowing time.
It is highly important to keep all tools clean and free
from rust. It is an excellent plan to keep a few squares
of old bagging on hand with which to wipe off the tools
after they have been used. When any garden imple-
ment is to be laid away for a time, it will not rust if
first rubbed over with lard to which a little whitelead
has been added, or with common wagon grease. Tools
Indispensable Tools, and Some Others 27
which have already become rusty may be cleaned if first
soaked in sour milk, whey or kerosene for ten or twelve
hours, and then rubbed briskly with a rough cloth. An
occasional painting will help to preserve the woodwork.
In some sections, where the borrowing habit is well es-
tablished, marking the tools with a stencil so that they
can be easily identified is a wise precaution. Some gar-
den-makers also paint a bright-colored band around the
handles of their tools, so that they can quickly be found
if lost in the grass.
Feeding the Home Garden
a*
VEGETABLES which are to feed the family must
first themselves be fed. That opens up a phase of
garden-making which puzzles the average amateur more
than any other feature of this work. There seems to be
something mysterious about commercial fertilizers, and
some amateurs refuse to have anything to do with them.
This is a mistake, although really there is little need
of commercial fertilizers if stable manure can be ob-
tained in abundance. It usually happens that the back-
yard vegetable-grower who lives in a small city or a
town finds it practically impossible to obtain stable ma-
nure except at a prohibitive price. There is no reason
then why he should not use dried manures and commer-
cial fertilizers from the seedstore. If properly handled
they will give most satisfactory results.
Unfortunately war-time conditions have made even
commercial fertilizers high in price, and often hard to
obtain. For that reason dried manures, liquid manures
and the practice of green manuring must be depended
upon to a large extent.
Although green manuring is a new term to many peo-
ple, it is one with which they should become acquainted
as soon as possible. Green manures are the salvation of
small gardens, and even of the market gardens, when
fertilizers become scarce. They take the form of quick-
growing crops, like rye, buckwheat, vetch, rape, turnips
and crimson clover, which are plowed under before
they have matured. In this way humus, which is de-
cayed vegetable matter, is added to the soil, and the lat-
ter greatly improved. One of the best ways to make
any garden better is to sow rye as soon as the crops are
28
Feeding the Home Garden 29
off, letting it grow through the winter and plowing it
under when spring comes.
Probably the amateur can grow good crops in most
new land without the use of fertilizers, but the yield will
be very much smaller than if they were employed. Of
course barnyard manure, when thoroughly well rotted,
is the best fertilizer, but it is not so quick to act *as some
other kinds. If barnyard manure which is thoroughly
well rotted, and yet has not been exposed to the weather
where it will leach, which means washing away of the
liquid, can be obtained at a reasonable price, it should be
used by all means. All manure adds humus, which is
a point in its favor. It should be put on after the ground
has been plowed, and before it is cultivated. If only
fresh manure can be obtained, it is best plowed under,
being thrown on the garden some time in advance. There
is a question whether dried manures and commercial fer-
tilizer are not preferable to fresh manure, in the back-
yard garden in any event.
Every catalogue lists a great number of special fertili-
zers. But little attention need be paid them. As a gen-
eral rule, a good potato fertilizer will be satisfactory for
all root crops like beets and turnips; likewise for those
grown for their seeds, such as peas and beans. On the
other hand vegetables like lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard
and cabbage, grown for their leaves, will do better on
a high-grade top dressing. Pulverized sheep manure,
sold by all seed dealers, is an excellent fertilizer for
general garden use. Most of the shredded manures are
also good, and they are much easier to handle than
fresh manure.
Certain crops, however, seem to do best on stable
30 Feeding the Home Garden
manure, and if a wheelbarrow or two can be obtained,
it should be used in the hills where cucumbers, pumpkins,
squashes and melons are planted. The best way to use
fertilizers is to scatter them in the furrows before the
seeds are planted, at the rate of about a handful to a
yard ; but it is very important that the soil be thoroughly
mixed with the fertilizer before the seeds are put into
the ground. Immense losses are suffered every year
simply because this precaution is not followed. The
seeds are burned by the fertilizer, and no crop results.
The mixing can be done with the hoe, or by tying a cou-
ple of horseshoes to the end of a light pole and drawing
them up and down the furrows.
Most of the directions for using fertilizers are based
on amounts per acre. In reduced terms they are made
available for the man with a little garden by the follow-
ing table:
i ton per acre equals 50 Ib. per 1,000 sq. ft.
1,200 Ib. per acre equals 30 Ib. per 1,000 sq. ft.
500 Ib. per acre equals 12 Ib. per 1,000 sq. ft.
Twenty pounds of fertilizer for each thousand square
feet of garden space will usually be satisfactory. At that
rate a loo-lb. bag will suffice for a plot 100 feet long by 50
feet wide.
Why Lime Is Used, and How
a*
TIME in itself is not a fertilizer, but sometimes it
^ ' seems to have almost magical results when applied
to a backyard garden. It is true that there are some
sections where lime is not needed, but most new land,
as well as gardens where manure has been used for a
long time, are greatly improved by an occasional appli-
cation. The most important quality which lime possesses
is its ability to sweeten sour soil. Most land which has
been lying fallow for years is likely to be sour, which
means that the average backyard garden which is being
plowed up for the first time is very likely to need lime.
If sorrel is present, that in itself may be taken as an in-
dication that the land is sour, but in any event it is well to
make a simple test.
Almost any agricultural college or experiment sta-
tion will test the soil of the backyard gardener who sends
in a small sample, say a pint or so. They will probably
use a process which is not available for the amateur,
but the latter can make a fairly satisfactory test himself
if he will buy a strip of blue litmus paper at the near-
est drugstore. The cost will be only a few cents. If
this paper is pressed into the moist earth without be-
ing touched by the hands it will begin to turn pink
within a few hours if the soil is acid. The degree of
acidity can be measured by the extent to which the color
of the paper is altered. The same test can be made by
inserting a strip of paper in a cupful of the soil brought
into the house and moistened. If the paper remains
blue, no lime will be needed to sweeten the soil.
In former years lime was mostly recommended simply
to correct soil acidity, but it really serves other valu-
31
32 Why Lime Is Used, and How
able purposes. It helps to loosen up stiff soils and to
make sandy soils more fertile. It is an excellent pre-
ventive of clubroot, and should always be used where
this trouble has developed on previous crops of cab-
bages, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. Lime puts the
soil into such a condition that the fertilizing elements
which it already contains are made available for use
by the plants. It is particularly useful in helping to
free the potash in the soil, an important matter now
when potash is practically out of the market, being a
German product. Highly satisfactory results have been
obtained by using lime where potash would ordinarily
have been recommended. Lime comes in several dif-
ferent forms, but the safe kind for the backyard vege-
table gardener to use is what is known as pulverized
limestone. It is sold by most seedsmen, and by many
dealers in other products, especially grain dealers and
lumbermen. It can be bought in hundred-pound bags
in most sections. It is impossible to lay down any abso-
lute rule as to the amount needed, but in a general way it
can be said that one pound should be used for each ten
square feet If burnt lime is used, only half the quantity
stated is needed. If one is using only a small amount
he will be safe in simply applying enough to make the
ground white.
Probably the best time to apply the lime is after the
land has been plowed or spaded, but before it has been
cultivated or raked over. It may be said in passing that
the wise amateur will wear his oldest clothes and a pair
of gloves when he is spreading lime. The best time to
put on the lime is before planting, but there is no reason
why it cannot be used between the rows later on.
Why Lime Is Used, and How 33
Perhaps one reservation should be made when advis-
ing the free use of lime. It is not usually considered
well to spread lime on ground which is to be devoted to
potatoes, having a tendency, in the opinion of experts,
to increase the danger of scab. Some plants, like rho-
dodendrons and azaleas, have a great aversion to lime,
but nearly all vegetables thrive in a garden where it has
been used with a generous hand. Lime saves fertilizer,
and, being cheap, it should not be overlooked by the
backyard garden-maker.
Lime is needed for the new garden, and then about
every three years thereafter, as a general rule. It may
be used annually to prevent clubroot, as described above.
a
o
cj
W
Cold Frames and Their Baby Sisters
m
WHILE the average garden-maker will not bother
with a hotbed, he can make good use of a cold
frame, which is much easier to handle. A cold frame
differs from a hotbed in only one respect : it contains no
fresh manure, the sun alone being depended upon for
heat. It can be made on the surface of the ground, but
it is rather better to have a shallow pit. Hotbed sash is
a standard size, 3 by 6 feet. Accordingly a cold frame
must be six feet from front to back and any length that is
a multiple of three. In the average small garden a single
frame will be sufficient. The cold frame should be about
fourteen inches high at the back and ten inches in front,
allowing a 4-inch slant to shed water and admit a greater
amount of sunlight. Of course the slope should be toward
the south.
While planks are best for making either a hotbed or
cold frame, any common boards will do. The simplest
way to construct the frame is to drive stakes at each cor-
ner, nailing the boards to them. Banking the boards on
the outside with earth or manure will help to exclude the
cold. Fill the pit with good garden loam mixed with well
rotted manure, if it can be obtained, to within five inches
of the top of the front board.
Any time after severe cold weather is over the cold
frame can be used to start plants of such vegetables as
lettuce, cabbage, leeks, cauliflower, beets and celery. Let-
tuce and radishes planted early can be allowed to mature
in the frame. They will be ready long ahead of an out-
side crop. If extra early-corn, beans, cucumbers and
melons are wanted, seeds can be sarted in a frame, but
should be sown in paper pots or on inverted sods so that
35
Cold Frame for Early Plants
the roots will not be disturbed when the plants are set in
the open ground.
Such vegetables as tomatoes, eggplants and peppers
need to be started in the house, as they require more heat
than a cold frame offers, but when they are partly grown
they can be transferred to a frame. Then they need to
be hardened off before they are set in the open ground.
A cold frame can be used for starting many kinds of
flower seed in the spring, for growing lettuce in hot
weather, and for prolonging the season in the fall. Alto-
gether it is a very useful adjunct to the garden-maker's
equipment. Of course no one need buy regular sash if
he has double windows or any discarded window sash
that he can use. It is even possible to substitute muslin
3 FE.
Back of Bed
2-ln. Plank
9 Paper Pots of
Cabbage
5 Of Cauliflower
4 Of Peppers
9 Of Tomatoes
/ Row Celery
/ Row Onions-
/ Row Onions,
/Row Carrots.
/ Row Beets,
/ Row Beets,
/ Row Radlsf
/ Row Radish,
OOaOODQDD
DDDDDDD
aDDDDDQDD
D
D
3 Rows Lettuce-* 3il" * 7 ln
2Hn. Plank
Front of Bed
Plan for the Planting of a Hotbed
From a Cornell Bulletin
(37)
38 Cold Frames and Their Baby Sisters
for glass late in the season. Indeed a material known
as glass cloth is on the market and costs but little.
To make a hotbed, which can be used earlier than a
cold frame, a foot of fresh manure must be placed in the
bottom of the frame to provide extra heat.
Any garden-maker who wants to get extra early vege-
tables without taking the trouble to operate a cold frame
can use what has been termed the cold frame's baby sis-
ters. These are simply boxes made of wood or water-
proof paper, with panes of glass fitted in the top loosely
so that they can be opened for ventilation. Forcing-
frames of this kind can be purchased cheaply or made
from boxes obtained from the grocery store. With their
aid all of the tender vegetables like corn, beans, cucumbers
and melons can be sown ten days or two weeks earlier
than would otherwise be safe.
Starting Seeds in the House
THE only way to have very early vegetables is to
take time by the forelock and start seeds indoors
while the ground is yet cold. In the Northern States
especially it is important to make an early start, if vege-
tables like tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflower, early cab-
bages, celery and peppers are desired. Of course there
is some advantage in having a hotbed, but its operation
involves too much skill and requires too much attention
to make it suitable for use in the backyard garden.
Starting seeds in the kitchen is a much simpler matter,
and the results are likely to be satisfactory if the started
plants can be set in a cold frame later.
Market gardeners use what they call flats, which are
merely shallow boxes the right size to be handled eas-
ily, and about two inches high. Anyone can make good
substitutes for flats by obtaining a few old boxes at the
grocery store and cutting them down to the right size.
The boxes should be filled with good garden loam, with
which a very little sand has been mixed. If no soil is
available, a nickel or so will buy all that is needed from
the nearest florist.
It is advisable to put the boxes of soil into the oven
of the kitchen range until it has become thoroughly
heated, This will kill the weed seeds and save much
trouble later on. It is not well to bake the soil very long,
however.
Some vegetable seeds are very fine and need be only
pressed into the earth, a little sand then being sprinkled
over them. Furrows for the larger seeds can be made
with the point of a pencil, and should be about an inch
and a half apart.
39
40 Starting Seeds in the House
Many amateurs have difficulty in watering their seed-
boxes after the seed has been planted. One plan is to
set the box in a pan of water and let the water soak
through from the bottom. A much better plan is to get
a piece of tissue paper, just the size of the box, and lay
it on the soil. If water is then applied lightly to the
paper, it will gradually soak through and the seeds will
not be washed away. There will be no need to remove
the paper, for it will have become so thoroughly water-
soaked by the time the little plants appear that they will
easily push their way through.
It is best to keep a light of glass over the box until
the seedlings show, the box being set in a warm place
like the back of the range. The glass should not fit
tightly down, but may be elevated a little at one end.
When the seedlings burst through the soil, the glass
may be removed and the box set in a sunny window.
As soon as possible the little plants should be thinned
so that they will . not touch. Then, when they have
made their first true leaves, or in some cases even earlier,
they should be transplanted to other flats, or, better
still, to paper pots which can be set close together in
any box.
The principal advantage of using paper pots is that
the plants can be set into the ground, when large enough,
without disturbing the roots. The paper pots need not
be removed, for they will eventually rot away, and while
they remain the sides will form a barrier to keep away
the cutworms. The little drinking-cups which are found
in most railroad cars and in other public places make
excellent substitutes for paper pots. It is economy to
save these cups, although the price of the paper pots
The Use of Paper Pots
is very low. Some people transplant their seedlings to
tomato cans, where they grow thriftily.
If one has a cold frame which can be used through
April, tomato plants and pepper plants may be started as
early as the first of March indoors. All the other kinds
can be started after the fifteenth of March. If kept in
the house too long, the plants are apt to become spindling.
42 Starting Seeds in the House
They will make better growth in a cold frame which
can be opened on warm days.
Of course the man who has only a very small gar-
den will probably buy started plants. Perhaps this is
the best plan for the beginner.
When and How to Plant
a*
IT IS impossible, of course, to give arbitrary dates
for the planting of seeds. Much depends on the lo-
cation and the season. Many garden-makers observe
the habits of certain trees and use them as guides. It
may be considered safe, for example, to plant all the
tender vegetables when the maple trees have come into
leaf. In the appendix will be found planting tables for
both vegetables and flowers which may be followed with
a considerable degree of confidence. Seeds should be
planted deeper in light than in heavy soil, and those
planted late should go in deeper than those planted
early.
To sow poor seed is a sheer waste of time and labor.
Probably the average backyard garden-maker fails to
realize the difference in the quality of the seeds offered
by the average corner grocery and those sold by a re-
liable seed house with a reputation at stake. Some
kinds of seed germinate well after being kept several
years. Other kinds, on the contrary, are practically
worthless the second or third season.
In any event it is a good plan to test the seed if more
than a single package is to be sown. This is easily done
by placing a few between two strips of blotting-paper
and keeping the blotting-paper moist for a few days.
At least seventy-five or eighty per cent of the seed should
germinate. If the percentage of germination is less it
would be foolish to plant the seed. Inasmuch as the
long war has made many kinds of seed increasingly
scarce and high in price, particular pains should be taken
in getting that which is of good quality.
There is much waste from the too early sowing of
43
44 When and How to Plant
certain vegetable seeds. Lettuce, peas, onions, beets,
cabbages, spinach and some other vegetables may be
planted as soon as the ground can be worked, for the
seed will germinate in a temperature of 50 degrees or
less. Seeds of tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, melons
and cucumbers, on the other hand, will rot in the ground
if planted before warm weather is established.
Moisture has much to do with germination, especially
with hard seeds. Soaking of peas and some other seed
is often recommended, but it is much better in most
cases to wet down the furrows with a watering-can,
using warm water for the purpose when convenient. In
any event the seed should be sown as quickly as possi-
ble after the furrow has been opened, so that the soil
will not dry out. Good market gardeners have the man
who sows the seed follow closely after the one who opens
the furrows, the seed being promptly covered.
Garden-makers sometimes try to sow seed just be-
fore a rain, but that is a mistake. If the sun comes
out the soil will be baked and germination of the seeds
delayed if not prevented. It is wiser to sow immedi-
ately after a rain, the crust being broken up and the
soil made as fine as possible. The finer the soil par-
ticles, the better the germination of the seeds.
It is also important that the seed be brought into
close contact with the soil, especially in light ground.
A roller may be used on large fields, but in the home
garden it is advisable to firm the earth with a board or
to use the feet. The roller attached to seed drills does
some good, but it is not heavy enough for best re-
sults. The feet do better work.
Carrots, beets and the other root crops cannot safely
When and How to Plant 45
be sown on land which has been enriched with fresh
manure, if clean roots are to be grown. They will do
well on ground manured heavily the year before. This
means that rotation of crops should be practiced to some
extent, even in the home garden. Pulverized sheep
manure can be used safely for root crops.
Often there is much waste because seed is sown too
thickly. And not only is seed wasted, but the amount
of labor required for thinning is greatly increased.
Seeds of all the root crops should be sown thinly. This
will reduce the amount of thinning and produce stronger
plants.
Melons, squashes and cucumbers, however, should be
sown rather thickly because of the danger from cut-
worms. It is often wise to plant corn thickly, too, to al-
low for losses. When seed is planted in furrows, care
must be taken not to have it come in direct contact with
fertilizers of any kind. It is very important to mix the
fertilizers with the soil in the bottom of the furrows be-
fore the seed is sown.
The following method of sowing seed is recommended
by a prominent vegetable specialist in Canada:
"To sow a row of seed quickly, evenly and thinly
requires care and practice. The top of the seed packet
may be torn off, the packet held between the thumb
and forefinger. By gently swaying the packet from
one side to another the seeds will drop out. Another
method of seeding is to place the seed in a tin dish
and gather as many seeds as possible between the thumb
and forefinger. A gentle rubbing motion of the thumb
on the forefinger releases a few seeds at a time. Coarse
seeds may be placed individually with the fingers.
46 When and How to Plant
"After the garden is made ready for planting, a
piece of board or a line may be used to make straight
rows. A shallow trench the required depth may be
made by using a sharpened piece of lath or the end
of the hoe handle. This should be drawn close to the
line or board until the trench is deep enough. This
trench should not be too deep. A good general rule
which applies in many cases is to cover the seeds with
no more than a quarter of an inch of soil. After the
seeds have been dropped they should be covered with
soil of the required thickness and the soil over the
row firmed with the foot, a piece of board or the back
of the spade."
Cultivation and Water
a*
IT MAY seem strange that cultivation and watering
of the vegetable garden should be classed together.
There is a good reason for coupling them, however,
because to a large extent they serve the same purpose.
There is an old adage which says that a good hoeing
is worth as much as a shower. Sometimes that is true.
A light shower merely packs the soil and increases
evaporation, which means simply the escape of moisture
from the ground. Even a hard rain will do little good
if most of the water runs off. If the garden is kept
well hoed, and the cultivator is used as soon after a
rain as the ground will permit, the water which falls
will permeate deeply, and will then be locked into the
soil. This means that the crops will get all the benefit.
Everybody knows that the oil in a lamp rises through
the wick by reason of what is termed capillary action.
The moisture rises through the soil in exactly the same
way when the surface is packed hard, then being evapo-
rated and lost in the air. When the surface of the soil
is kept loose, this escape of the moisture is greatly re-
tarded. It follows, therefore, that the most important
time of all for cultivating the garden is as soon after a
rain as the ground can be worked. It must not be
hoed when sticky, but prompt cultivation will help to
hold the water which has entered the ground.
It is also very important to cultivate frequently dur-
ing a dry season, for the sun bakes the earth unless it
is kept constantly stirred. A good hoeing in midsum-
mer is often worth almost as much as a shower.
Too many beginners think that the only purpose of
cultivation is to keep down the weeds. Now, weeds are
47
48 Cultivation and Water
bad, of course. John Burroughs says that they are
the tramps of the garden. At any rate they are the
thieves of the garden, for they steal moisture and plant-
food which belongs to the growing crops. Neverthe-
less cultivation would be necessary even if there were
no weeds. It keeps the water in the. soil, as has been
described. It allows the air to enter, which is also
necessary, yet it keeps the soil pulverized, so that no
air-pockets will be formed, and makes much more plant-
food available than when the soil is left in lumps.
"Tickle the ground with the hoe," runs an old saw,
"and you will make it laugh with the harvest." That is
another way of saying that cultivation is one secret of
growing good crops.
Of course it isn't necessary to use a hand hoe all the
time. If the garden is a large one, a wheel hoe is al-
most a necessity, although much labor can be saved
with a scuffle hoe if the soil is not heavy and full of
stones.
Once a week is none too often to cultivate the gar-
den all the season through, and the most successful gar-
deners will probably hoe the crops twice as often. The
oftener this work is done the easier it becomes, for it
is not at all hard to cultivate soil which is in good
tilth, while ground which has become baked by the sun
or packed by the rain is difficult to loosen up.
Cultivation, therefore, should be set down as one of
the indispensable items of garden work, even though it
may not sound quite so attractive as planting the seeds
or harvesting the crops.
Many garden-makers have to depend wholly upon
rainfall for the water which their garden gets, and cul-
Cultivation and Water 49
tivation must be relied upon then to take the place of
water when the rainfall is light. If artificial irrigation
is practiced, however, it will be found of great bene-
fit. An abundance of water helps to increase the earli-
ness of the crops, among other things, and gives them
an improved flavor. But merely sprinkling the gar-
den with the hose is not irrigation in the proper sense,
or good policy either. It serves to pack the surface
of the earth, but does not penetrate the soil, and there-
fore does more harm than good. Water to be really
beneficial must be applied in one place until it soaks
through the soil several inches. Hence a mere surface
sprinkling helps to attract the roots to the surface, where
they are burned by the sun, instead of encouraging
them to burrow deeply as they should. One expert
has said rather pertinently that a good hoe is better
than a hose.
There will be but little loss of water if furrows are
made with the hoe along the sides of the growing plants
and the water allowed to run through them. This is
a good plan to follow when there is a water meter in
the house.
Watering the growing plants, however, is not the only
point to be kept in mind. Much can be done to in-
sure success at transplanting time by thoroughly soak-
ing the ground before the plants are put in. This is
especially true when setting out celery. If the soil be
wet several inches deep and then allowed to dry out
on the surface, a reserve of moisture will be created
which will serve the young plants for some time. The
same plan can be followed most advantageously when
sowing seed in hot weather.
50 Cultivation and Water
Sometimes it happens that there is too much water
in the garden, and of course that condition is one which
is not to be remedied by cultivation. A wet garden will
not grow good crops. There are few gardens, how-
ever, which cannot be drained in some way or other
in order to give satisfactory results.
The simplest and least expensive plan is to make
ditches at intervals of about twenty feet, deep enough
so that the water level in the whole plot will be brought
down at least a foot, and preferably more, below the
surface. The writer knows of one garden in a low
spot which is surrounded and intersected by ditches
two feet deep or more. If it were not for them the
land would be in water most of the time, and yet the
raised beds between the ditches grow excellent crops
now. Often less extensive draining will be sufficient.
The drains or ditches must incline a little, of course,
and must have some sort of outlet, even though it be only
a blind well, which is a deep hole filled with stones.
If one can afford to put tiled drains in his garden, he
will find that by all means the best plan. Tile drain-
ing will make almost any back yard available for a
garden. As the tiles are covered, they do not encroach
on the garden area, and it is only necessary to see that
they do not become clogged at the mouth.
Witch Grass and Weeds
a*
IF ALLOWED to "gang its ain gait," as the Scotch
say, witch grass, known also as twich grass, quack
grass and by other names, will rob any garden-maker of
all the enthusiasm he may possess. Indeed, many a
garden has been abandoned because of the presence of
this pestiferous weed. Yet it may be eliminated from
any garden plot if taken in hand early enough and re-
peatedly uprooted. If the leaves are kept cut off the
roots will starve, but in order to keep them cut off it
will be necessary to go over the garden with a cultiva-
tor or a hoe at least twice a week. One morning a week
will not suffice, as the blades will make sufficient growth
between times to keep the roots alive, and as long as
they are alive they are continually spreading. If this
warfare is waged until the middle of summer, no great
difficulty is found in keeping witch grass in control.
Much, indeed, depends upon early cultivation in right-
ing all weeds. If cultivation is started just as soon as
the appearance of the seedlings makes this possible, the
work will not be hard. It is only when weeds get ahead
of the gardener that difficulty is found.
It always pays when sowing seeds like those of pars-
nips and parsley, which germinate slowly, to scatter
a few radish seeds in the rows, as they will come up
quickly and permit the gardener to begin cultivating be-
fore the other seedlings appear.
The danger from weeds may be appreciated from
the Government report showing that a normal yield of
60 bushels of corn may be reduced to 20 bushels if the
weeds are not kept down by cultivation.
Weeds not only smother young plants, but rob the
Si
52 Witch Grass and Weeds
roots of moisture and fertilizer which rightfully be-
longs to them, Moreover, they harbor fungi and in-
sect pests. There is only a single credit mark which
can be given to weeds. They make it necessary for
the gardener to keep the soil cultivated, thereby fur-
thering the growth of his crops.
If the garden-maker is very busy, and especially if
the season be dry, it is sometimes possible to reduce
the amount of cultivation required, and at the same
time smother out the weeds by using a mulch of lawn
clippings, hay or strawy manure. If a litter of this sort
is piled around the plants, it will keep the moisture in
the ground and prevent the weeds from coming up.
This plan is often followed to advantage with bush
fruits like currants, gooseberries and raspberries.
Pulling weeds is a tedious operation, but it must be
done. No doubt many people will find it a new experi-
ence to get down on their hands and knees and extract
witch grass, pussley and pigweed from the rows of
beets, parsnips, carrots and onions, but this work can-
not be done in any other way. Nor is it really a diffi-
cult task, if not delayed too long. Many of the garden
crops can be kept clean with the use of a cultivator
and hoe, but it is not easy to get close enough to the
slow-growing crops to get out the weeds without uproot-
ing the tender seedlings. Then hand-weeding becomes
necessary.
It is a good plan to combine thinning with weeding,
as it is a simple matter to take out surplus plants if
they are large enough when one is working along the
rows. Thinning is an imperative operation when seeds
have been planted thickly.
Waging War on the Bugs
a*
MOST commercial vegetable-growers are equipped
with a veritable bug arsenal, but the amateur gar-
dener can often get just as satisfactory results by the
use of very simple remedies.
Cutworms, which often destroy many melon, squash
and cucumber plants, can be kept away to a large ex-
tent by throwing a handful of wood ashes into the hill
when the seeds are planted. The wood ashes will also
save the plants from stem-borers.
Tobacco dust may be used in the same way, and if
dusted around the plants and on the leaves will save
them from the striped beetle, unless this pest is present
in great numbers. The grubs of this beetle feed on the
roots and cause the plant to wilt. Tobacco dust worked
into the soil is one remedy; another is a strong tobacco
solution poured around the stems.
Lime with which a little kerosene has been mixed is
sometimes preferred to tobacco dust for protection
against the striped beetle as well as the black fly. The
surest protection is given by setting an open box over
each plant, the top of the box being covered with a
square of mosquito netting. I use in my garden plant-
forcers made of waterproofed paper and simply substi-
tute the netting when the glass is removed. The striped
beetle works with great rapidity on young plants and
may ruin them in twenty-four hours.
Melons and similar vines are sometimes attacked by
lice in great numbers. Many growers bury a plant as
soon as they find lice on it. Others spray with a nicotine
preparation, but care must be taken to have the liquid
reach the under part of the leaves.
53
54 Waging War on the Bugs
The easiest way to protect tomato plants against cut-
worms is to set paper collars around them. I start the
seeds in dirt bands or paper pots which are not removed
when the plants are set in the open ground. Tobacco
dust scattered around the plants also helps.
Onion maggots come from small flies which lay their
eggs at the base of the plants. Sand soaked in kerosene, a
cupful of the latter to a pail of sand, is an efficient remedy,
the sand being placed as close as possible to the stem.
If the white flies are too numerous it may be necessary
to start the onion plants under glass ; then, by the time the
plants are set out, they will be too tough to be troubled.
A plan which some gardeners have found successful is
to use white arsenic to which a little molasses has been
added, the proportion being two ounces of white arsenic
to a quart of hot water, with enough molasses added to
thicken the mixture somewhat. This is applied by dip-
ping a stick into the mixture and throwing the poison
on the plants, where it forms little globules. The molasses
attracts the flies, which are poisoned. It has also been
found in practice that less damage is done if water is not
used at all about the time the flies are due.
The one effective remedy for the corn earworm, which
caused great loss in some sections last season, is powder-
ed arsenate of lead dusted upon the silk, on which the
caterpillar first begins to feed. The best way to use this
poison in powder form is by means of a blowgun, which
can be employed in spraying with dry Bordeaux mixture
and dry sulphur, which are valuable fungicides. In my
own garden dry or dust sprays are used almost wholly,
being much more convenient than liquid preparations.
Amateur asparagus-growers often suffer from the
Waging War on the Bugs 55
ravages of the asparagus beetle. Naturally they are
afraid to spray with a poison, for the beetle appears dur-
ing cutting-time. A very simple remedy is fresh, air-
slacked lime dusted on the plants while they are wet with
dew. This destroys the grubs. If the grubs are brushed
from the plants in hot weather they will soon die.
White hellebore applied freely is quite effective in
controlling the cabbage worm, although large growers
usually depend upon arsenate of lead when the plants are
small. Pyrethrum, tobacco dust, or even road dust,
sprinkled into the plants, will help drive the pests away.
The hellebore may be used dry, perhaps mixed with a
little flour, or at the rate of an ounce to three gallons of
water.
One experienced gardener says that he has found a sure
way of protecting his cabbages from worms. He takes
the leaf of a tomato plant and crushes it in his hand,
after which he lays it on the cabbage head. The writer
cannot vouch for the success of this plan, but it is an
easy one to experiment with.
Young pea vines are often damaged by sparrows, which
are said to be seeking lice. A liberal use of tobacco dust
will keep the birds away. Another plan is to cover the
plants with cloth fly-screening. This fly-screening is really
very convenient. It may be spread over the strawberry
bed to save the berries from the robins, and later over
the currants to keep the birds from devouring them.
In some sections much loss of sweet-corn seed is oc-
casioned by the attacks of crows and blackbirds. The
best way to save the seed from these marauders is to
treat it with coal tar, according to the following directions
issued by the Department of Agriculture: Mix the tar
56 Waging War on the Bugs
with a quart of boiling water. After the mixture has
cooled somewhat, but while it is still hot, stir in the corn
until every grain is coated, and then spread it out to dry
before planting. Corn may be immersed several min-
utes in moderately hot water without affecting germina-
tion.
If cutworms are very numerous, it may be necessary to
use poisoned bait to get rid of them. This can be made
by mixing a little bran and Paris green, adding enough
cheap molasses to make a stiff dough, and a few pieces
of finely chopped orange or lemon. This mixture, made
into lumps and scattered along the rows, will result in
the elimination of the cutworm pest. Of course this
bait is deadly poison to humans and to animals. It may
be scattered at night and gathered again in the morning,
or else buried just under the ground.
It sometimes happens that mice do much damage to
vegetable seeds started in frames. Sometimes they can
be caught in traps, but probably the most effective rem-
edy is a little white arsenic mixed with toasted corn flakes
which have been slightly moistened. This bait seems to
attract the rodents, and of course all that eat it will
quickly die.
There are many different types of bugs which invade
the kitchen garden. As it happens, they are naturally
divided into two distinct classes on the basis of their
feeding habits. One kind has powerful jaws, with which
it eats holes through the leaves. The bugs which belong
to this class include potato bugs, various beetles, cabbage
worms, and similar pests. They are comparatively easy
to deal with, because they succumb readily to doses of
poison.
Waging War on the Bugs 57
The other class of garden pests do not chew their food,
but suck it through a tube, as it were, from the veins in
the plants. That is to say, they live on the juices which
are extracted by puncturing the leaves. Perhaps the
most iniquitous members of this class are the plant lice,
(aphides), which often appear in enormous numbers, and
yet are so small that they may be overlooked for a long
time. There are green lice, white lice, red lice and black
lice, all equally bad.
Another well-known sucking insect is the squash bug.
Being such a large creature, the average amateur expects
the squash bug to be classed among the chewers, and
consequently tries to kill it with a poison, without, of
course, much success, although sometimes squash bugs
do get enough arsenate of lead in some way to destroy
them.
The proper remedy for all sucking pests is a liquid
or powder which will stop the pores and smother them
to death. This may be tobacco dust, liquid nicotine,
kerosene emulsion or a soap preparation. Tobacco dust is
often relied upon because it is easy to use, but experience
has shown that a nicotine extract, sold under some such
name as Black Leaf 40, or Aphine, is by all means the
most reliable ammunition to use in waging war on plant
lice. It is well to remember, though, that the sucking
insects are not killed unless the application, whatever it
may be, actually touches them.
With the exception of plant lice, or aphides, all the
garden pests can be kept in subjection by the use of dry
sprays applied with a blowgun or a coffee can with a
few holes punched in the bottom. Dry arsenate of lead,
dry Bordeaux mixture, powdered sulphur and powdered
58 Waging War on the Bugs
tobacco dust are remarkably effective, and much easier to
handle than wet sprays. Nevertheless many amateur
garden-makers prefer to use the old-fashioned remedies,
and sometimes get better results with them. A tin gun
for applying liquid sprays can be purchased for less than
a dollar. T
In addition to bugs and worms, the garden crops may
suffer from attacks of mildew and other fungus troubles.
It is almost impossible to accomplish much after a fungus
disease has become established, but if taken when it first
appears, it may often be kept in check by the use of Bor-
deaux mixture or powdered sulphur. Almost all of the
remedies needed can be obtained ready for use at the
seedstores. These include a combination of arsenate of
lead and Bordeaux mixture, which is especially con-
venient when spraying potatoes and some other crops.
Success in Transplanting
THE average gardener overlooks the fact that he can
increase his yield with but little effort if he trans-
plants freely. There are almost certain to be in some of
the rows vacant spaces which can be rilled in by using
small plants from rows that are overcrowded. This may
interfere somewhat with the neat appearance of the gar-
den, but it will be a matter of real efficiency in garden-
making. In times like these, when every inch of ground
should be utilized, it pays to study the possibilities which
the small garden offers.
Sometimes turnips, kohlrabi, Chinese cabbages and
other vegetables will grow faster when they have been
transplanted than when left in the original rows. Others
will not recover in time to mature quite as early as those
which were not disturbed. But this will be an advantage,
for they will come along after the other crop is past, and
thus prolong the season.
In all the work of transplanting it is important to
remember that success will not be won if the roots are
allowed to dry out. If the ground around them is thor-
oughly soaked before they are moved, the plants will
usually receive but little check. It may be that the earth
will not stick to the roots when they are lifted, in which
case they may be dipped into an artificial mud puddle.
Then the mud will coat over the roots and protect them.
It is always well, when transplanting, to set the plants
a little deeper than they stood before. Cabbages, for in-
stance, should be set in the ground to their first leaves.
Unless the plants are very small it will be well to trim
off the upper half of each leaf. This applies particularly
to cabbages, cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, celery and
59
60 Success in Transplanting
similar plants. No cutting of the leaves should be done
in the case of tomato plants. A pair of old shears can be
used, and the work done easily. The advantage in this
shearing of the leaves lies in the fact that excessive evap-
oration is checked and the roots are given a chance to
establish themselves quickly.
It is important to shade plants that are set out in hot
weather until they become established, unless one can take
advantage of a cloudy or rainy day. Old peach baskets will
serve, and even newspapers can be used, if the wind is
not blowing. Some people set up boards on their sides
when the plants are small. Shingles placed in the form
of a tent answer very well, three of them being used,
one on the west, one on the east, and one on the south
side, and not quite touching at the top. They will need
no attention at night, but it is better to remove the peach
baskets and similar covering after the sun goes down, so
that the plants will get the benefit of the dew and of
whatever passing showers may fall.
It is particularly necessary to shade lettuce plants
after they have been transplanted. Lettuce is especially
useful for filling in vacant spaces. In fact, it is hardly
necessary to plant lettuce in permanent rows at all. If
started in a seedbed, and the little plants used here and
there wherever they can be tucked in, there will be a
constant supply without any special portion of the gar-
den being given over to .this crop. Lettuce will always
head up better after being transplanted.
Plenty of water must be used in transplanting lettuce,
and it is always a good plan to use as much water as can
be conveniently obtained for all plants. At the same
time soaking the soil before the plants are lifted is much
Success in Transplanting 61
more important than applying water after they have been
set out in their new location.
Leeks, as well as celery plants, require transplanting
for best results. Leeks are eaten like onions, but are
milder. They need to be transplanted when about six
inches high, and set rather deeply so that the lower part
will be blanched by the earth.
It is of special importance to thoroughly firm the
earth around all plants that have been transplanted. If
there are any air pockets around the roots the plants will
not become established quickly and may die, but if the
earth is brought into close contact with the roots new
rootlets will be immediately sent out. The simplest plan
is to press the earth down hard with the foot.
Supporting Crops that Climb
a*
IF CLIMBING or training plants are to be grown in
the garden, they should be supported in such a way
that they will take as little room as possible.
This applies even to tomatoes, for when tomatoes are
allowed to sprawl all over the ground in the fashion fol-
lowed by market gardeners, they must be set not closer
than three by four feet, while if they are trained to
stakes they can be set as closely together as two feet,
with three feet between the rows.
A little more room is required when fan-shaped sup-
ports or stakes with arms are used, but this plan is really
the most desirable, because it makes it possible for the
grower to allow three stems to each plant. The yield
is then considerably greater than when a single stem is
used, although the fruit may not be quite so large.
A very good plan is to make a tent-shaped support
of laths and to set the plants two feet apart on each side,
allowing them to grow over the support. Even hold-
ing up the vines by barrel hoops nailed to four stakes
is better than to let them lie on the ground.
An easy way to train cucumbers is to grow them on
chicken wire arranged in tent fashion, with the apex
about three feet above the ground. If a two-inch mesh
is used the expense is small, and the cucumbers will
grow down inside the tent, where they are easily picked.
A very good way to train peas, when brush is not
available, is to place two stakes at each end of the rows,
about eight inches apart, and to run heavy cord down
each side, supported by intermediate stakes if necessary.
The vines will grow nicely on these strings. It is an
even better plan to train the peas on an old fish-netting
62
Supporting Crops that Climb 63
when it can be obtained. Sometimes secondhand net-
ting can be found at moderate price, and it is exceedingly
useful in the garden.
It is not necessary to have poles even for pole beans,
although good, stout poles usually give the most satis-
faction. Fairly good results can be obtained by running
a wire from the top of stout stakes driven in the ground,
one at each end of the row, strings being dropped from
the wire to the ground, where they are held in place by
pegs. A similar method is sometimes followed in train-
ing cucumber plants.
In sections where high winds are frequent, poles set
in the usual way are likely to be blown over. This
calamity can be avoided by arranging four poles in such
a way as to make a sort of wigwam, fastening them with
stout cords at the top. The beans may then be planted
at the foot of each pole.
It is advisable in any case to set the pole before the
beans are planted, as the roots are badly injured if this
work is delayed until the plants come up. A crowbar
will make so deep a hole that the poles may be firmly
imbedded.
When poles are scarce two sticks about two feet long
may be fastened to the top of a piece of joist, the sticks
extending in opposite directions. Then a stout cord or
wire may be run from the end of each stick to the ground,
being fastened there with a peg. This allows for the
growing of four vines to each post. If deemed advis-
able, a third top piece may be nailed to the joist and
two other strings dropped from that.
Companion and Succession Crops
a*
GARDEN efficiency doesn't mean simply keeping the
garden neat and clean or growing big crops. It
means keeping all the garden space occupied all 'the
time throughout the summer. It is sheer waste to let
any part of the ground lie idle for even a day. It is for
this reason that so much is heard about companion and
succession crops.
Many amateurs find themselves confused by these
terms. Companion cropping is a favorite device of mar-
ket gardeners, but can be adopted to only a limited ex-
tent in the home garden unless the owner happens to be
an expert.
Many of the slow-growing plants, like cabbages and
cauliflowers, occupy but a small amount of ground at
first, although they cover much space when mature. For
that reason it is a simple matter to grow a row of let-
tuce, early beets, radishes or turnips between them. This
is one illustration of what companion crops means.
It is an old-time plan to grow pumpkins among the
corn, and there is no reason why the amateur should
not adopt this practice if he has. a fairly good-sized corn
patch. Squashes and running vegetable marrows can
be grown in the same way.
One plan which meets with a fair degree of success is
to sow a few climbing beans in the hills of corn after
the cornstalks are a foot or two high. The corn will
offer a support. for the beans, and no poles will be needed.
This is hot a good practice to follow when growing a
dwarf corn like Golden Bantam, but it works well with
Stowell's Evergreen or Country Gentleman.
The plan of mixing radish and lettuce seed thinly with
64
Companion and Succession Crops 65
the seed of vegetables which are slow to germinate has
been mentioned in another chapter. This is an ideal
form of companion cropping, for the lettuce and rad-
ishes mark the rows for cultivation before the other
plants come up. The slow-growing plants adapted to
this combination include parsnips, parsley, carrots and
dandelions.
To whatever extent companion cropping may be
adopted by the backyard garden-maker, the possibilities
of succession cropping should not be overlooked. Many
of the early vegetables are out of the way by the end
of June, leaving plenty of time to mature crops of other
kinds. It is almost a crime, in days like these^ to let
a single row of garden space loaf for half a summer.
In a general way it may be said that the root crops
should follow the leaf crops, and vice versa. The for-
mer class of plants send their roots deeply into the
ground, while the latter feed on the surface. This con-
stitutes what is called "rotation of crops," but there is
no need of making rotation a fetish. In a good garden
there should be enough fertilizer to make possible the
growing of the same crop twice in the same place, al-
though when that is done there is always some danger
of an increase in fungus troubles.
The following may be taken as an example of what
can be done by succession cropping:
Early peas followed by late beets.
Early beans followed by summer turnips.
Onion sets followed by tomatoes.
Early lettuce followed by celery.
Early carrots or radishes followed by cabbages.
66 Companion and Succession Crops
Of course the practice of sowing the same vegetable
at intervals of ten days or two weeks in order to make
a long succession will help in this plan of succession
cropping.
There are some vegetables which make a very quick
growth and can be used as fillers most of the season.
The early turnip is especially valuable. Kohlrabi is an-
other quick-growing vegetable, and it can go in up to the
first of August. Chinese cabbage does well planted as
late as early in July. Then in September or later spinach
and corn salad can be planted for wintering over.
It is an interesting occupation for a winter evening
to figure out possibilities in the way of companion and
succession croppings which will help to provide a max-
imum amount of food from a limited space of ground.
An efficiency garden requires considerable study and
planning, but if done in the right spirit it is as much
fun as taking a hand at whist, and much more profitable.
The following table may be helpful in forming combi-
nations :
CROPS OCCUPYING THE GROUND ALL SEASON
Asparagus Squash
Rhubarb Pumpkins
Beans, pole snap Tomatoes
Beans, pole Lima Eggplant
Swiss chard Peppers
New Zealand Spinach Onions (from seeds)
Parsnips Leeks
Salsify Okra
Corn, late Potatoes, main crop
Cucumbers Rutabagas
Melons
Companion and Succession Crops 67
SUCCESSIVE CROPS TO BE PLANTED AT TEN-DAY
INTERVALS
Radish Kohlrabi
Spinach Chervil
Lettuce Beets, early
Peas Turnips, early
Beans, dwarf Carrots, early
Parsley Corn, early
Turnips
LATE CROPS TO FOLLOW OTHERS
Beets, late Cauliflower
Spinach Kale
Peas, late Endive
Celery Flat turnips
Cabbage, late Chinese cabbage
Brussels sprouts
Three Permanent Crops
IT IS one of the merits of asparagus that it will grow
in almost any kind of soil. Of course it has prefer-
ences, doing particularly well in a sandy loam, yet no
garden-maker need hesitate about planting this most
desirable vegetable.
It is possible to buy one- or two-year-old plants, but
experiments seem, to show -that the one-year-old plants
will give a crop just as early as those which are two
years old when set out. It is important, however, to
set out only strong, husky plants. Weak plants will
never be satisfactory. It is also necessary to have the
ground plowed deeply and well enriched, preferably with
well rotted manure.
It is often recommended that a deep layer of manure
be placed under the roots, but the fact is that the roots
extend sidewise, rather than downward, so that it is
of more importance to have the soil on each side of the
rows well fertilized. Plant-food can be added from
year to year as the roots develop.
It is best to have the rows about three feet apart in
the home garden, and it is desirable when conditions
are right to have them run north and south, in order
that they may get all the sun possible. It is safe to set
the plants' as close as one foot apart in the rows, and
with the crowns about eight inches underground, the
roots being covered only three inches at first, additional
soil being added as the plants grow, until the trench is
filled.
There is one disadvantage, of course, when asparagus
is started, in the fact that a crop cannot be obtained
the same season. Usually a little cutting can be done
68
Three Permanent Crops 69
the second year from root planting. Even with an old
asparagus bed, however, cutting should not be con-
tinued much after the end of June. Late in summer
the bed should be given a good coating of manure, the
latter being worked in the next spring.
Sometimes the tops are cut in the fall to prevent
seeding. This is a good plan in the South, but many
New England growers consider it better to let them re-
main until late winter, as they hold the snow. In the
spring it is always advisable to use a little commercial
fertilizer. Salt is often recommended, but its efficacy
is questionable. At any rate, it is not really needed.
There are several varieties of asparagus, but by all
odds the best is Reading Giant, which has been devel-
oped at the Concord, Massachusetts, experiment station.
The special value of this variety lies in the fact that
it is practically rust-proof. Argenteuil is better known.
Six or eight rhubarb plants will be enough for the
average family after they become well established. It
is possible to buy clumps at the seedstores, but usually
they can be obtained for little or nothing from one of the
neighbors. Rhubarb plants which have become old are
improved by being divided. It is a simple matter to dig
them up, cut them into several good-sized pieces with
a sharp spade, and plant them again so that the crowns
will be just under the surface. Rhubarb plants should
stand about four feet apart, and not be near trees, which
will rob them of the moisture which they need.
One point must be borne in mind by the garden-
maker. It is impossible to grow rhubarb satisfactorily
unless the ground is made very rich. Possibly com-
mercial fertilizers help, but rhubarb revels in manure.
70 Three Permanent Crops
Even fresh manure can be used if it is covered so that
the roots do not come directly in contact with it. It is
wise at planting-time to dig out a considerable space
and throw in two or three shovels ful of manure before
the crowns are planted. The feeding of rhubarb must
be kept up from year to year, too, if good-sized stalks
are to be grown. There is no better plan than to heap
manure around the plants in the fall and to dig it in when
spring comes.
If extra early rhubarb is desired in the spring it can
be obtained by setting a barrel or box over a plant and
throwing manure around it. This will encourage good
growth, and if the top is covered the stalks will be
blanched. Some garden-makers keep a supply of half
barrels on hand just for this purpose.
Whenever the rhubarb plants begin to run out they
should be divided and replanted. The work can be done
in the spring or in the fall, without much difference as
to results.
Newspapers occasionally publish an item to the effect
that rhubarb leaves make a good salad. This is a great
mistake, for rhubarb leaves contain a poisonous sub-
stance which makes them totally unfit for food. The
blossom, however, may be eaten if cut just before the
film or tissue which enfolds it breaks. If boiled it
makes a dish which is rather bitter, to be sure, but which
some people find palatable.
Although horseradish is not by any means an indis-
pensable vegetable, many people like to have a few plants
somewhere in the garden. Very often it is grown along
the fence rows, but better results are obtained if it is
given a little cultivation.
Three Permanent Crops 71
Horseradish likes ground which has been made rich
by well rotted manure, but also responds to applications
of bonemeal or balanced garden fertilizer. The plants
will go on indefinitely, but to have them of the best
quality it is well to replant frequently. This is done by
breaking off the small lateral roots when the larger
roots are dug for use. These are cut into pieces about
four inches long, tied into bundles and stored in sand
until spring. Then, after the garden has been prepared,
they can be planted about four inches under the ground.
It is customary to cut the top square and the bottom
obliquely when they are removed from the parent roots,
so that at planting time the right end can be placed upper-
most. It is the common practice of, home gardeners
to plant out whole clumps, but the roots produced are
likely to be small and misshapen, while nice, smooth roots
are obtained by the practice advocated. When winter
comes a few roots can be lifted and placed in a cool
cellar, being covered with earth or sand. Then they
can be grated and used at any time during the winter.
Asparagus, rhubarb and horseradish constitute three
permanent crops which grow on year after year. For
that reason they should be given a location at one end
of the garden where they will not be disturbed when
the work of plowing and harrowing is carried on, and
where they will not be in the way.
Garden Beans of Many Kinds
a*
WHATEVER other crops may be grown in the gar-
den, beans should have a large place. There are
few vegetables which give such satisfactory returns in
any soil. Moreover, fresh beans in one form or another
can be eaten most of the summer, while canned or dried
beans form a nutritious article of diet in the winter
months. It is to be recommended that a liberal plant-
ing of beans be made, with the expectation of harvest-
ing a surplus to use during the winter.
Many varieties are catalogued, but none are better
for the home garden than the Horticultural, both the
dwarf and the pole sorts. They are delicious when
eaten as string beans, and equally good when allowed
to mature and used as shell beans. Then they can be
dried and used in winter for baking.
Probably the best dwarf string bean is Stringless
Green Pod, which is also fairly early, being ready for
the table in sixty-five days. At the same time it may
be well to make a small planting of Black Valentine, for,
while the pods are small, they are ready ten days ear-
lier.
Golden Wax is an ideal wax bean, and is ready for
the table in about sixty days. It is better than the im-
proved Black Wax, in spite of the advertising given
the latter, because the season is considerably longer.
Both Golden Wax and Stringless Green Pod are excel-
lent beans to can.
In the Western and some of the Middle States Hor-
ticultural shell beans are almost wholly unknown, all
garden-makers growing limas. It would be well if the
gardeners in all sections were be.tter acquainted with
72
Drying Beans
both kinds. It is true that limas take a long season,
but there is no reason why they should not be grown,
even in New England, if they are planted before the
first of June. Lima beans are especially nutritious, and
they are excellent when dried for winter use.
Lima beans need much richer ground than other beans.
An especially good way to get a big crop is to dig out a
74 Garden Beans of Many Kinds
trench a foot wide and equally deep. Then a layer of
manure may be thrown into the bottom and the trench
filled with soil. If the beans are planted in double rows,
six inches apart each way, in the ground thus prepared,
they will yield an immense crop. The Fordhook Bush
Lima is the best variety for the North, as it matures
quickly. In the South many gardeners have a prefer-
ence for the pole limas, as they yield somewhat more
heavily.
Bush limas should be sown from one to two inches
deep, depending on the soil, and it is a good plan to plant
them with the eye down, as they will come up more
quickly and more surely. A pint of seed should sow a
hundred feet of row.
All bush beans should stand in rows about two feet
apart. Four inches is far enough for spacing the seeds
of all except the limas. The planting depth is the same.
Very commonly the man with a little land is advised
to plant only bush beans, the argument being advanced
that pole beans require too much room. There are two
sides to this question, however. It is true that pole beans
must have more space in the garden than the bush vari-
eties, but at the same time they bear much more abund-
antly.
It is necessary to make several pl-antings of the bush
beans, but the pole beans will continue yielding well for
a long period, and if a second planting is made about two
weeks after the first seeds go in, there will be no lack
of beans until frost. It is a good plan to make a first
planting on one side of the poles, and a second on the
other. All things considered, therefore, when such va-
rieties as Lazy wife, Kentucky Wonder and Horticultural
Garden Beans of Many Kinds 75
are chosen, pole beans are likely to be much more satis-
factory, even in a small garden, than the bush varieties.
Probably the best pole bean, all things considered, is
the Kentucky Wonder, because of its productiveness and
its enormous size. There are sections, however, in which
this variety rusts pretty badly. Athough not so well
known, the Kentucky Wonder Wax is equally satisfac-
tory, and it is one of the best beans to be grown by the
amateur who likes the yellow variety.
Of course it is sometimes difficult to obtain bean poles,
although there are plenty of them in all suburban sec-
tions. Poles should be from six to eight feet long, and
go into the ground at least eighteen inches, a hole being
made for them with a crowbar when the beans are
planted. Cedar poles are the best, because they last sev-
eral years.
Pole beans need fairly rich ground, and it is well to
throw a forkful of manure into the bottom of the hill,
covering it with two inches of earth. The seeds should
be planted rather thickly, and the seedlings thinned so
that three or four plants will be left.
Dwarf beans do not need as rich soil as pole beans,
and yet it is a mistake to think they will grow without
any plant food to subsist upon. A garden which has
been made fairly rich by the use of barnyard manure
will grow the best beans. Moreover, the soil must be
kept well cultivated from the start.
At the same time the garden-maker must remember
that beans are subject to blight, and that if the vines are
cultivated or worked among while they are wet with rain
or dew, the. spread of blight is likely to be increased.
Even picking of beans should be delayed until the vines
76 Garden Beans of Many Kinds
are dried off. Care should be taken in picking, too, not
to disturb the roots. One hand should hold the vine
while the other is removing the pods. The vines will
cease to bear unless the beans are kept picked. It is a
good plan to go over the rows every other day, remov-
ing every bean which is large enough, whether needed
for immediate use or not. If they cannot be used on the
table they can be canned.
Altogether, the bean is one of the vegetables which
should have more than usual attention when food sup-
plies are scarce. With early bush beans to give the
first pickings and pole beans for extending the season,
beans can be eaten and canned most of the summer.
Cabbages and Cauliflowers
a*
ABB AGES must be given a place among the pop-
ular vegetables for backyard gardens, even though
they contain less nourishment than many other kinds
and take considerable space. Sometimes, however, the
amateur is tempted to grow more cabbages than he is
warranted in doing, for they do not keep well when
winter comes, unless an outside storage cellar can be
provided. A small number may be buried in the ground,
but this practice is more or less uncertain in its results.
The cabbage is hardier than most people realize, and
may be set in the open ground almost as early as the
wrinkled peas can be planted. Started plants may be
purchased if desired, and probably this is the best plan
when only a few are to be grown.
It is a simple matter, however, to start plants in a seed-
box in the kitchen, or in a cold frame outside, the seed
being sown about the middle of March. Cabbage plants
set out very early in the spring should be ready for the
table in July.
In order to have a succession all through the summer,
with a few plants to store for winter use, another sowing
must be made later, this time outside, say about the
end of May.
Probably the best way to grow the late cabbage is to
thin out the plants when large enough to be handled
easily, the thinnings being set in another row; The trans-
planted cabbages will come along almost as fast as those
left standing.
When transplanting is being done in warm weather
it is advisable to shear off the top of each leaf in order
to check evaporation. Cabbages can be transplanted
77
78 Cabbages and Cauliflowers
safely at any season if this is done and if they are set
so deeply in the ground that the soil comes to the first
leaf. This is an important point to remember. Cabbages
should be thinned or transplanted so as to stand about
1 8 inches apart in the rows.
If any choice can be made, let the richest ground be
given to the early cabbages. The late kinds do better
on rather poor soil, as too much fertilizer causes the
heads to burst.
If it is found in the fall that the heads of cabbages
are breaking, it is a good plan to go along the rows and
push over each cabbage with the foot, so that the roots
on one side will be broken. This will check the trouble,
as less nourishment will be taken up.
Cabbage is subject to club root, especially if grown in
the same ground several years in succession. A new
piece of garden should be given to the cabbages, if pos-
sible, each year. Lime is a preventive to a large extent,
and if planting on old ground must be resorted to, it is
well to use lime freely.
A good way to feed cabbages when the soil is poor
is to dig out the furrows six inches deep and put in a
layer of well rotted manure or garden fertilizer, filling
in with soil again before the seed is planted. When
growth is started, the plants can be stimulated by using
a little nitrate of soda along the rows, working it into the
ground just before a rain. A handful to a yard will be
about the right quantity.
Among the good varieties are Succession, Ball Head
and Copenhagen Market. If one likes red cabbage, let
him plant Danish Long Head. Copenhagen Market is
perhaps the best kind to plant first, as it matures in
Cabbages and Cauliflowers 79
100 days from the sowing of the seeds. Succession takes
135 days.
In the opinion of many people the Savoy cabbages are
the best of all. They are not .commonly found in the
market, not being very good shippers, but are especially
valuable for the backyard garden. They take rather
a long season, however. American Drumhead requires
150 days to mature. The Savoys have a curled leaf
and look very attractive when growing.
Many amateurs hesitate to grow cauliflowers, think-
ing they are hard to manage. There is no difficulty
about raising them, however, if one gets good seeds.
This means getting the best quality regardless of price.
Of course it is necessary to start cauliflower plants
indoors or in a cold frame in order to have an early crop.
But a late crop can be grown from seeds sown in the
open ground late in April in the North, and earlier
farther South. Cauliflower plants may be purchased in
most sections, and perhaps this is the best plan when the
season is short.
Cauliflower likes very rich ground and does well if
a little wood ashes has been incorporated into the soil.
It is also advisable, when possible, to plant on ground
which has been limed. Constant cultivation is necessary,
but it should be shallow, as the roots run near the surface
of the ground.
When the heads begin to develop the leaves must be
tied up over them in order that the centers may be nicely
blanched. If this is not done, the sun will burn the heads
and turn them brown.
Of course considerable skill is required to get the per-
fect plants produced by market gardeners, but there is
80 Cabbages and Cauliflowers -
no reason why good plants for the table cannot be grown
in the average garden.
Perhaps the best kind to use is' early dwarf Erfurt, as
it will stand close planting and makes large, pure white
heads when well blanched. These plants can stand as
near together as 15 inches. Another very good kind for
the home garden is Early Snowball.
See the chapter on garden pests for directions about
fighting cabbage worms and cabbage maggots.
Growing the Sweetest Sweet Corn
a*
SOMETIMES the backyard garden-maker is told that
he hasn't room for sweet corn. If the garden hap-
pens to be very small indeed, this may be true, but ordi-
narily space can be found for enough corn, if a dwarf
variety like Golden Bantam is planted, to provide a
liberal supply for the family. There is a special reason
why sweet corn should have a place in the home garden.
It is one of the vegetables which must go directly to the
table if it is to be enjoyed at its best. Sweet corn loses
at least half its sugar content within a comparatively few
hours. That is the reason that corn of the best quality
can seldom be obtained at a restaurant or hotel. Many
amateurs who grow corn for the first time are amazed
at the quality which they find in it. Perhaps they had
never known before what corn ought to taste like.
Years ago it was difficult to sell Golden Bantam in
the market, but now it is in great demand, because its
extra fine flavor has been generally recognized. It is
being improved, too, so that larger ears than formerly are
produced. One special advantage in this variety lies in
the fact that it can be planted in drills, so that compara-
tively little space is required. This is also true of other
dwarf varieties, like Peep-o'-Day. At the same time too
close planting must be avoided. The rows should be
about three feet apart, but the plants should stand no
closer than ten inches apart in the rows. If the plan
of using hills is preferred, they should be about three
feet apart each way, and not more than three stalks
should be allowed to grow in each hill.
One mistake which amateurs often fall into is the
planting of corn in one or two long rows, instead of
81
82 Growing the Sweetest Sweet Corn
several short rows. There is danger when this practice
is followed that the corn will not be properly pollenized.
The pollen is carried by the wind, and is best distributed
when the plants stand in squares or blocks. It is well to
remember, too, that if two or more kinds of corn are
planted close together there is danger of crossing, so that
an ear of Golden Bantam, which is yellow, may contain
occasional white kernels, or even black kernels, if the
variety known as Black Mexican happens to be grown
nearby. Of course, no harm is done when seed is not
to be saved, but most people take pride in the appearance
as well as the flavor of their corn.
The way to have sweet corn all summer is to make
successive plantings. It is possible, of course, to plant
early and late kinds, like Peep-o'-Day and Stowell's Ever-
green, at the same time, and thus give a long season, but
as a rule it is better to plant the same variety every
ten days or two weeks, up to the first of July in the
Northern States, and a month later farther south. If
the fall happens to be a late one, Golden Bantam, planted
in the middle of July, will yield a bountiful crop before
cold weather comes, even in the North.
It is well to remember that corn is a heavy feeder.
Perhaps it is possible to get the ground too rich for
corn, but it is safe to say that the average amateur need
have no worry on that score. Corn can be fed on rank
fertilizers, too, more safely than most garden crops.
There is no better place for poultry manure than the
bottom of a cornhill. Not only is it well to enrich the
hills, but much can be done toward increasing the yield
by spreading fertilizer along the rows after the plants are
well started, then raking it into the soil. A special corn
Growing the Sweetest Sweet Corn 83
fertilizer or any good top dressing can be used in this
way.
If the soil is light, the seed should be planted two
inches deep. In heavy soil an inch will be deep enough.
It is well to plant the seeds somewhat thicker than the
stalks are to stand, and then to thin out those which are
not needed, provided the cutworms do not do this work.
Sometimes much loss is experienced through the inroads
of these pests, especially in new ground. If one wishes
to have a few particularly early ears, he can start a
number of plants in paper pots or in strawberry baskets
in the house, or in a cold frame, before it is safe to plant
outside.
Corn is a crop which requires much cultivation in order
to get the best results. This cultivation must be shallow,
however, after the plants begin to grow, because the roots
extend all through the ground between the rows and very
near the surface. Usually the weeds can be kept down
without trouble between the rows by the use of a wheel
hoe or hand cultivator, but it will be necessary to use
a common hoe in order to keep the ground between the
plants clean. Indeed, a little hand-weeding may be neces-
sary at first. If the garden-maker has an abundance of
water, it may be used to advantage on corn, for in a dry
season water will bring the crop along a week or more
earlier than if cultivation alone is depended upon.
It used to be the regular custom of all garden-makers
to hill their corn, but it has been found that there is no
real argument for this practice. The amateur will get
better results if he adopts level culture, because hilling
tends to throw the rainwater away from the plants,
exposes more of the surface soil to the sun, which in-
84 Growing the Sweetest Sweet Corn
creases evaporation, and adds to his work without any
good reason. It is sometimes argued that hilling keeps
the wind from blowing the cornstalks over, but if the
seed is planted as deep as suggested, the dwarf varieties
will suffer but little from the action of the wind in the
backyard garden.
Whether or not it is a good plan to remove the suckers
is a mooted question. Thousands of men can remember
wearisome days, when they were boys, spent in this work.
They wonder if their time and labor were not wasted.
It is pretty safe to say that the backyard gardener will
accomplish but little in removing the suckers from such
varieties as he is likely to grow, especially Golden Bantam.
Fortunately corn is not troubled by many pests. The
backyard garden-maker is not likely to be visited by the
crows, although he may suffer somewhat from the
depredations of the blackbirds, which strip down the ears
and eat the kernels.
In some sections the corn earworm has become a great
nuisance in recent years. For some time no adequate
method of fighting this pest was known, but it has been
discovered that it can be kept in check with ease by
simply dusting powdered arsenate of lead on the silk.
If the garden-maker happens to live in the open coun-
try, where crows pull up the plants as soon as they begin
to sprout, he will find it advisable to cover the seed with
coal tar.
This is very easily done by putting the seed into an
old pan and pouring the tar over it, then adding enough
lime or red lead to allow its easy mixing. The crows may
begin to pull the corn, but after getting a little of the
tar they will quit the field in disgust.
Growing the Sweetest Sweet Corn 85
Corn is easily dried or evaporated for winter use, and
when one has sufficient land it is advisable to make a
large enough planting to give a surplus with this end in
view. Further information on this subject will be found
in the chapter headed "Growing Vegetables to Can and
Evaporate," on page 139,
Good Lettuce All Summer
a*
ALMOST every amateur aspires to raise good lettuce.
Few crops are prettier when growing, and no other
salad plant is so universally popular. Unfortunately let-
tuce does not withstand heat well, although a few varie-
ties, like Salamander, will do fairly well in midsummer.
It happens that this type of lettuce is by no means the
best.
Being a hardy plant, lettuce can be started early, and
as it grows rapidly, a spring crop is quickly obtained.
To have extra early lettuce, it is necessary to use a hot-
bed or cold frame for starting the plants, or to sow seed
in boxes indoors. In many of the Southern States seeds
may be sown in the autumn and the plants allowed to
remain in the ground over winter.
If lettuce is allowed to grow slowly in poor ground,
it will be tough and unsatisfactory. One way to have
quality lettuce is to make it grow rapidly, which means
that it must have good, rich ground and plenty of room.
Water, too, is of great benefit.
Lettuce may be planted outside as soon as the ground
can be worked. It is a common mistake to put in a lot
of seed at one time. A better way is to plant little and
often, so that a fresh supply will be coming along at all
times. It is not necessary to devote much space in the
garden exclusively to lettuce. The best plan is to plant
a short row and to use the plants which are thinned out
to tuck in here and there wherever there is an empty
space in the garden. In order to have sufficient room for
proper development, the plants should be thinned so that
they will stand at least twelve inches apart.
There is no particular reason for growing head lettuce
86
Good Lettuce All Summer 87
in the backyard garden. The loose-leaf varieties come
along much more rapidly and can be used when small.
The new, tender young leaves are really preferable to any
head. It is purely ignorance on the part of many house-
wives which makes them demand head lettuce for home
use.
If head lettuce is to be grown, however, it will be
desirable to reset all of the plants. Transplanting seems
to make them head up better. It will also be necessary
to have extra rich ground and to apply water freely.
Indeed, one secret of making lettuce head well is the
liberal use of water. A teaspoonful of nitrate of soda
dug into the soil at the base of each plant once or twice
will prove a great stimulant. About the same results can
be obtained by the use of manure water. All lettuce
must have regular cultivation, and the use of the fer-
tilizers mentioned will help to force the growth if it
seems to lag.
When extremely hot weather approaches, lettuce begins
to get sunburned, to grow slowly, and perhaps becomes
bitter. If the plants can be grown where they will be
shaded in the middle of the day, or if shade in the way
of burlap or canvas fastened to stakes can be given,
better results will be obtained than when the plants are
exposed to the sun all day. Lettuce which is being started
in midsummer should always be shaded.
Perhaps the most satisfactory way to grow lettuce all
through the summer is to make use of a cold frame.
Lettuce grown in such a frame is protected from drying
winds, and thrives much better than in the open ground.
Of course it will not be necessary to have any glass on
the frame, and protection from the sun can be obtained
by using laths to make a covering for the frame, the laths
88 Good Lettuce All Summer
being spaced about an inch apart. This will break the
sun's rays.
When fall approaches, lettuce can be grown as freely
in the open ground as in the spring, and it will stand up
under the first light frost. If small plants are lifted in
October and set in a cold frame or hotbed, they can be
kept on growing until Christmas, or even later, but of
course glass must be used on the frame then.
Of the many different varieties of lettuce on the mar-
ket, Grand Rapids is as good as any among the loose-
leafed varieties.
One successful garden-maker who has been experi-
menting with Regina lettuce calls it the best hot-weather
variety he has ever tried, the leaves being very crisp
and tender ten weeks from planting, in spite of extreme
heat.
Among the specially good varieties are Wayahead, which
matures in 52 days; May King, which requires 56 days;
All Seasons, which needs 61 days; and Crisp as Ice,
which demands 65 days to mature, but is a very fine va-
riety. Although repeated sowings of a favorite kind are
usually made by the backyard gardener, there is no rea-
son why a long succession cannot be secured by planting
different varieties at the same time.
Romaine or Cos lettuce is distinctly different from the
more common sorts, but is well liked by some people,
especially those from over seas. It makes a tall and up-
right growth. Oftentimes the leaves grow so tightly that
the center is naturally blanched. Otherwise it is a good
plan to tie up the leaves with raffia or common twine
when they are about a foot long. The heart then becomes
particularly sweet and tender. It is well worth while
growing a little Cos lettuce in a row by itself.
Onions from Seeds and Sets
a*
ALL undiscouraged by the fact that onions are a dif-
ficult crop to grow unless extra pains are taken
with them, many amateurs blithely plant several rows of
seed each year, only to reap a harvest of disappointment.
Yet there is no reason why a good crop cannot be pro-
duced from seeds if the soil is made very fine and kept
absolutely free from weeds.
There are so many different varieties of onions that
it is possible to have early, medium and late crops, the
last for winter use. Also, there are white, yellow and
red varieties. The white kinds are probably the most
popular, yet many persons like the red onion, especially
the Italian varieties, which are delicious when used young
in salads, and excellent for pickling.
The red Italian Tripoli is a flat onion with a mild flavor
and well worth growing in the garden. Another variety
of Italian Tripoli is white, but otherwise similar. Then
there is the white Adriatic Barletta, the earliest of all
the small onions, and especially adapted for table use. Per-
haps it is the best variety to grow for quick results. The
red Wethersfield is a very heavy bearer, and probably the
best keeper of all the red onions. It is a good kind to
grow for winter.
It is time to plant the seed for the winter crop just as
soon as the ground can be worked. If the land happens
to be heavy, the seed should not go into the ground deep-
er than a quarter of an inch. On very light soil, however,
the seed may be planted half an inch or even an inch
deep, with better results.
It must be remembered that onions must be fed heavily
in order to make them grow well. If the ground has
89
90 Onions from Seeds and Sets
been made rich with well-rotted manure, no more fertil-
izer may be necessary, but otherwise it will be well to
spread pulverized sheep manure, with a little bonemeal
added, over the ground where the onions are to go, and
spade it thoroughly into the soil. Sometimes it is well to
use a little bonemeal even when manure has been spread
previously. Good onions can be grown with a ready-
mixed fertilizer alone.
Onion seeds, like the seeds of some other vegetables,
are rather slow to germinate, and for that reason it is
advisable to scatter a few radish seeds in the rows, as they
will come up quickly and permit cultivation to be com-
menced before the onion tops show. This is very import-
ant, because it is absolutely impossible to grow weeds
and onions on the same soil. Not only must the weeds
be kept removed along the rows, but they must be taken
out by hand from between the plants. This may mean
getting down on one's knees, and one may dislike humb-
ling himself to an onion, but there is no other way in
which to grow this crop successfully.
As soon as the plants begin to crowd they should be
thinned an inch apart. Later on they may be thinned
again to stand three inches apart, but these later thinnings
will be large enough for use on the table.
The way to have extra early onions is to plant sets as
soon as the ground can be worked. These sets are really
very small onions which were grown the previous year,
and they may be purchased by the pint or quart. They do
not multiply, but grow to edible size in a few weeks. They
should be planted in well prepared ground, just under the
surface, the onions being placed about three inches apart.
It is not wise to grow more than a row or two, but a few
Onions from Seeds and Sets 91
sets are worth a place in the garden, if the owner is par-
ticularly fond of onions.
One kind of onion, called the multiplier, or potato on-
ion, may be planted in the fall. It is hardy and will pro-
vide green onions early in the spring.
A Long Season of Peas
aft
PROBABLY peas have caused more disappointment
than any other garden crop. It requires good soil
and more than usual attention to get a really bountiful
crop. Ordinarily the vines will yield two pickings and
then cease to bear. With the later and taller varieties,
however, a more generous crop may be obtained.
Fortunately peas are very hardy, so that they can be
planted early. The smooth peas can be put in as soon as
the ground can be worked, oftentimes by the last of
March, even in the Northern States. In the Middle
States and in the South these smooth peas can be
sown in the fall to give an extra early crop. The smooth
peas, however, are less satisfactory than the wrinkled
sorts, and only a few should be planted. Even the wrin-
kled peas can be put into the ground some time before
"danger of frost is over.
It is customary to plant the quick-growing dwarf va-
rieties first. Such kinds as Gradus and Nott's Excelsior
are dependable. Another low-growing variety which has
come into favor lately is Little Marvel. The pods are
not large, but they are packed tightly with well flavored
peas.
While people who have a special fondness for certain
varieties often plant them in succession every ten days
up to the middle of June, it is a simpler practice to plant
early, medium early and late varieties at the same time.
Then, in June, a final planting of Thomas Laxton may
be made. A good selection includes the following
varieties :
Early Little Marvel, maturing in 60 days ; Gradus,
maturing in 68 days.
92
A Long Season of Peas 93
Medium Early Thomas Laxton, which requires 72
days to mature.
Late Alderman, which matures in 80 days; Tele-
phone, which requires 87 days.
Another late variety which succeeds well in many sec-
tions, although not commonly well-known, is Potlach. It
matures in 86 days, and averages to yield twelve quarts
for every fifteen feet of row, which is more than any other
variety.
The earliest peas require no supports. Little Marvel,
for example, grows only one and a half feet high. Gradus
is a foot higher, and will get along well without support,
although a little brush is an advantage. All the others
named like some sort of support. Alderman and Tele-
phone often grow five feet high. Potlach and Thomas
Laxton seldom grow over three feet high.
Amateurs are sometimes misled by the argument that
tall-growing peas are not suitable for a small garden. As
a matter of fact, it is better to have one row of Telephone
late in the season than two rows of Gradus, for they will
produce more than twice as many pods, and the pods will
be much larger. The writer is wholly in favor of the
taller varieties for late crops because of this reason, and
also because the vines do not dry out so quickly.
Peas require land which has been well worked up,
and should be sown in wide trenches rather than in nar-
row drills like most vegetable crops. The best plan is to
dig out a trench about ten inches wide and from two to
three inches deep, scattering the peas over the bottom of
this trench. In that way the vines become self-support-
ing to some extent, and are not likely to dry out quickly.
As a rule a pint of seed will plant about thirty feet of row.
94 A Long Season of Peas
Some growers like to make double rows about six inches
apart. After the peas have been planted it is important
to firm the soil over them with the feet or the flat end of
the hoe.
If the ground is at all dry, or if the season is late, it is
an excellent plan to soak the seed peas over night in luke-
warm water, or to wet down the ground in the trenches
with a watering-can before the seed is planted. Quick
germination is essential in order to get an early crop, but
if the soil is moist, as it is likely to be in early spring,
firming the surface so as to bring the soil particles
into close contact with the seed will suffice.
As a rule it is not necessary to use any commercial fer-
tilizer in growing peas, either before the crop is planted
or afterward, if the ground is reasonably rich. However,
peas like an abundance of water, and if they can be kept
irrigated, that will be an advantage. The pea is a cool-
weather vegetable, which is the reason that it is difficult
to grow good crops after hot weather comes.
If a late planting is to be made, the seed should go
into the ground deeper than earlier in the season. Four
or even five inches may not be too deep if the soil is loose.
Of course, as with all seeds, planting must not be made so
deeply in heavy as in light soil.
Brush gives the best support for peas, but if it is not
easily obtained, strings fastened to stakes at the ends of
the rows, and at ten-foot intervals, will prevent the plants
from being blown over. Poultry netting can be used, too,
but is almost too expensive for the purpose at the pres-
ent time.
One point to be remembered when picking peas is that
the roots are easily disturbed. The vines should be held
A Long Season of Peas 95
with one hand while the pods are removed with the other.
To jerk off the pods will be to damage the plants.
One other point, an important one, is that peas are
never at their best unless caught young. If left until they
get rather old, they will be tough and flavorless. More-
over, they should be served as soon as possible after be-
ing removed from the garden. It is one of the advant-
ages of having one's own garden plot that one can enjoy
such peas as can never be purchased in the market.
The Root Crop Quintet
a*
THERE are five root crops that ought to have a place
in every backyard garden, whatever else is grown.
Beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips and salsify are among the
most useful of all garden vegetables. They are said to
contain properties which make them almost necessary
for human consumption, and they have the special merit
of prolonging the season practically all winter, as they can
either be stored in the cellar or left in the open ground.
Beets and carrots divide honors for first place in pop-
ular esteem. Both should be grown with the idea of
having the tender young specimens all summer and a
good crop to keep for winter use. All of the vegetables
named are hardy and can be planted as soon as the
ground can be worked. Possibly the planting of pars-
nips should be delayed a little, because the seed is some-
what inclined to rot in cold ground.
All root crops like rich ground, but if fresh manure is
used are likely to split or crack. In order to get well-
shaped roots, the land must be spaded or plowed as
deeply as possible. A simple way to get first-class pars-
nips is to thrust a crowbar into the ground, and then to
fill the hole with a sifted loam mixed with old manure
or pulverized sheep manure. The seeds planted under
these conditions will produce long, shapely parsnips.
There should be about a foot and a half between the rows
of root crops, so that cultivation can be done with a
wheel hoe.
There is a general tendency to plant the seeds too
thickly. This mistake should be avoided at the present
time, not only because of the extra work involved in thin-
ning, but because seed is scarce. It is not commonly
96
The Root Crop Quintet 97
realized that beet seed is a kind of pod containing several
germs, each of which will sprout. An inch apart is about
the right distance for putting in beet seed. Even then
considerable thinning will be necessary, for the growing
plants should be four inches apart ; but the thinnings can
be used for greens. Beet seed should go about an inch
under the ground.
Carrots require practically the sa-me treatment as beets,
but can stand as close as three inches. The young car-
rots w'hich may be thinned out are excellent for table use.
Parsnips require about six inches of space, and the
seed should be planted an inch deep. Both parsnip
and carrot seed are rather slow to germinate, and there is
great danger that weeds will come up so thickly before the
young plants appear that the latter will be choked out.
For that reason it is an excellent plan to use radish seed
thinly in the rows. The radishes will come up in a few
days, and mark the rows so that cultivation can be taken
up promptly. In this way the weeds can be kept under
control. Even when this is done, however, considerable
hand-weeding between the plants will be necessary. All
root crops require constant and thorough cultivation if
they are to be grown well.
Beets and carrots grow rather quickly, and successive
planting should be made in order to have young, tender
specimens for the table all summer. Early in June a
planting for the winter crop should be made. Perhaps
the best beets to grow first of all are Eclipse, which un-
der favorable conditions mature in sixty days. They get
tough after a short time, however, so that it is well to sow
Detroit Dark Red and depend upon this variety for the
other summer crops. It takes a week longer to mature,
98 The Root Crop Quintet
but it is the very best beet for the home garden. It makes
an excellent beet to can, the tops are unusually good for
greens, and there is no reason why it should not be made
the main crop for winter use. On the whole, though,
it may be advisable to plant a row of Long Smooth Blood
early in June to be stored.
The French Forcing carrot is probably the best to
plant first of all, because it comes along very quickly.
Then at the same time Chantenay may be planted to give
a later crop, and continued at intervals. Chantenay also
makes a good kind to store for winter, although Long
Red Surrey will grow bigger and possibly keep a little
better.
Parsnips take the whole season, and are not available
for use until fall. They are not commonly eaten until
winter comes, because they are best-flavored after the
ground is frozen. Being perfectly hardy, they can be
left in the ground all winter, and will be highly appre-
ciated when spring comes. If the ground where they are
planted is covered with boards or hay late in the season,
the parsnips can be dug out at intervals through the win-
ter. Of course in the States farther South they are
available at all times. The Student parsnip is one of
the best for the home garden, although Hollow Crown
is probably better known.
The turnip is a particularly useful garden vegetable
because of its quick growth. It is unrivaled for plant-
ing here and there about the garden to occupy empty
spaces where other seeds have not come up. White
Milan is perhaps the best of the early sorts, although
Purple Top Munich is popular. Both are ready for the
table in two months from the time they are planted. Like
The Root Crop Quintet 99
all quick-growing vegetables, however, they must be used
promptly, for they soon get tough and stringy. These
same varieties can be sown at intervals of two weeks all
through the summer.
About the first of July a generous planting of winter
turnips should be made. Probably the most satisfactory
kinds are those of the rutabaga type. The rutabagas are
also called Swedish and Russian turnips. They grow very
large, keep perfectly, and are unsurpassed for table use.
American Purple Top is an excellent variety. Because
of its value as a winter vegetable the rutabaga turnip
should be given an extra large amount of space. This
can be done to advantage from the fact that its late
planting allows it to follow an early crop like peas or
spinach.
The early turnips should stand about three inches apart,
and the seed be planted half an inch deep. The rutabagas
will require twice as much space, and perhaps more.
Another root crop which requires practically the same
care as the rutabaga is the winter radish. Few people
have grown these radishes in the past, but they are well
worth getting acquainted with, because they grow to
enormous size and can be stored like any winter veget-
able. Although they are rather sharp, they can be eaten
raw, and they make a desirable dish when cooked like
turnips.
Salsify, or vegetable oyster, if given practically the
same care as the parsnip, will make good growth and be
ready for use in the fall. Like the parsnip, it can be
left in the ground all winter, being especially prized in
the spring. It is very hardy, and may be planted as early
as beets and carrots, but it must have extra rich ground,
100 The Root Crop Quintet
and ground which has been worked deeply. The veg-
etable oyster gets its name from the fact that when cut
into cubes and creamed the flavor is very much like that
of genuine oysters.
There is no secret about growing the root crops. The
garden-maker can get a large amount of food on a com-
paratively small amount of ground by paying special at-
tention to them. He must be very careful, however, to
get them well started, which means planting the seed in
soil that has been finely pulverized, and taking care to
firm the soil well over the seed, either with the foot or
by the use of a roller.
The Little Potdio Htch
MOST garden-makers have an ambition to grow po-
tatoes. If the garden happens to be of very lim-
ited area, however, it is much better to devote all the
space to other crops. Potatoes require a considerable
amount of land in order to produce a worth-while yield.
Perhaps it may be said, also, that potatoes are not so easy
to grow as the average garden novice supposes. They
are attacked by more different kinds of insect pests and
fungus diseases than almost any other vegetable in the
garden. But this is not meant to be unduly discouraging,
for many amateur garden-makers are able to grow first-
rate potatoes, and to obtain an abundant yield. Yet it
is safe to say that these successful amateurs take more
than ordinary pains with the crop.
Potatoes like a loose, loamy soil. If the garden is
heavy and full of clay, it is much better to check one's
desire to grow spuds, and put in their place vegetables
which are more suited to such soil.
In order to grow good potatoes it is necessary to have
land well filled with humus, which is simply decayed
vegetable matter. That is the reason that a piece of sod
land gives particularly good results. If a new garden is
to be made by turning the sods under, it is a good plan
to grow potatoes there for one year. The crop will
probably be a good one, and the land will then be put
into condition for all the other garden crops. It is im-
portant, however, to have the ground well worked up,
even when sod land is used. It should be thoroughly
harrowed, preferably with a disk harrow, if there is
room enough for such an implement to be used.
Potatoes can be planted early, and early planting usu-
101
102 A, * & & : T ^ e - Little ? o ta to Patch
ally gives the largest crop. The better the seed, the bet-
ter the crop, but of course the backyard garden-maker is
obliged to use what he can obtain. If possible, though, he
should select seed potatoes which are of moderate size,
and with eyes which are not deep-set. Potatoes with one
long pointed end are to be avoided.
It has been found that the biggest yield comes when
whole potatoes are planted. But it is expensive to plant
whole potatoes, and accordingly it is the common practice
to cut the tubers into pieces, each of which has two good
eyes. Two pieces may be placed in a hill.
Much has been said about the planting of potato par-
ings. Experience has shown that it is perfectly feasible
to pare the potatoes which are to be used on the table,
cutting into flesh rather deeply wherever an eye appears.
If these eyes, with little pieces of potato adhering to them,
are planted, they will give a very fair crop. In this way
it is possible to obtain seed for the potato patch without
any expense. It is important, however, to plant the eyes
very soon after they have been cut out. These eyes
should be put under the ground only about two inches. If
they are planted as deeply as ordinary seed it is probable
that no crop will be obtained.
One of the most common fungus diseases encountered
by the potato-grower is scab. This can be kept away
almost entirely by soaking the seed before it is planted.
Sometimes corrosive sublimate is used to soak the seed
in, but it is not recommended for the amateur's use, as
it is a deadly poison. Formalin is a safe and effective
remedy. It may be obtained at any drugstore, and half
a pint will be sufficient. This amount should be mixed
with fifteen gallons of water, and placed in a barrel or
The Little Potato Patch 103
tub, the potatoes then being poured into a grain sack
and suspended in the liquid for two hours.
The formalin does not lose its strength quickly, and
may be used several times. Neighbors can dip their pota-
toes in the same solution. The mistake of cutting the
potatoes before they are soaked should not be made, for
if this is done the formalin may get under the skin and kill
the eyes. Of course the potatoes should be dried before
they are planted, but they should not be placed in any
sack or box which has had untreated potatoes in it.
It is generally believed that the use of fresh manure
on land where potatoes are to be grown will encourage
the appearance of scab, although such manure is often
used and no trouble experienced. If the manure does
not come into direct contact with the seed, it is less likely
to cause trouble. Cow manure seems safer than horse
manure. It is better, anyway, for the amateur to use
manure and run the risk of scab than to plant in land
which has not been fertilized at all. The average back-
yard gardener probably can obtain commercial fertilizer
easier than he can get manure. It will be safer for him
to use, and will give just as good results.
Practically all seedsmen sell a regular potato fertilizer,
and it should be used in the hills. The potato is not a
good forager, and hill applications give better results
than when the fertilizer is scattered over the ground and
harrowed in. One way to use the fertilizer is to make
hills or furrows about seven inches deep, throwing two
inches of soil over the fertilizer after it has been put in.
Another plan, and perhaps a better one for the home
gardener, is to plant the potatoes six inches deep, throw-
ing two inches of soil over them, and then scattering the
104 The Little Potato Patch
fertilizer in the hills or furrows. Actual experience
shows a larger yield to be obtained when the fertilizer
is put over the seed than when it is put under it.
Shallow planting is a common mistake of the amateur.
Five or six inches is none too deep for the seed potatoes
to go under the ground. Probably the best plan to fol-
low is to make furrows, a piece of seed potato being
dropped every eight or ten inches. This is more economi-
cal of room than when hills are used, and the crop is just
as large.
After the potatoes come up they must be sprayed con-
tinually to protect them from bugs and blight. The bugs
are easily subdued if the plants are sprayed with a poison,
which may take the form of arsenate of lead either in
solution or dry. In a small garden dry arsenate of lead
works very well. It must be remembered that the time to
catch these pests is when they are in the soft larva stage,
before they acquire their hard shells.
There is an early and a late blight. It is the latter
which often does the most damage, and it is commonly
associated with dry rot. The remedy for blight is Bor-
deaux mixture, which, like the arsenate of lead, may be
applied wet or dry. The easiest way to protect the potato
plants is to combine the poison and the fungicide. Per-
haps there is no better plan for the amateur to adopt than
to use a ready-made mixture, or to buy powdered arsen-
ate of lead and powdered Bordeaux, mixing them himself
and applying with a hand duster. It is not safe to grow
potatoes unless the precautions described are taken. Seed
and land are too valuable for any risk to be taken.
As with apples, different varieties of potatoes give
best results in different parts of the country. In the
The Little Potato Patch 105
Northeastern United States and along the South Atlantic
seaboard the Irish Cobbler, Early Petoskey or Early
Standard, all of which are practically identical, may be
expected to produce large crops and be generally satis-
factory for an early crop. Quick Lunch or New Queen
would be regarded as second choice for this section.
In the South Central and Southwestern States the Tri-
umph may be expected to give results equal to or even
better than the Irish Cobbler.
In the Middle West, the Early Ohio should do well,
while the Early Harvest or Early Rose may be regarded
as second choice.
In the New England States, Long Island and Northern
New York Green Mountain and Gold Coin are to be con-
sidered the best late varieties.
In Northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota the
late varieties named above do about as well as the Rural
New Yorker No. 2, and are superior to it in table qual-
ities.
In Western New York, Southern Michigan and Wis-
consin and Iowa the Rural New Yorker No. 2, Sir Walter
Raleigh and Carman No. 3 are the best-adapted varieties
and divide honors with Green Mountain in the northern
portions of these States.
Throughout Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Ten-
nessee and Georgia the variety known as McCormick is
quite generally grown as a late variety.
The following dates of planting for various cities
should be regarded only as the approximate time at
which early potatoes might safely be planted :
March 15 to 25 Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis.
106 The Little Potato Patch
March 25 to April 5 New York, Indianapolis, De-
troit, Chicago.
April 5 to 15 Boston, Albany, Rochester, etc.
In the Northern sections late varieties should be planted
from three to four weeks later.
In the Northern States the season is too short for
growing sweet potatoes, but they are popular from the
Middle States south. They are usually propagated by
sprouts from tubers. A single layer of tubers is placed
in a hotbed or cold frame in April or May, being lightly
covered with soil. When three inches high the sprouts
are removed from the tubers carefully and planted in the
garden. Started plants ready for setting out may be pur-
chased in May or June from seedsmen and plant dealers.
The rows should be about three feet apart and the plants
fourteen to twenty inches apart in the rows. Cultivation
should be thorough until the plants are established, and
it is well to move the vines about at the same time to
prevent their rooting down at the joints. The potatoes
should be dug as soon as the tops have been killed down.
Sweet potatoes are not easily stored for winter unless
they can be given a warm, dry place. They will quickly
decay, too, if bruised, and must therefore be harvested
with care.
Spinach and Other Greens
a*
SPINACH is one of the very hardy vegetables which
can be planted just as soon as the ground has ceased
to be sticky. It is one of the most satisfactory crops, too,
if greens are liked.
It is best to sow spinach seed in the open ground where
the plants are to remain. Thin the seedlings to about
eight inches. Usually two or three sowings are made,
ten days apart, but when warm weather comes, ordinary
spinach is not easily grown, as it gets tough or goes to
seed. For this reason the wise gardener will plant New
Zealand spinach, which is really not a spinach at all, but a
most satisfactory substitute, and thrives in the hottest of
summer weather.
New Zealand spinach has one great advantage over
most garden vegetables in that a single row will be suf-
ficient. If only four or five inches are removed from the
tips of the leaves as fast as they develop, new growth
will continually appear all through the season. This
makes New Zealand spinach an extra good vegetable for
the small garden, because enough for the family can be
grown on a limited area. If the land is rich it is often
possible to pick as much as a peck of greens from a sin-
gle plant several times a season. The seed should be
sown early in May and the plants thinned to sixteen or
eighteen inches in the row, as they grow very luxuriantly
in rich soil. It is best to have the land well fertilized,
and if a little nitrate of soda can be applied several times
during the summer, say a teaspoonful at the base of each
plant, growth will be increased. Of course care must be
taken that this fertilizer does not come in contact with
the stalks, and it is best used shortly before a rain. If
107
108 Spinach and Other Greens
nitrate of soda is not available, liquid manure diluted
to the color of weak tea will prove an excellent substi-
tute. A little bonemeal stirred into the soil will also be
good.
In September it will be well for the amateur to make
a sowing of prickly spinach to be left in the ground over
winter. This spinach will survive even the coldest win-
ter if lightly covered with hay or straw, and be ready to
yield a bountiful crop next spring.
Although endive is not commonly grown in American
gardens, it is worth getting acquainted with, especially
for a fall salad. One of its principal advantages lies in
the fact that it is very hardy, so that it is not easily killed
by frost, and it will grow out-of-doors until late in the
season. Then it may be lifted and taken into the house
cellar, or placed in a cold frame, where the plants will
blanch nicely and can be used when wanted.
Of course the crop is also available all through the
fall months, when it is blanched by tying the leaves up
over the heads, which causes the heads to whiten. This
is done not only for appearance, but because the bleach-
ing process also removes much of the bitterness which
is to be found in the unblanched leaves. The heart
makes a salad. Unbleached leaves are eaten for greens.
Although it can be grown at any time during the sum-
mer, endive is usually more in demand when fall comes,
and for that reason it is not necessary to plant the seed
before the middle or end of June. The plants should
finally stand about a foot or fifteen inches apart.
This is a good crop to grow in a part of the garden
which is not very rich, and no special care is required.
Of course larger and better plants can be obtained if a
Spinach and Other Greens 109
little bonemeal or nitrate of soda can be used to stimu-
late them, but they will grow well in any ordinary soil,
and even in land which is a little heavy and wet.
Corn salad is a vegetable which comparatively few peo-
ple know, but which is well worth getting acquainted
with, as it makes the very earliest spring salad one can
grow. August or September is the time to sow the seed.
The plants should be covered lightly with straw or other
litter when cold weather comes. Corn salad makes a
very good substitute for spinach and requires but little
attention after it has been planted. It is recommended
to all people who like greens.
Swiss chard is a kind of beet which has been educated
to grow to tops instead of making enlarged roots. It
should be treated just the same as beets, except that it
will require more room. The young plants, however,
can be pulled up and used on the table as it becomes
necessary to thin them out.
There should be at least fifteen inches between the
plants, and it is only necessary to remove the outside
leaves as they are wanted for greens, as the plant will
continually renew itself from the center. This makes
Swiss chard an ideal crop for the small garden. Although
the leaves themselves make excellent greens and with
quite as much food value as spinach, many amateurs
also like to separate the midribs and cook them like aspar-
agus, for which they make a very fair substitute. In some
ways Swiss chard is preferable to spinach for greens, as
it grows taller and the leaves are more easily cleaned.
Although mustard greens are not grown as commonly
as some other kinds, there is no reason why a small space
in the garden should not be given them. The leaves are
110 Spinach and Other Greens
cooked like spinach and make a very good substitute. The
particular merit of mustard lies in the fact that it can be
grown very quickly and in almost any soil. The seed
should be sown thickly, as early in the spring as the
ground can be worked, and at weekly intervals, if a suc-
cession is wanted. Usually a planting early in the spring
and another in September for fall use will be sufficient.
Probably the best all-around variety is Ostrich Plume.
Celery for Home Use
IT IS true that celery is not one of the essential vege-
tables. Yet it is entitled to a place in any garden be-
cause it can be given the room occupied by early vege-
tables and will not trespass to any great extent on space
needed for more important crops.
In the Northern States celery should be started in the
house, or in a cold frame early in April, or if very early
celery is wanted, the last of March. When the plants
have attained their first true leaves they should be trans-
planted to other boxes, or a new place in the cold frame,
and set out in the open ground when danger of frost is
past. The early celery may be left to grow where it is
planted out, but it is a good plan to move the late plants
a second time, for every transplanting helps to prevent
the formation of long tap roots and to produce better
specimens.
Probably the average backyard garden-maker will not
bother to raise his own celery plants, but will buy started
plants, which are always offered by the seedstores at a
low price late in the spring. It is advisable, on the whole,
for the man with a small amount of land not to bother
with early celery, but to purchase well-established plants
about the first of July. They can be set where the peas
were grown, and thus keep the ground occupied all
through the season.
It is useless, however, to try to grow celery unless one
is willing to give it more than ordinary attention. In the
first place the ground must be made very rich, either
with old stable manure or with a good fertilizer, bone-
meal being of particular advantage.
When purchased plants are used it is necessary to get
in
112 Celery for Home Use
them into the ground as soon as possible, for if the roots
are allowed to dry out the plants will take a long time
to recover. Whether they are home-grown or purchased
plants, the removal of the top half of each leaf will be
wise, for the evaporation will be checked, and the roots
given a better chance to become established. It is also
a good plan to trim off at least one-third of the root
growth at transplanting time.
When the plants are set in rows where they are to
mature, they should stand six inches apart, with two feet
between the rows. Of course it is very important to keep
the celery plants free from weeds, but it is even more im-
portant to retain the moisture in the ground by frequent
cultivation.
Few crops are benefited to a greater extent by water
than celery. When the market gardeners set their plants
in the field they often soak the ground several inches
deep beforehand, as the plants thus respond much better
than when watered after being set, and there is no reason
why this plan should not be followed advantageously
in the home garden.
If the amateur is buying plants for early celery he
will naturally choose Paris Golden, sometimes called
Golden Self -blanching. If, however, he is sowing seed
for a winter crop, he will be more likely to choose either
Boston Market or Giant Pascal. The latter is rather
better for the amateur to grow. Another very good
kind for the home gardener is Columbia.
The old-fashioned plan of setting the celery plants in
trenches is not followed by most experienced gardeners
now. One very good way to grow celery on a small plot
is to completely cover the earth with fresh horse manure
Celery for Home Use 113
two or three inches deep, taking care that the manure does
not come in contact with the plants. Not only does the
dressing fertilize the celery and cause it to make thrifty
growth, but it keeps the ground mulched so that no weed-
ing or cultivation is necessary.
Blanching must be done at just the right time in order
to obtain the best results. It is customary to blanch
early celery with boards or paper rather than to earth it
up. Banking with earth is more or less laborious, but is
believed to produce a nuttier flavor than can be obtained
in any other way.
However, it is not necessary to blanch even late celery
with earth, for the work can be done with boards. Wrap-
ping the celery with heavy paper has come to be quite a
common plan, and serves the purpose fairly well when
the crop is small.
When boards are used, they should be about fourteen
inches high, and they are easily held in place by cleats
nailed across the top at occasional intervals. Any old
boards one may happen to have around the place will
answer.
A few plants may be bleached from time to time by
taking them into a dark cellar and setting them in an
earthen crock or a pail, so that the roots can be covered
with water.
When winter comes the late celery must be dug up and
taken into the cellar or stored in a frost-proof place out-
doors. Even in the extreme north this work may be done
at any time during the month of November, for the cel-
ery will be protected to a considerable extent by earth
used to bank it.
It is a simple matter for the amateur with a small
114 Celery for Home Use
amount to store his celery in a cool cellar, simply lifting
the plants with as much earth as possible on the roots,
and setting them close together, either on the floor or in
a box, then covering the roots with earth. If the plants
can be set on a bed of earth the roots will take up some
nourishment and the plants will keep especially well.
Before being taken indoors the outside and all decayed
leaves should be removed. It is well to look the celery
over at short intervals and to take out any plants which
show signs of decay.
If a considerable amount of celery is to be stored it is
a better plan to make a pit in the open ground. This is
easily done if one has a side hill to burrow into. Other-
wise an excavation a few feet deep can be made and
covered with boards arranged like a shallow tent. After
the weather gets very cold, earth, leaves or hay should
be used to cover the boards to a depth of a foot. Of
course the amount of protection required to keep out
frost will depend upon the severity of the season and
climatic conditions.
Another way to keep celery for winter is to bank up
earth a foot thick on both sides, and then to throw about
three inches over the tops of the plants. The rows should
have a width of a foot at the top, and leaves or other
material should be used to increase the covering when
the weather gets extremely cold. In some sections this
method gives very good results, and celery stored in
this way has a particularly nutty flavor. One advantage,
too, lies in the fact that it is stored just where it grew.
Squashes for Summer and Winter
a*
AS MANY of the summer squashes are of the bush
variety, they need not take a great amount of space
in the garden, and they are much relished during the
hot months. Generally speaking, the crook-neck va-
rieties are to be preferred to the patty-pan sort.
They would be very easy to grow, too, if it were not
for the cutworms and the striped beetles. With a little
care these insects may be circumvented. Merely throw-
ing wood ashes or tobacco dust into the hills at planting
time will help. Tobacco dust may also be sprinkled on
the plants and around the stems. It is a particularly
good remedy for the striped beetle. Perhaps the best
way to guard against the ravages of the cutworm is to
plant eight or ten seeds in a hill, thinning out to three or
four plants if more than that number escape.
The hills should be about four feet apart, and the best
way to have a good crop is to throw a shovelful of manure
into the bottom of each hill, covering this with two or
three inches of soil. It is useless to plant squashes be-
fore settled warm weather comes, for if the ground is
cold they will certainly rot instead of sprouting.
Perhaps the best of the summer squashes, although a
running variety, is Golden Summer Oookneck. Mam-
moth White Bush belongs to the round, flat type, but is
extremely prolific and very early. A variety new on the
market, although it has been grown around Boston for
some years, is the Boston Greek squash, which is oblong
and dark green in color, reminding one of the English
vegetable marrows.
These marrows, in the opinion of many people, are far
better for the home garden than the common summer
116 Squashes for Summer and Winter
squash. They grow large, and have firm, solid flesh.
There are several varieties, some round and some oblong,
and there are both green and white sorts. Also there are
bush and running marrows. The latter will spread over
much ground, but can be trained on a fence or a trellis.
They yield bountifully.
In order to be at their best marrows must be eaten
when about half grown, but they are excellent for pre-
serves when older. Besides being suited for a table veg-
etable, marrows may also be used for pies, and a good
marrow pie can hardly be told from an old-fashioned
New England pumpkin pie.
The winter squash is not a proper vegetable for the
very small garden, for the reason that it requires con-
siderable room. At the same time it is one of the best
vegetables to grow for winter use, as it can be stored
in a warm cellar, canned or evaporated. Nor does it
need to trespass on the garden space to such an extent
as is often supposed. If planted near the edge of the
garden the vines may be allowed to travel out over the
lawn, or they can be trained on a fence, or perhaps al-
lowed to grow among the corn. Moreover, the vines can
be kept within reasonable bounds by pinching off the ends
when they become too long. Altogether the winter squash
is a vegetable to be considered by the amateur. It is not
at all hard to grow, but it is tender and cannot be planted
safely until the ground is warm. At the same time it
requires a long season, and for that reason the seeds
should go into the ground as early as is safe.
A sandy loam is best for squashes, as they make their
best growth in a warm soil. But they can be grown in
almost any ground which is not too heavy. Being gross
Squashes for Summer and Winter 117
feeders, they must be well supplied with fertilizer, which
should preferably be barnyard manure. Two shovelsful
to a hill is not too many, but this should be well covered
with soil before the seeds are planted.
It is well to make a generous planting say a dozen
seeds scattered a few inches apart to allow for the depre-
dations of the cutworm and other pests. If more than
four plants develop, they can easily be thinned out.
It is necessary to make the hills at least ten feet apart,
and it should not be understood that a hill necessarily
means a mound. Level culture is best for squashes as for
all other vegetables in the garden which is not wet. And
a wet garden is no place for squashes.
Tobacco dust or arsenate of lead may be used for the
striped beetles and the flea beetles which are almost cer-
tain to appear soon after the plants are up and will de-
stroy them if not taken in hand promptly. One expe-
rienced gardener advocates the following plan for frus-
trating these beetles: He makes a soft paste of wood
ashes and kerosene, which he places around the roots of
the plants, taking care not to allow it to touch the stems.
In some cases two or three applications are made, but
almost complete immunity is secured. The writer, how-
ever, prefers boxes covered with fly netting to any other
plan.
The good old-fashioned Hubbard is one of the best
winter squashes as it is the most popular. There are
other good kinds, one of these being Bay State, a squash
which was originated near Boston and is seldom grown
in any other section. It is green with a golden flesh
and is a very good keeper. Delicious is one of the best
winter keepers.
Growing Quality Tomatoes
a*
TOMATOES are among the indispensable vegetables
for any garden, large or small. They must be grown
with particular care in the backyard, however, for they
are inclined to encroach upon space which is needed for
other vegetables.
It is well to have a surplus of tomatoes, for they can
be used by the housewife in many ways all through the
winter if canned or evaporated. Tomato bisque is a deli-
cacy which ought to be known in every household.
In order to have tomatoes early they must be started
early. It is true that many kinds will come into bearing
before the end of the season if seeds are sown in the
open ground after freezing weather is over, but plants
started under glass are needed to give a midsummer
crop. If one has a hotbed the seed can be sown there by
the middle of March. Plants may be started, too, in
boxes in the kitchen early in March, and set out in a cold
frame when a few inches high. Indeed they can be
grown in the kitchen large enough to set out if shifted
from one box to another when the plants have formed
their first true leaves. At this second transplanting they
should be placed four inches apart. If they can be trans-
planted to paper pots or even to strawberry baskets, this
will be an advantage, because then they can be set in the
ground without disturbing the roots. Paper pots are
useful in another way. If the bottom is torn out, it will
not be necessary to remove the sides, and the latter will
serve as a barrier against cutworms, which seem to have
a special fondness for young tomato plants. The pots
must be set so that an inch at least will be above the
ground.
118
Growing Quality Tomatoes 119
Of course there really isn't any necessity for starting
one's plants indoors. Plants already started are sold by the
thousands, and can be purchased at any seedstore, and
often at grocery stores. Usually, however, the varieties
are limited, so that in order to have a favorite kind, the
plants may need to be home-grown.
Tomatoes will thrive in almost any soil if it is well
cultivated and. if plenty of water is given. It used to be
believed that the tomato did not require very much plant
food, and that the use of manure would produce an ex-
cess of foliage at the expense of the fruit; but expe-
rience has shown that this is a fallacy. The best results
are obtained by using a generous amount of well rotted
manure, or, if that cannot be obtained, of a balanced
garden fertilizer, with perhaps a little bonemeal added.
After the plants have made considerable growth they
can be pushed along rapidly by the use of manure water
or by an occasional application of nitrate of soda, a tea-
spoonful being dug into the soil at the base of each plant.
Tomato plants should be set fairly deep. If they are
long and spindling, as is likely to be the case with some
varieties, especially the small preserving kinds, it is a
good plan to make a trench about six inches long and to
bury a part of the stem along with the roots. Stockier
plants are made in this way, and new rootlets will be
thrown out all along the stem, giving increased strength
and vigor to the plants.
If the amateur happens to have a piece of sod land,
he can usually grow tomatoes well there if the sod is
turned over and deeply buried. There are apt to be cut-
worms in such land, however, so that it will be partic-
ularly necessary to use collars of some kind, in case paper
Growing Quality Tomatoes 121
pots are not used. They can be made from any stiff
paper and should be inserted two inches in the ground
extending the same distance above.
The tomato being a particularly thirsty plant, the back-
yard gardener will get extra good results by placing a
pierced tomato can in the ground near the base of each
plant, rilling it with water each night. This will carry the
moisture directly to the roots without waste. If a little
manure be placed in the cans, the plants will be fertilized
at the same time that they are watered.
Commercial growers let their tomatoes scramble all
over the ground, but this practice is not to be recommend-
ed for the backyard garden-maker, because too much
room is required. It is much better for him to stake the
plants or support them by a frame.
The close pruning which is sometimes advocated is
not the best plan unless one is trying to grow exhibition
specimens. When plants are tied to stakes, however, it
is advisable to cut out the suckers and a considerable
number of the side shoots. Care should be taken not to
break off the flowering stems which appear just at the
base of the side shoots. When plants reach the height
of four feet the tops may be pinched out. Some practi-
cal gardeners like to prune their staked tomatoes rather
heavily early in the season, in order to get ripe fruit
quickly, and then, as the summer advances, to let the
tops grow freely. The branches and leaves hang down
over the plants in the fall, giving protection from the
early frosts.
If more than a very few tomato plants are grown the
pruning often recommended requires much more time
than the average backyard gardener can give to the work.
122 Growing Quality Tomatoes
It may be well to grow a few plants this way in order to
get early fruit, but the rest of them are more easily cared
for if supported by light wooden frames or by barrel
hoops fastened to four stakes.
A modified system of staking is also found satisfactory.
Cross pieces are nailed to the stakes, and three stems
allowed to grow on them in fan shape. A much larger
crop is produced this way than when the plants are
trained to single stakes, and with less labor. The quality,
too, seems to be just as good.
Some seasons tomatoes are very slow to ripen. Those
planted in light soil will naturally ripen up more quickly
than those planted in heavy soil, but the free use of water
will be found a help in any garden. It may be necessary,
however, in a cool summer to pick the fruit and ripen it
under glass in order to have tomatoes at all early. It is
feasible to spread straw in the bottom of the cold frame,
and place the tomatoes on it in a single layer, the frame
being then covered with glass, but with plenty of ventila-
tion given. The heat from the sun will ripen the toma-
toes very quickly. They may also be put in a box and
a discarded window sash used over it.
When frost threatens, gardeners often pick off all the
nearly ripe fruit and let it color up in the house. If
plants are pulled up by the roots and hung top down from
the rafters in an attic, they will often keep on ripening
their fruit until Christmas.
One of the common difficulties found in growing toma-
toes is end rot. This is due mostly to a long period of
dry weather and can be prevented only by watering freely.
Most garden-makers have their pet varieties, and dif-
ferent kinds seem to be especially popular in different
Tomatoes Trained on Stakes
sections of the country. Few better early tomatoes can
be found, however, than the rather small, round Bonny
Best. This is a very prolific and wholly satisfactory
tomato which comes unusually early. In sections where
a pink tomato is preferred, probably June Pink will be
liked even better. It is a very quick-growing sort, too,
ripening in 98 days, but, like Bonny Best, is rather small,
being about two and one-half inches in diameter. Both
kinds are to be preferred to the better k^own Earliana
and Chalk's Early, as they ripen sooner. There is no
reason why any variety should be depended upon wholly,
although some amateur gardeners always want to grow
Stone because of its large size and high quality. One
hundred and sixteen days are required, however, to ripen
Stone. It is a good kind for fall in a fairly warm season.
Dwarf Champion is usually sold by seed houses which
carry started plants, because it makes very stocky, at-
124 Growing Quality Tomatoes
tractive specimens. It is inclined to be rather acid, but
makes a fairly good tomato for the backyard garden, and
is very easy to grow. It requires 116 days for maturity.
Ponderosa is often advised, and some growers are at-
tracted by its immense size. It is a very late sort, how-
ever, not very prolific, and generally is not to be grown
for its quality. Matchless, Perfection, Marketeer and
John Baer are very good varieties.
Backyard Cucumbers and Melons
ail
CUCUMBERS cannot be considered among the
necessary vegetables. They are not nourishing, like
corn and beans, and cannot be stored for winter, like car-
rots and turnips. At the same time, they are among the
most popular of all garden vegetables, and a few plants
should be grown in every garden which is not too limited
in size.
Most cucumbers can be trained to climb on strings or
a piece of poultry wire, and thus can be trained against
the house or over a fence. One very good kind for the
home garden is called the Japanese Climbing. It has
special advantage over the ordinary sorts in that it is not
so greatly subject to blight.
The cucumber is a very tender vegetable, but can be
planted with reasonable safety now. Pickling sorts may
be planted up to the last of June.
Being rather a heavy feeder, the cucumber should be
liberally supplied with barnyard manure, thrown into
the bottom of the hills and covered with two or three
inches of soil before the seeds are planted. A shovelful
to a hill is none too much. It is best to plant eight or
ten seeds, having in mind the old rhyme :
"Two for the cutworm, one for the crow,
One for the beetle, and four to grow."
If more than four escape, the surplus should be pulled
up. It is important to keep the soil well stirred, taking
special care to cultivate after a rain.
As soon as the plants are a few inches above ground,
the garden is likely to be invaded by the striped beetle,
which often destroys a crop in a few days. To foil this
pest it is advisable to cover the plants with boxes having
125
126 Backyard Cucumbers and Melons
fly netting over the top, or to scatter tobacco dust, pyre-
thrum or hellebore on and around the plants.
It is not well to mound up the earth unless the ground
is wet, for when that is done the water is drained away
and the plants may suffer from lack of moisture. The
hills should be made about three feet apart.
Although it is very difficult to combat the blight, much
can be done to protect the plants by spraying them with
Bordeaux mixture from the time they are a few inches
high, making application at least every three weeks.
Davis Perfect is a very good kind for the home gar-
den, although not so well known as the Arlington White
Spine. For pickling grow Improved Long Green or the
Boston Pickling varieties.
Melons do not properly belong in the very small gar-
den. Yet there are many garden-makers who take more
pride in their watermelons and muskmelons than in any
other vegetables which they grow. Both crops do best
in rather light but rich land, and it hardly pays to try
growing them in heavy soil. Like cucumbers, they revel
in manure, a shovelful of which should be placed in the
bottom of each hill.
Being tender, it is inadvisable to plant the seeds be-
fore the weather is warm. Except in the Northern
States, planting may be delayed until the first of July,
with the result that there will be less trouble from the
attacks of insect pests. In the North, however, planting
must be done as early as the ground is warm. Indeed,
it is a common plan to plant the seeds on inverted sods
or in old strawberry baskets set in a cold frame or hot-
bed. This makes a crop sure if early varieties are used.
The plants will almost certainly be attacked by the
Backyard Cucumbers and Melons 127
striped beetle, however, when set outdoors, unless they
are given protection in some way. The best plan for the
small gardener is to place boxes over the plants, these
boxes being covered with fly netting. A perfect protec-
tion is provided by this means.
Another good plan is to start the plants outside about
ten days earlier than the usual date, covering them with
boxes having a light of glass on top. This will give
plants almost as early as though started in the cold frame,
and when the need of glass has passed mosquito netting
can be substituted.
The hills should be from six to ten feet apart. It is
well to plant at least a dozen seeds, but to thin the plants
to three or four. In some sections much loss is occa-
sioned by a blight or wilt which comes late in the season
and ruins the vines in a short time. Very early planting
will often make it possible to get a crop before this trouble
appears.
In the Middle and Southern States it is possible to
grow almost any variety, but farther north early kinds
must be chosen. Probably Cole's Early is the best water-
melon for the far north. Honeydrop is also a good kind.
These are small but very sweet melons. Good musk-
melons which can be grown in the North are Jenny Lind,
Montreal and Rocky Ford. Dixie is a favorite water-
melon in the Southern States, but Kleckley Sweets is a
particularly good kind for the home garden.
Twelve Neglected Vegetables
SOME excellent and nutritious vegetables are for some
reason ignored by the average garden-maker. Of
course, they are not vegetables which should be grown
in a large way, but they afford variety and are worthy
of more attention than they commonly receive.
One kind is Florence fennel, sometimes catalogued as
Finocchio. Wherever Italians congregate it is certain
that this vegetable will be found growing, for it is ex-
tensively used in Italy as a salad, and also when boiled.
In some ways Florence fennel resembles celery. Although
the top is entirely different, it has an enlarged leafstalk
which is blanched like celery and becomes white and
crisp. The flavor is rather sweet and has a slight sug-
gestion of anise. Sow in the open ground in May.
Celeriac can be used to flavor soups, or sliced for a
salad. Some people like it as a relish with bread and but-
ter, and others prefer to cook it like turnips. Indeed, this
vegetable is sometimes called turnip-rooted celery, be-
cause it has an enlarged bulbous root. It may be blanched
or not, according to one's preference. Plant in April
or May.
Martynias are curiously shaped vegetables with a long
hook at one end. They are used chiefly for making
pickles and are worth growing where it is difficult to
raise cucumbers. Three or four plants will be as many
as the amateur will need, and they should be used when
small.
Still another very excellent vegetable which is almost
wholly ignored is the sugar pea. This pea is grown just
like the common kinds, but is eaten like string beans, the
pods being broken up and cooked. Sugar peas are very
128
Twelve Neglected Vegetables 129
sweet and satisfactory. Moreover, there is no waste, as
with other peas. There are both dwarf and tall varieties.
The latter grows four feet high and is exceedingly pro-
ductive, the pods being from five to six inches long.
Salsify is a very hardy vegetable, and may be left in
the ground until spring, just like parsnips. It may be
cooked like parsnips or made into a stew. Its flavor
is enough like that of oysters to justify its popular name,
vegetable oyster. Seed should be sown an inch deep
and the plants thinned to five inches.
Another vegetable not commonly grown in New Eng-
land gardens, although popular abroad, is curly Scotch
kale, sometimes catalogued as Borecole. It is used for
greens, and its special merit lies in the fact that it is
not harmed by frost, being so hardy that it can often
be dug out from under the snows of early winter. May
is early enough to sow the seeds, and the plants should
be handled just like cabbage plants.
The Chinese cabbage, catalogued as Pe Tsai, is grow-
ing in favor, yet not one gardener out of five hundred
is familiar with it. It may be eaten like lettuce or boiled
for greens, and it is excellent either way. If started too
early the plants are likely to go to seed. The middle
of June is early enough to plant the Chinese cabbage.
Leeks are preferred by some people to onions, being
very mild and tender. The seed should go in an inch
deep. It is important to transplant the seedlings when
eight inches high, setting them six inches apart in the
rows, and so deeply that the neck will be partly covered.
As cultivation proceeds during the summer a little more
earth may be drawn around the plants to blanch them.
Probably kohlrabi is better known than most of the
130 Twelve. Neglected Vegetables
other vegetables mentioned, and yet it is not grown as
freely as its merits warrant. The bulb, which is eaten,
grows on a stalk a few inches above ground, and is cooked
like turnips. In order to have a succession seeds should
be sown every two weeks up to the last of June.
Brussels sprouts are miniature cabbages . which more
amateurs ought to know, for they have a flavor all their
own. They grow up and down a long stalk, and if the
gardener has been successful with them the sprouts will
need all the room there is by the first of September.
Then the leaves will be in the way, and the garden-maker
can help out by breaking off the lower leaves. It isn't
necessary to be in a hurry about this, and the plants
grow better when they have plenty of foliage. Even
when most of the leaves have been broken off a rosette
must be left at the top, for unless there is some foliage
the plants will not survive. Brussels sprouts are hardy
enough to stand considerable cold weather. They can
also be taken into the cellar, root and all, and set in boxes
of earth. If this plan is followed with plants on which
sprouts are only partly developed, the crop will be carried
well into the winter.
When speaking of okra as a neglected vegetable, it
must be with a reservation. In the Northern and Middle
States it is seen only occasionally, but in the South it is
very common. Okra is the vegetable which figures prom-
inently in chicken gumbo and similar soups. The edible
part is the pod. Okra will grow in practically any good
garden soil, but should not be planted until the ground
is warm. The plants grow two feet high or more. Of
course only a few plants are needed to give all the pods
wanted. These are prepared for winter use by being
Twelve Neglected Vegetables 131
hung up in the fall and allowed to dry, but they may
be cut into short lengths and added to soups any time
in summer after they reach a fair size.
Broccoli is a vegetable which much resembles cauli-
flower but is easier to grow in some soils. It is very
largely grown in England for the market and is an ex-
cellent vegetable, although the head is not so large as
that of cauliflower. The seed can be sown outdoors in
May, and the plants cultivated in practically the same
way as cauliflower plants.
Miscellaneous Vegetables
9*
NOBODY will claim that radishes are of great value
in meeting a food shortage, but they may be con-
sidered as an appetizer, and whatever provokes the flow
of gastric juice must have some merit. It can be said
for radishes that they do not encroach upon any garden
space which is needed for more important crops, as they
can be grown in the rows with other vegetables, where
they serve a double purpose. They mark the rows so that
cultivation can begin before the longer-growing plants
come up, and when removed can be used on the table. It
is a mistake to devote rows of any length wholly to rad-
ishes, at least in the backyard garden.
Radishes, being hardy, can be planted as early as the
ground can be worked, which means that they can go in
along with carrots, parsnips and salsify. The extra early
kind are the small red sorts which are exceedingly pop-
ular in the spring. A half inch under the ground is deep
enough for the seed to go. When grown alone, the plants
should stand about an inch apart, but when used to mark
the rows of other crops, they should be two or three
inches apart.
The small kinds of radishes are best adapted to spring
use. After the middle of May or first of June it is
much better to sow the long kind, as they stand the hot
weather better and keep in condition for eating a much
longer time. The round and olive-shaped sorts become
tough in a week, but their larger cousins are good for
two weeks or even more. Perhaps the two varieties to
choose for midsummer planting are White Icicle and
Long White Vienna, with Long Scarlet Short Top in
case one objects to white radishes. A discussion of win-
132
Miscellaneous Vegetables 133
ter radishes will be found under the title of "The Root
Crop Quintet."
Parsley is also a non-essential crop, yet seems to fill
a need in every household. Fortunately it requires but
little room, and may even be used to advantage as an edge
for flower beds, because of the attractive foliage. One
fact likely to be overlooked by the novice is that parsley
seed germinates very slowly. Unless care is taken the
plants are likely to be crowded out by the faster-growing
weeds. Sometimes a month or more will elapse before
the seedlings will appear. It is a good plan for this rea-
son to use a few radish seeds to mark the rows so that
cultivation can be begun promptly, and also to soak the
parsley seed in warm water over night, which will hasten
germination. Some people put a little seed in a bag and
bury the bag in the ground for a few days after dipping
it in water. Parsley is a favorite garnish plant, and may
be kept through the winter by taking up a few roots and
setting them in boxes to be kept in a sunny window in-
doors when fall comes.
By all rules of economy the pumpkin should be ex-
cluded from the backyard vegetable garden, because of
the large amount of space it demands. By exercising a
little ingenuity, however, the garden-maker may find a
way to grow pumpkins without infringing seriously upon
the room which belongs to other crops. It is quite possi-
ble to train the vines over a fence or on a lattice work, or
to plant them along the side of the garden and let them
grow out over the lawn. A few pumpkins will be treas-
ured for pies when fall comes. Probably the best variety
for the amateur is Winter Luxury, which cooks well
and keeps well. The little Sugar pumpkin is also ex-
134 Miscellaneous Vegetables
cellent for making pies, and the little Jap called Chirimen
is growing in favor.
A very good substitute for meat dishes consists of
fried eggplant. It is true that the eggplant is not an
especially easy vegetable to grow, and yet if good strong
plants can be purchased and set out as soon as danger
of frost has entirely passed, there is no reason why the
veriest tyro should not grow this vegetable with suc-
cess. It is best to set the plants about two feet apart
in the rows, and to have the rows three feet apart, as they
require considerable space. It is well to remember, how-
ever, that it is useless to try to grow eggplants in wet or
very stiff soil. They will grow almost anywhere else,
but cannot tolerate wet feet.
Fresh manure is to be avoided when the plants are
set out, but a little bonemeal may be worked into the
soil to advantage. In the absence of this fertilizer, a
little sheep manure will serve. The eggplant responds
quickly to good cultivation, so that the soil should be
stirred at least once a week. Eggplants are likely to be
attacked by the potato bug, but with a few plants these
pests can easily be knocked off into a can of kerosene.
Black Beauty is a good variety of eggplant, and a dozen
plants will be sufficient for the average garden.
Of course peppers are a secondary crop, and yet there
is no reason why a few plants should not be found in
every amateur's garden. They can be purchased and
set out at the same time as the eggplants. The peppers
will thrive under the same conditions as have been out-
lined for the growing of eggplants, although they do not
require so much room. If they stand fifteen inches apart
in the rows, that will give them space enough, and the
Miscellaneous Vegetables 135
rows need not be more than two feet apart. It is very
important to cultivate frequently, both to keep down the
weeds and to keep the soil loose. Perhaps the best early
sweet variety is Bull Nose. Chinese Giant and Ruby
King are both well-flavored early kinds. Neapolitan is
also a very mild early variety. Cayenne is commonly
used for pickling, and so are the squash- and tomato-
shaped varieties.
Chervil is an aromatic plant which, although not com-
monly known in this country, is well worth growing in
a small way, especially by people who like to have their
food well seasoned. It grows much like parsley, but soon
runs out, so that seed must be sown every two or three
weeks to keep a succession. Chervil is chopped fine and
added to salads and other dishes. It is particularly good
when scattered over buttered potatoes. The crop is ready
in five or six weeks from planting.
Many people are fond of chives because they add a del-
icate piquancy to various made dishes, suggesting onions,
but much milder. It is the top of the plant which is used,
it being chopped fine and added as needed. Chives are
perennials, and when once started go on growing for sev-
eral years. Seed may be sown in the open ground in
May. Of course only a very short row will be needed,
but it is well to have a few extra plants to dig up and
take into the house when winter comes. Started plants
can be bought of seedsmen in the spring.
Making a Vacation Garden
a*
HUNDREDS of people who live in the city and go to
the seashore or the country to spend their sum-
mers might have a small vegetable garden and thereby
add to the nation's supply of food. The exodus from
the city usually begins about the end of June, and of
course that is too late for the planting of long-season
crops. There is no reason, however, why an abundance
of beans, beets, turnips, carrots, kohlrabi, radishes and
various salad plants should not be grown.
Tomato plants may still be purchased, too. They will
commence bearing before the vacation season is over, if
good-sized plants are obtained. It may also be possible
to buy cabbage plants, lettuce plants, and even turnip
plants. Of course only short rows will be needed unless
the owners have facilities for storing the crops at home,
in which case they can grow a more generous supply of
beets, carrots, kohlrabi and turnips.
Although kohlrabi grows above ground, it much resem-
bles the turnip, and can be stored in sand the same way.
It is an ideal vegetable for the vacation garden because
of the quick growth which it makes. The beets and tur-
nips will provide greens as well as root vegetables, be-
cause the tops are excellent when cleaned and cooked.
Swiss chard will mature sufficiently to provide a good
supply of greens before the end of the vacation if seed
is planted the first of July.
It may even be possible to grow sweet corn in the
vacation garden, if a dwarf variety like Golden Bantam
is planted. Golden Bantam will mature in eighty days,
so that, if the summer home is occupied until the end
of September, a crop can be harvested.
136
Making a Vacation Garden 137
Almost any kind of bush beans can be planted in the
vacation garden, but probably the variety known as Six
Weeks is the best of all, unless an early planting can be
made. Somewhat more than six weeks may be required
to grow beans large enough for eating, but the variety
is remarkably early.
It is hardly worth while for the man making a vaca-
tion garden to put in pole beans, although he may per-
haps get satisfactory results by using a few hills of Lazy-
wife. Of course much depends upon the length of time
which is spent at the summer home.
Radishes can be grown the quickest of any garden veg-
etables, but only short rows should be planted at a time,
as the early varieties are not good unless gathered when
young. The French Breakfast is ready for use in twenty-
five days from the time the seed is planted, and is a very
good early variety. It is well to put in a row of White
Icicle and Long White Vienna at the same time. The
former will come along about ten days after the French
Breakfast is ready for the table, and the Long White
Vienna will follow a few days later. White Icicle and
Long White Vienna do not get tough and unpalatable so
quickly as the earlier round varieties, and can be used
almost as long as they last.
It may be a little difficult to grow good lettuce, but if
one can find a spot where protection from the hot sun
can be secured at midday, and will plant a hot-weather
variety like Salamander, a fairly satisfactory crop can
be raised from seed. Perhaps the best plan is to make
a planting of the well-known loose-leafed lettuce known
as Grand Rapids, and to use the small leaves as soon
as they are large enough. If plenty of water is given, and
138 Making a Vacation Garden
the ground kept well worked, this lettuce will do fairly
well even in hot weather.
It is well to remember in planting the vacation garden
that the seed should go in much more deeply than early
in the season, because the ground is likely to be dried out
at the surface, and it will be necessary to get down to
where there is moisture. It is also important to thoroughly
firm the earth over the seed with the foot or hoe.
Growing Vegetables to Can and
Evaporate
aa
IF THE home garden is properly managed it will supply
a never-ending succession of vegetables from one end
of the year to the other. This does not mean, of course,
that they will be fresh vegetables at all times. Stored
vegetables ought to last until spring, but the number
which can be kept in this way is limited. Canning and
evaporating are the twin sisters which make the backyard
gardener largely independent of the market man.
The desirability of growing vegetables to be canned
and evaporated is too often overlooked, yet this is one
of the most effective ways by which the nation's food
supply can be conserved, and conservation is a worth-
while matter in times of peace as well as war. This plan
calls for the growing of a surplus above what will be
needed for summer use. Many of the most popular veg-
etables can be included, with sweet corn, beans and peas
at the head of the list.
There is no better corn for canning than the popular
Golden Bantam, although Stowell's Evergreen and Pot-
ter's Excelsior are excellent for the purpose. Stringless
Green Pod is perhaps the best string bean for canning,
but Kentucky Wonder, a pole bean, is exceedingly pro-
ductive and its pods are tender. Kentucky Wonder Wax
has the same characteristics as the better known variety.
A particularly large planting of beets can be made to
advantage, for the tops as well as the beets themselves
can be canned for winter. Few people seem to realize
that they can put up spinach for winter use. Yet it is
very easy to can, and it should be used more freely than
139
140 Vegetables to Can and Evaporate
it is. Swiss chard can be canned, too, besides providing
greens all summer. This is an extra good vegetable for
the small garden.
Many people have no facilities for keeping squashes
and pumpkins through the winter, but there is no reason
why these vegetables should not be canned. The same
statement applies to the English vegetable marrows.
Nothing is easier to can for winter than rhubarb, for it
will keep if simply sealed in a jar of cold water. Dande-
lions and string beans will keep for months if placed be-
tween layers of salt in a crock.
It is hardly possible to have too many canned tomatoes,
as they are indispensable in making soups and bisques.
Perhaps there is no better tomato for canning than Stone,
but the plants should be set out early, as it is a late vari-
ety.
The use of the evaporating machine has become very
general of late. The old practice of drying vegetables
in the oven or in the sun is still followed, of course, but
modern evaporators greatly simplify the process. It is
well worth while growing a surplus of vegetables with
the special purpose of evaporating them. There is no
easier, cheaper or more satisfactory way of conserving
the garden products. Evaporated vegetables may not be
quite equal to those which are canned, but they are more
certain to keep well, and the cost of the work is much
less, for there are no jars to buy. Peas, corn, beans,
cherries and strawberries can be evaporated in a few
hours. Even pumpkins and squashes may be treated in
this way, and pies made of the evaporated product cannot
be distinguished from those made from fresh pumpkins.
Stringless green pod beans evaporate particularly well if
Vegetables to Can and Evaporate 141
they are young and broken into pieces about an inch long.
Lima beans must be gathered before maturity and
blanched from five to ten minutes. Peppers can be dried
whole or split on one side to remove the seeds. Some-
times they are first steamed until the skin is softened.
Any varieties of peas evaporate well, and it is advisable
to make a particularly large sowing of the later varieties,
which are sweeter than the early smooth peas.
Detroit Dark Red beets are among the best kinds
to grow for evaporating, and can be planted as late as
the first of July. The beets should be selected when
young, and they are best when quickly grown. This
variety grows tops which are especially good for greens,
and they, too, may be evaporated.
Some carrots are not very satisfactory when evap-
orated because of their woody cores. Chantenay, how-
ever, is free from this fault.
When corn is to be evaporated, it should be chosen
when young and tender, and cooked from two to five
minutes before the kernels are cut off and spread on the
trays. Golden Bantam is a good kind if one likes yellow
corn, and Stowell's Evergreen is among the best large
white varieties. Country Gentleman is not recommended
as a variety to grow for winter use.
The evaporator is a great help to people who live in
towns and cities where storage room is at a premium. It
sometimes happens that people who are able to own fair-
sized gardens have no suitable cellars in which they can
store their winter vegetables. In> time some sort of
municipal storage plant may be worked out for the benefit
of such people, but in the meantime the evaporation pro-
cess offers the best means by which to keep their sur-
142 Vegetables to Can and Evaporate
plus vegetables for use during the winter. Vegetables
which have been evaporated occupy but very little space,
as most of the water has been removed, and it is the
water which gives them their bulk.
One good point to remember is that evaporated vege-
tables must be stored in packages which will exclude flies.
Certain flies lay eggs which hatch out maggots, and if
they gain access to the stored products the latter will be
damaged or ruined. Paper bags which have been dipped
in paraffine make excellent receptacles. They may be
tied at the mouth and hung from the rafters in the garret,
perhaps. Pasteboard boxes, and particularly the boxes
in which bakers' crackers and cookies come, make desira-
ble receptacles, especially when wax paper is used inside.
There are several evaporating machines on the market,
some of which cost only a few dollars. It is quite possi-
ble, too, to improvise home-made evaporators which will
do excellent service. Bulletin No. 841, which can be
obtained free by writing to the Department of Agricul-
ture, Washington, D. C., describes evaporators of many
kinds, and gives detailed instructions as to their use.
Vegetables in the Flower Garden
a*
ALTHOUGH many flower gardens have been given
-** over to vegetables since the outbreak of the great
war, it is not necessary for the garden amateur to give up
flowers altogether, even though his aims are mostly utili-
tarian. There are many vegetables quite handsome
enough to be grown for ornamental purposes.
The martynia, for example, which makes an excellent
substitute for cucumber pickles, has a flower which is as
handsome as some orchids, and occasionally is grown as
a flowering plant. Okra has an extremely pretty sulphur-
colored flower.
The scarlet runner bean is better known for its flowers
than as a desirable vegetable in the United States. It
is a very popular bean across the water, and might well
be planted very freely in home gardens this year, being
made to climb on the fences and the porches all around
the houses.
Then there is the sugar pea, or edible-pod pea, a de-
lectable vegetable which is prepared like string beans, and
has a blossom rivaling that of the sweet pea.
The variegated kale is very handsome when well grown.
Carrots sometimes are grown in flower beds, even in nor-
mal times, for their attractive foliage. The decorative
value of parsley has long been recognized, too, the plants
often being used for edging.
There is no reason why pumpkin vines should not be
made to grow over ugly walls and fences instead of mere-
ly ornamental vines. They make good screens, and if
a shovelful of manure is placed in each hill at planting
time enormous leaves, as well as many attractive yellow
blossoms, will be produced.
144 Vegetables in the Flower Garden
One of the handsomest flowers which grow by the
roadside is the chicory blossom. The flower of Witloof
chicory is practically the same as that of the wild variety.
Although the plants will not flower the first year, a few
specimens may be left in the ground in the fall when the
crop is gathered for forcing in the cellar, and they will
beautify the garden next season. No more charming
shade of blue can be found in the garden than that of
chicory.
Jerusalem artichokes have attractive blossoms, are ex-
cellent for food, and will grow in almost any soil.
Not a little would be added to the common larder if
scarlet runner beans were made to grow over the porches
all along some of our shores. Even the little beds usually
given over to geraniums and salvias might be used for
beets and carrots on the principle that every little helps.
It is quite possible to be patriotic even at the seashore.
When to Pick the Vegetables
a*
MOST garden vegetables cannot be had at their best
unless they are harvested at just the right time.
In the case of peas and beans two or three days may make
a big difference. This also applies to string beans, for
many varieties are likely to become stringy after they
have reached a certain age.
String beans are at their best when they snap readily
and have soft, pliable tips. Shell beans must be left, of
course, until the pods are well filled; but if they are al-
lowed to dry on the vines production will cease. This is
an especially important point with pole beans, for if the
beans are kept picked the vines will yield to the end of
the season, unless, unfortunately, they succumb to rust or
blight.
Potatoes may be dug as soon as the vines begin to dry
out, although they will keep on growing for some weeks
after, and only a few should be harvested at a time.
Many amateurs seem to think that the acme of skill has
been acquired when they produce a head of lettuce which
is as solid as a cabbage. As a matter of fact, the small
young lettuce leaves make much better salad. Across the
water the young plants are chosen by preference, while it
is customary in this country to wait for full heads, which
often means old lettuce. Any lettuce which has been
growing a long time is very apt to have bitter outside
leaves. Likewise, the large end of the midrib is often
bitter, and it should be broken off as a precaution.
Kohlrabi, which is one of the easiest crops to grow,
is often allowed to get too old because it matures very
rapidly. With frequent plantings a supply of just the
right age can be kept coming along all summer. Kohlrabi
145
146 When to Pick the Vegetables
must be eaten before the skin hardens, which means be-
fore the bulb gets as big as a baseball. Indeed, it may be
eaten when half as large. Radishes also depend upon
early picking to be good.
Swiss chard is ready for the table when the outside
leaves are a foot high, although it is well to cut lightly
at first in order that the plants may keep on growing rap-
idly. When near maturity the outside leaves will have
large midribs, which can be cut out and used as a sub-
stitute for asparagus, the rest of the leaves being boiled
like spinach.
Although many beets will be grown to full size for
winter use, they are at their best for the table when young.
Beet greens to which the young beets themselves, about
an inch in diameter, are clinging, make a dish not easily
rivaled.
Young carrots are also especially good, and they should
always be harvested young when they are intended to
be used for soup.
The earlier sorts of cabbages are ready when three-
quarters headed, but it is always well to leave Brussels
sprouts until after a frost.
Summer squash must be picked before the shell
hardens, and marrows are at their best when not more
than two-thirds grown. But those that get old should
not be discarded, as they may be used for making pies,
while the rind makes an excellent preserve.
The time to pick melons is when they crack around the
stem, for then they will part from the vines without being
pulled hard. In the home garden melons can be allowed
to ripen much more thoroughly than when they are grown
commercially, and they are never so good as when they
When to Pick the Vegetables 147
are ripened on the vines until they attain full color and
flavor.
Sweet corn loses fifty per cent of its sugar content in
a few hours from the time it has been picked. Conse-
quently nobody can enjoy sweet corn at its best who buys
it at the stores. The time to gather the corn is when it
has just come into the milk. This is generally indicated
by the silk turning black. If one is in doubt, a slight
opening can be made in one end of the ear to see how
the kernels look.
People who have never tried steaming instead of boil-
ing their sweet corn have a new experience waiting for
them. About twice as much time is required to steam
as to boil the corn, but as it takes only about twenty min-
utes over a good fire*, the extra cost of fuel is insignificant.
Many people like to boil or steam the corn with the inner
husk left on, which is also an excellent plan.
Lima beans are at their best if picked while still green.
The way to determine the exact condition of the pods is
to press the blow end between the thumb and forefinger.
If it feels spongy you may be sure that the beans are full-
grown and ready for the table. If, on the other hand, it
is hard, that will be a sign that the pod still contains ma-
terial to be absorbed by the bean. When the pods have
begun to turn yellow the beans have passed their prime.
Then they should be allowed to ripen on the vines, being
picked as soon as ripe and dried a little more by being
spread in a warm room in the sun. They can be kept in
a tin box or a paper bag for winter use.
Storing the Winter Vegetables
IN THE old days, before the coming of furnaces and
steam heaters, the average cellar was a satisfactory
place for the storage of most vegetables. Nowadays the
average cellar is too warm for this purpose. Many house-
holders have therefore given up trying to keep vegeta-
bles over winter, but now that we have learned the neces-
sity of food conservation everyone who has a surplus of
garden products, or who can buy winter vegetables
cheaply from neighbors or at community markets, will
realize the wisdom of providing suitable quarters for stor-
ing each fall a sufficient amount to last him and his fam-
ily until gardens begin to bear again.
There are several ways of making a vegetable cellar.
One way is to erect a partition between two parallel walls.
Another way, and often the most satisfactory, is to put
up such a partition across a corner. A double board wall
may be used, with 2x4 timbers for uprights.
The walls may be insulated by rilling the space between
the boards with cork, sawdust, shavings or, best of all,
dried seaweed. Almost as good results can be obtained
by fastening the material known as sheathing quilt to the
boards.
Of course ventilation will be required, and this is pro-
vided most easily by means of a cellar window, preferably
with a wooden shutter on the outside of the frame.
If one wants to make an even more satisfactory storage
cellar, he can use bricks to make the double wall, or, bet-
ter still, hollow tiles. With the tiles only a single wall will
be needed. It is not necessary to have a floor on the
storage cellar. An earth bottom is to be preferred for
storing such vegetables as potatoes and onions.
148
Storing the Winter Vegetables 149
It is important, however, to have all storage quarters
rat-proof, and that may require putting in a concrete floor,
although rats will be kept out if the walls extend far
enough below the level of the cellar bottom.
Different kinds of vegetables require somewhat dif-
ferent treatment, but most sorts will keep fairly well in a
cellar constructed after the manner outlined, provided
a temperature between 32 and 40 degrees can be main-
tained*
It may be desirable to store the squashes and pumpkins
in the outside, or furnace cellar, either in crates or on
swing shelves. They require a higher temperature than
most products of the garden.
It is usually wise to close the windows during the day
and open them at night until the weather gets cold. In
this way a more even temperature is maintained.
Unless carrots, beets and other root crops are stored in
sand, you should have a little moisture in the cellar, or
they may become dried through. Usually it is sufficient
to keep a pail of water on the floor. Moisture is also re-
quired for a cellar where apples are stored.
Parsnips and vegetable oysters may be left in the open
ground. After the ground freezes a little, one may, if
desired, dig a small amount to be used during the winter.
It is best, however, to keep these two vegetables largely
for spring use.
There is no better way in which to store a small amount
of beets, carrots, turnips and kohlrabi than to pack them
in boxes of sand in the cellar. It may be feasible to make
outdoor beds according to plans gotten out by Govern-
ment and State experts, but in any case it will be advisable
to store a considerable number of vegetables in sand in
150 Storing the Winter Vegetables
the cellar because of the ease with which they can be ob-
tained when they are needed.
A few cabbages can be kept in barrels of sand in the
same way, except that it is wise to slightly moisten the
sand at intervals. The only proper way to keep most of
the cabbages is to bury them head down in trenches in
the garden, the roots being allowed to project through
covering of straw or hay, on which earth may be piled
as the weather gets colder.
Frozen cabbage will keep all right until it begins to
thaw. It is the alternate thawing and freezing which
makes it spoil. When stored in covered trenches as
described it will usually freeze and stay frozen until
spring, but heads may be taken out when a period of
warm weather comes.
Great care must be taken in harvesting all the vege-
tables. Even a small bruise will make a squash rot, and
if the tops of the beets are cut off closer than an inch
from the beet itself, bleeding will result.
There is no reason why eggplants should not be taken
into the house if fairly well matured specimens are on
the vines. They can be kept for a long time if placed on
a rack or shelf in a light room where the temperature is
well above freezing. They should not touch each other
when in storage, and it is important that they be handled
as carefully as eggs, for if they are bruised rot is almost
certain to set in.
Melons and cucumbers are easily routed by Jack Frost,
but it is not necessary to lose all the crop. If before
freezing the melons are cut with a little of the vine at-
tached, and hung up in a sunny place, many of them will
mature.
Storing the Winter Vegetables 151
If there happen to be any marrows in the garden which
have grown too large to be used on the table, they should
be taken into the house before a hard frost comes, because
they make delicious pies.
A thoughtful study of the foregoing suggestions to-
gether with those on canning and evaporating given in a
previous chapter will double the satisfaction as well as
the profit which the amateur gardener may derive from
his efforts in food conservation.
A Garden in the Cellar
a*
A VEGETABLE garden in the cellar may seem a lit-
-** tie unusual, but there are half a dozen crops which
will flourish in a box of earth set beside the furnace. One
of the best of these winter vegetables is seakale. It is
grown by covering the roots with earth and keeping the
box in which they are planted in a rather dark place. If
the cellar happens to be well lighted a second box, with
holes bored in it for ventilation, may be inverted over
the first. No cultivation is needed, but the application of
a little water occasionally will keep the crop growing.
When the stalks which the roots throw up are a few
inches high, they may be cut for the table, and they will
be found a most delicious salad. If roots have not been
grown in the garden, they may be purchased at a small
price ready for forcing.
It is a perfectly simple matter to have asparagus all
winter if one has even a very small cellar, provided that
it is heated. Old asparagus roots may be dug up at any
time in the fall and transplanted in boxes of earth. Then,
if kept well watered and in a warm place, they will soon
throw up edible stalks. If the garden-maker will dig
an extra supply of roots and keep them in a cool place
until wanted, there is no reason why he should not have
asparagus until the outside crop comes in the spring.
Perhaps the easiest of all the vegetables to force during
the winter is rhubarb. It is necessary to have old, well-
established clumps to begin with, but otherwise little dif-
ficulty is experienced in getting strong, well-grown stalks,
which will make delicious pies in midwinter. Clumps
should be dug in November and allowed to freeze hard
before being taken indoors. They should then be stored
152
A Garden in the Cellar 153
in a cool cellar, and a few planted at a time in a box of
earth or sand, or even set on the cellar bottom in a pile of
ashes. The growth is made from the nourishment stored
up in the roots. A temperature of about fifty is best,
and the cellar should be kept moist.
The best stalks are grown when the cellar is compara-
tively dark, because then they are nicely blanched, and
have only small leaves. If necessary, a box with holes
bored in it for ventilation may be set over the plants,
or a corner of the cellar may be curtained off with old
quilts. Extra large, vigorous shoots are obtained by using
a little fresh manure under the clumps. The stalks should
be ready for use in about six weeks from the time the
roots are planted, and it is not advisable to commence
forcing clumps much before the .first of the year.
Although less well-known, Witloof chicory can be
forced just as easily, and is even more useful for winter.
Witloof chicory is a sort of glorified edition of the com-
mon chicory of the roadsides and has the same kind of
blossoms. It produces much better stalks, although com-
mon chicory can be used if nothing else is obtainable.
The seed of Witloof chicory can be obtained at any
seedstore and it should be planted in May. A short row
will give a sufficient number of plants. When late fall
comes the plants should be dug up and stored in a cool
cellar, several of them being started at different inter-
vals. They will do well in a box containing ordinary gar-
den loam, and the crowns should be covered with about
four inches of sand.
Of course the tops which grew in the field will have
been cut off when the roots are taken inside. The new
tops which will push up through the sand will be creamy-
154 A Garden in the Cellar
white and very tender. Served with French dressing,
they make a delicious salad. It is really the French en-
dive which is sold in the restaurants and high-class hotels
at a high price. In ordinary times most of the French
endive used in this country is brought from Belgium,
but it can be grown just as well here, and there is no rea-
son why it should not be found in every amateur's gar-
den. If the stalk which grows through the sand is not
cut too close to the roots, a second and even a third
growth will be made. A cutting can be had usually in
three or four weeks from the time forcing is started, if
the cellar is reasonably warm. It is not absolutely neces-
sary to have sand over the plants, but in its absence a box
should be inverted over the one which contains the
crowns.
Few people realize that the common dandelion can be
forced in the cellar during the winter. It is a fact, how-
ever, that it makes a very good salad plant, although with
quite a different flavor from the greens grown outdoors.
Plants should be dug up, roots and all, before the ground
freezes, and a good two inches of the tops cut off. Then
the roots may be set in a box of earth, or in good garden
soil spread on the cellar bottom. If grown in the dark the
tops will be almost white. Of course, when a box is used
this is easily accomplished by inverting another box over
it. The second box, however, should have several holes
for ventilation. A warm cellar is needed, and it is well
to set the roots near the furnace.
Most housekeepers are fond of chives, an excellent
plant for flavoring certain dishes. It tastes something
like the onion, but is not so strong. Chives are perfectly
hardy, and will live on in the garden for many years, so
A Garden in the Cellar 155
that there is no lack during the summer. It is almost as
easy to have chives ready for use all winter if one or two
plants are dug up before the ground freezes hard and
planted in a box or pot. -The plants will keep on grow-
ing until spring if placed in a sunny window and occa-
sionally watered.
The Backyard Flower Garden
9*
ONCE there was a woman who demanded a flower
garden in the back yard. "The place for flowers,"
replied her husband, "is in front of the house." "No,"
insisted his wife, "I want them where I can see them
myself."
There really is no reason why flowers should not
abound all around the home. Certainly they should not
be reserved for the front lawn. Rosebushes and other
climbers may well have a place on the back porch, with
nasturtiums or other annuals climbing on the fence.
There ought to be a real flower garden as a part of the
home, if room for it can be found. If the lot is small,
flowers and vegetables can be grown in close juxtaposi-
tion. Gladioli and dahlias, for example, may be used as
borders around the garden. Peonies and iris may be
used to make a permanent bed at one end, and sunflowers
will add to the beauty of the lot, while providing food for
the chickens.
One very attractive plan is to locate a vegetable garden
in the middle of the plot, with a grass walk all around,
and a hardy border on all four sides outside the walk.
This border should be about four feet wide, and given
over to perennials which are hardy, thrive with com-
paratively little attention, and give a long season of bloom.
In the list might be included such flowers as columbine,
phlox, campanula, gaillardia, larkspur, peonies, Oriental
poppies, Sweet William, hardy chrysanthemums, fall
asters, Shasta daisies, helenium and yucca. If one has a
fence around the garden, it will be a little more difficult
to carry out this plan. Some of the tall perennials, how-
ever, like hollyhocks, Canterbury bells, larkspur, fox-
156
The Backyard Flower Garden 157
gloves, monkshood, hardy sunflowers, and the fall asters,
can be used at the back, with low-growing flowers at the
front.
If a part of the garden is shaded most of the time, the
perennials to use there include most of the lilies, colum-
bine, coreopsis, foxglove, cardinal flowers, monkshood,
Canterbury bells, larkspur and Japanese anemone. Almost
all flowers need a few hours of sunshine each day, but
the tuberous-rooted begonias, lilies of the valley and
violets will do fairly well in very shady places. Of course
the begonia is not hardy, and must be taken up in the fall.
Annuals that will grow in partial shade are evening
primroses, balsam, torenia, clarkia and pansy.
While one is waiting for perennials to develop, or if one
lives in a hired house, annuals may be used freely. Good
kinds to grow include asters, calendula, four-o'clocks,
lavetera, lupines, petunias, scabiosa, salvia, sweet peas,
wallflowers, zinnias, cosmos, spider plant and helichrysum.
If the soil happens to be very poor use cockscomb, gode-
tias, portulacca, snapdragon and the sand verbena. Portu-
lacca is the best annual for a very hot, sandy situation.
To make a quick-growing annual hedge along a patch or
to border beds, there is nothing better than the summer
cypress or kochia. Most of the annuals mentioned will
flower freely from seed sown out-of-doors early in the
season. A few kinds, however, like asters, petunias, sal-
vias and snapdragons, are better started indoors late in
March. The quickest-growing annual is the lupine.
Seeds sown in April or May will give blossoming plants in
six or seven weeks.
Perhaps the flower border at the end of the garden can
be devoted to roses. It will be necessary, however, that
158 The Backyard Flower Garden
the roses have full sunshine practically all day, and that
the ground be made very rich. Set the plants about two
feet apart, and be sure that the grafts are two inches
below the surface. Some of the best varieties are these :
Pink Jonkheer J. L. Mock, Killarney, Lady Ashdown,
Madame Caroline Testout, Madame Chatenay.
Red Gen. MacArthur, Gruss an Teplitz, Baroness
Rothschild.
White or Blush Bessie Brown, White Killarney, Frau
Karl Druschki.
Yellow Madame Ravery, Mrs. Aaron Ward, Mrs. A.
R. Waddell.
Climbers American Pilar, pink; Dorothy Perkins,
pink; Excelsa, red; Hiawatha, scarlet; Silver Moon,
white,
Short Cuts for Home Gardeners
a*
WHEN difficulty is experienced in sowing very small
seeds, it will be found a good plan to mix the seeds
with about five times their bulk of fine and perfectly
dry sand. The mixing must be done thoroughly, and
then the sand and seeds distributed along the rows. No
covering will be needed if the seeds are pressed into the
ground with a board or the flat back of the spade. Too
deep planting is the cause of many failures.
it
Perhaps the average backyard garden-maker does not
know that if he cuts off the heads of his cabbages, instead
of pulling up the plants by the roots, new leaves will be
thrown out in a short time. It is a good plan to adopt
this practice with the early cabbages, as the second growth
of leaves can be used in the house, and they are especially
desirable for feeding the family flock of hens.
*
It is well to remember that the earliest onions are not
commonly good keepers, for which reason they should
be eaten first. They should be pulled with long necks,
and hung up in a dry, cool place for a few days, when
they will be ready for the table. Most of the white
varieties are the quickest to spoil. The red onions are the
best keepers, with the yellow varieties next. Bearing
that fact in mind, the gardener will be wise to eat them
in the order named.
H
It pays in the home garden to place short pieces of
board under both the muskmelons and the watermelons,
or else to stand them on end. When this is done the fruit
159
160 Short Cuts for Home Gardeners
will ripen much more uniformly, and there will be less
danger of early decay, while wireworms will not have an
opportunity to eat into the skin. Moreover, the fruit will
look much better when cut for the table.
With a little care many of the garden crops can be kept
growing long after the first hard frost. It is only neces-
sary to have a liberal supply of hay or straw on hand
to throw over the plants when cold nights come. It is
particularly easy to keep lettuce well into October by this
method. Strips of cloth and paper may also be used in
a small way. If one has a few late eggplants, they can
be carried along by covering the plants with barrels when
frost threatens. A little fall strategy like this is well
worth while.
^^
It's a great advantage to have all the garden crops prop-
erly marked, so that a record can be kept of the results.
The most satisfactory marker is made of cypress dipped in
white-lead paint, and written upon before the paint is
dry. Such labels will remain legible throughout the sea-
son.
^o
When gathering ripe pepper pods there is some danger
of sustaining painful burns if the juice comes in contact
with the flesh. In that case the irritation may be relieved
by washing the hands in sweet milk. Of course the best
plan is to wear gloves.
?
*
In order to have the garden complete it should contain
a small patch of herbs, which can be planted from May
I to May 15. Some, like thyme and sweet marjoram, have
Short Cuts for Home Gardeners 161
very small seeds, which should be barely covered with
earth. Other kinds, such as summer savory, dill, fennel,
sweet basil and lavender, have larger seeds, which can go
an inch under ground. Most herbs are right to dry just
before they flower, when they are full of juice. They
should be gathered on a dry day. The best way to cure
them is to spread the stalks on brown paper laid in a flat
pan, which can be placed in a moderately hot oven. It
will be necessary to turn them often to keep them from
burning, but the quicker they can be dried, the better.
When drying has been completed, the stems may be re-
moved and rubbed to a powder. Then this powder should
be stored in some tight receptacle.
ft
The garden-maker who keeps a flock of hens should
plan to raise enough greens to feed them through the
summer, and enough vegetables to last the winter through.
A single row of dwarf Essex rape will go a long way. If
the leaves are gathered when large enough a new crop
will be made, so that there will be a continuous supply.
Swiss chard has the same habit of growth, and the hens
like it. In the fall there are likely to be many small and
poor cabbages which the hens can have. If Scotch kale
is planted in July, it can be fed as late as December, not
being injured by frost. Among the vegetables to grow
for the hens to eat in winter the best are common red
beets and mangel wurtzels. Cabbages are often grown
especially for the hens, but are hard to store.
*
Many people seem to think that the English scarlet
runner bean is good only for ornamental purposes. Truth
162 Short Cuts for Home Gardeners
to tell, it makes a first-class vegetable, and in England it
is grown commercially to a large extent. If there is a
fence, a lattice work or a chicken yard on one side of the
garden, it will be an excellent plan to train these scarlet
runner beans over it. They will occupy no space needed
for other crops, but will produce a large amount of valu-
able food, besides making the garden gay with color.
*
If the garden-maker cares to try growing a few extra
early potatoes, he can sprout the seeds in the cellar or a
sunny room, and thereby gain ten or fifteen days. After
cutting the seed potatoes in the usual way, the pieces
should be dusted with sulphur in order to prevent ex-
cessive evaporation. Then they should be spread in shal-
low boxes with the eye up, and kept in a dry, frost-proof
place until fairly good-sized sprouts have been made.
When the seed is planted out, great care must be taken
not to break off the sprouts.
H
An excellent tool for mixing fertilizer with the soil
in the furrows before sowing the seed has been devised
by a practical garden-maker. It consists of a block of
wood about sixteen inches long and four inches square,
into the sides of which about fifty three-penny nails are
driven at equal distances apart. A staple is then driven
into each end. A weight is fastened by a short string to
one staple, and a long cord to the other. The little fer-
tilizer and soil-mixer is then dragged along the furrows
by means of the string. It does much more efficient work
than can be accomplished with a hoe.
Each Month's Work
a*
OF COURSE it is impossible to be exact about the
work to be done in the different parts of the coun-
try. Some latitude must be allowed for climatic dif-
ferences. As a rule, however, the same work can be done
in the Northern as well as the Middle States in any given
month. Accordingly, only two divisions are made, North
and South. The line of separation can be drawn roughly
through Northern Virginia, Tennessee and Southern Mis-
sissippi.
The Southern calendar has reference to the more
northerly sections, and work can therefore be begun
earlier farther south.
JANUARY
In the North January is the month to make the gar-
den on paper. No- garden is properly made unless it is
carefully planned in advance, and the coming of the cat-
alogues indicates that the planting season is close at
hand.
Order seeds, fertilizers and such tools as will be needed.
Get out the garden tools which you have and see if they
need repairing, cleaning or sharpening.
In the South All the preliminary work discussed in
the paragraphs above should hold good in the Southern
States.
Begin planting smooth peas and broad beans as soon
as the ground is in condition to work. Radishes and lettuce
can be sown late in the month. In the extreme South po-
tatoes may be planted.
Set out onion sets.
163
164 Each Month's Work
FEBRUARY
In the North If the garden is level, and you can buy
manure, spread it on now. It is cheaper now than it will
be later.
Place headless barrels over a few plants of rhubarb and
heap fresh horse manure about them. Partly cover the
top of the barrel. This will give extra early stalks.
Get the material ready for starting hotbeds. If no
place has been prepared, spread fresh horse manure to
thaw out the ground.
In the South Ventilate the hotbeds and cold frames
in which seeds of early crops are sown. Sow tomatoes,
eggplants and peppers in frames.
Get the garden ready as soon as the ground can be
worked.
Sow wrinkled peas, lettuce, radishes, early turnips,
beets, spinach, onions and potatoes.
Set out asparagus and rhubarb roots.
MARCH
In the North Make hotbeds and cold frames.
Sow tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflower, cabbage and pep-
per seeds in the hotbeds or in boxes in the house.
Plant radishes and lettuce in a hotbed and let them
mature there.
Dress the asparagus beds with a good commercial fer-
tilizer. A balanced fertilizer, or bonemeal alone, will
serve.
If the ground is ready to work, plow and harrow, and
sow seeds of early peas, spinach, radishes, beets, onion
sets and lettuce.
Each Month's Work 165
Dig parsnips and salsify which have been left over
winter in the ground before they begin to grow.
In the South Plant the tall wrinkled peas and all of
the other hardier vegetables. It is usually safe late in the
month to sow string beans. Black Valentine is a partic-
ularly hardy variety.
Give plenty of air to the growing plants in the hotbeds
and frames.
APRIL
In the North Plant peas, spinach, beets, cabbages,
carrots, lettuce, leeks, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi,
parsley, potatoes, radishes, salsify, Swiss chard.
Start cucumbers, melons, lima beans and corn in cold
frames to get extra early crops. It is best to use old
strawberry baskets, inverted sods or paper pots.
Set out started plants of cabbage, cauliflower and leeks.
Cabbage, cauliflower and celery seed sown outside
will give late summer and fall crops.
Harden off all plants that are to be set out from cold
frames, hotbeds or boxes indoors.
In the South All the garden vegetables may be planted
in any part of the South early this month.
Tomato plants and all the other tender vegetables
started under glass may be set out.
Keep on sowing beans, beets, carrots, kohlrabi, lettuce
and radishes for successive crops.
Tomatoes started outside now will mature a crop be-
fore cold weather.
Sweet potatoes may be started in frames in any part
of the South.
Plant okra.
166 Each Month's Work
MAY
In the North Sow all the tender vegetables like cu-
cumbers, melons, squashes, lima beans and tomatoes in
the open ground.
Start planting corn and continue every ten days for a
succession.
Transplant celery at least once to keep the taproot
short.
Sow beans, peas, carrots, lettuce, radishes and kohlrabi
for a succession. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and leeks
may be planted now.
Set out tomato plants, eggplants and pepper plants by
the end of the month.
Cultivate all crops as soon as up to keep down weeds.
Start thinning the early-planted crops as soon as possi-
ble.
Pull the flower stalks from the rhubarb clumps. The
plants are weakened by making blossoms.
Dandelions sown now will make good greens next
spring.
In the South Keep on sowing beans, corn, beets and
similar vegetables for successive crops.
Celery seed for a late crop may be sown in the open
ground.
Eggplants and peppers remaining in the frames should
be set out before the end of the month.
Constant cultivation must be given to keep the soil
from drying out.
Place protectors over melons, cucumbers and squashes
to head off the striped beetle and flea beetle, or else dust
these crops with tobacco dust as soon as they are up.
Set out started sweet-potato plants late in the month.
Each Month's Work 167
JUNE
In the North Keep on planting sweet corn, bush
beans, beets, carrots and kohlrabi.
Sow a long row of late beets for winter use.
Make a liberal sowing of rutabaga turnips to be stored
for winter.
Squashes, pumpkins and melons may be started more
safely this month than last month.
Set out celery plants, first thoroughly soaking the
ground.
There is still time to set out tomato plants.
Watch for cutworms and dig them out if evidences of
their work are found.
Stop cutting asparagus by the end of the month.
In the South Sow parsnips and vegetable oysters this
month. They do much better here when sown late than
when planted early, as they must be in the North.
Keep on planting beans, corn and the like to continue
through the season.
Cucumbers planted this month will provide pickles
for fall.
Plant beets, carrots and rutabaga turnips for winter
storing.
Set out late-started sweet potatoes.
JULY
In the North Plant corn for the last time the middle
of the month.
Keep on sowing radishes, turnips, bush beans, kohlrabi
and early beets.
Cabbage may be set out to follow early crops.
168 Each Month's Work
Bury the joints of the squash vines at intervals to give
protection from borers.
Use dusting sulphur or Bordeaux mixture to protect
melons, squashes, beans and tomatoes from mildew or
rust.
Dust or spray potatoes with a combination of arsenate
of lead and Bordeaux mixture.
In the South Tomatoes are subject to sun-scald in
the Southern States. This is prevented by picking them
as soon as they begin to turn color and ripening them in
a shady place.
Seed of late cabbage may be planted late in the month.
Rutabagas sown this month will give a crop to store
for winter.
Irish potatoes may still be planted.
Keep up a succession of bush beans, corn, beets and
carrots.
Scotch kale planted now will give a good early winter
crop.
Use hellebore on the cabbages to save them from the
worms.
Mulch tomatoes, eggplants and peppers.
AUGUST
In the North If tomatoes are slow in ripening, place
them on straw in the cold frame with the sash in place.
Lettuce will grow best in a cold frame without glass.
Crimson clover sown in the corn at the last cultivation
will add humus to the ground if turned in next spring.
Crimson clover is not hardy enough for the more northern
States, where it is better to use rye.
Each Month's Work 169
Very early beets may still be sown, also kohlrabi and
radishes.
As soon as the onion tops begin to ripen, the crop
should be harvested. Pull the onions and let them lie
on the ground for two or three days until well cured.
Then place in a well ventilated room where they can be
spread out thinly and drying continued.
Keep up the use of arsenate of lead and Bordeaux,
especially on potatoes.
In the South Peas planted now will yield a good fall
crop.
Sow seed of lettuce, Brussels sprouts, early turnips,
sweet corn, string beans and winter radish.
Late cabbage plants may still be set out.
SEPTEMBER
In the North Lettuce sown in cold frames will give
a late fall crop.
Dig the potatoes as soon as the tops have died, especi-
ally if the season is a wet one.
If cabbage heads begin to crack, bend them so as to
break the roots on one side.
Bank celery, but be careful not to get earth into the
heart.
A top dressing of old manure may be used on the as-
paragus bed, being plowed under in the spring.
In the South Plant late turnips and winter radishes.
Lettuce seed may still be sown.
Plant onion sets and potato onions.
Sow spinach and parsley for spring.
170 Each Month's Work
OCTOBER
In the North This is a good time to divide and re-
plant the rhubarb roots.
Finish digging the potatoes. When storing them for
winter dust a little powdered sulphur over them.
Blanch endive by tying the leaves together.
In the South Spinach and onion sets may still be
planted, also Strap-Leaf turnips.
Many of the directions for harvesting and storing
crops given for Northern growers hold good in the
South.
NOVEMBER
In the North All the root crops except parsnips and
salsify should be dug early this month if this work has
not been done before.
Celery should be kept blanched until late in the month,
and perhaps covered with straw on cold nights. Before
Thanksgiving it should be dug and stored in a dark cor-
ner of the cellar or in a pit for winter.
Witloof chicory, asparagus and rhubarb to be forced
for winter should be dug before the ground freezes.
Brussels sprouts can be brought into the cellar to
mature.
Give the rhubarb a liberal mulching of manure to be
dug in when spring comes.
Clean up the garden and burn the stalks and vines
which are likely to harbor insect pests.
If the garden is level it is an excellent plan to have it
plowed in the fall.
In the South Cabbage and lettuce plants for spring
Each Month's Work 171
use may be set out. Set the cabbage plants rather deep.
It is a common plan to space the cabbage plants from
fourteen to eighteen inches apart, with lettuce plants be-
tween them.
Make a last sowing of spinach in the extreme South.
In most of the South beets, carrots and leeks, as well
as parsnips and salsify, may be left in the ground until
needed.
Dig sweet potatoes when the tops are killed.
DECEMBER
In the North Cover the strawberries and spinach with
a light mulch if that work has not already been done. It
is always best to wait until the ground freezes.
Clean up all rubbish.
Repair and paint tools, plant-boxes and the wheel-
barrow.
In the South Rake up all the leaves possible and cover
them with manure to rot. They will make the best of
fertilizer.
Ventilate hotbeds carefully.
Get your manure and compost ready for new hotbeds.
APPENDIX
a*
Fertilizers in Small Gardens
A MATEUR garden-makers are often puzzled as to
* the amount of fertilizer needed for their small plots,
because the usual directions give only the amount per
acre. The following table shows (approximately) the
proper proportions :
100 Ib. per acre equals
200 Ib. per acre equals
300 Ib. per acre equals
400 Ib. per acre equals
500 Ib. per acre equals
Ib. for a plot 10x43 ft.
Ib. for a plot 10x21 ft.
Ib. for a plot 10x14 ft.
Ib. for a plot 10x11 ft.
Ib. for a plot lOx 9 ft.
Vegetables for a Succession
Some gardeners make a mistake in sowing the different
vegetables only once or twice. Many kinds may be
planted until midsummer or later, giving a long season,
even in the North, as the following table shows:
Bush beans up to Aug. i
Beets up to Aug. i
Carrots up to Aug. i
Corn up to July I
Lettuce up to Aug. 15
Turnips up to Aug. 15
Peas do not thrive in hot weather, but a sowing for
fall use may be made the first of August. Radishes may
be planted at ten-day intervals until the middle of Sep-
tember. Spinach for summer use may be sown from
April to August. Early in September seed may be sown
for a spring crop, the beds being covered with hay or
straw through the winter. Corn salad may be handled
the same way and gathered at any time in winter when
the weather is warm enough.
i73
174
Handy Reference Tables
Germination of Seeds
Usual Time of Average
Germinating, Longevity,
Kind in days in years
Beans 7-9 3
Beets 8-10 6
Cabbage family 7-9 5
Carrots 12-15 4
Cauliflower 7-9 5
Celery 10-15 8
Corn .* 5-8 10
Cucumbers 8-10 10
Endive 8-10 10
Lettuce 6-8 5
Onion 8-10 2
Pea 7-8 3
Parsnips 12-18 2
Radishes 5-6 5
Tomatoes 8-10 4
Turnips . 5-7 5
Note. It is important to remember that the weather and the
condition of the soil greatly affect germination. Also that it is
not always safe to rely on old seed, although, theoretically, it is
good for several years.
How Much to Plant
For the average family six people the following
quantities will be about right:
Beets TOO ft. of rows
Carrots 100 ft. of rows
String beans 100 ft. of rows
Lima beans 100 ft. of rows
Tomatoes 24 plants
Eggplant 12 plants
Peppers 12 plants
Cucumbers . . .6 hills
Handy Reference Tables 175
How Much to Plant Concluded
Melons 6 hills
Summer squash or marrows 8 hills
Late squash 12 hills
Early corn 30 hills or 100 ft. of rows
. Late corn 50 hills
Spray Mixtures for Small Gardens
Spray Ingredients Quantity
Bordeaux mixture. . . Quicklime \ l / 2 tablespoons
Bluestone i tablespoon
Water 4 qts.
Kjerosene emulsion. . . Kerosene i pt.
Water l / 2 pt.
Hard soap i cubic in.
Arsenate of lead Lead arsenate paste., i tablespoon
Water or Bordeaux
mixture i gal.
Paris green Paris green i teaspoon
Water or Bordeaux
mixture 3 gal.
Lime sulphur (home
boiled) Fresh stone lime. ... 20 Ib.
Sulphur (flowers) . . 15 Ib.*
* Slack the lime in 15 gal. boiling water. While slacking add 15 Ib.
sulphur made into paste. Boil one hour and dilute to 40 gal. Strain
before applying,
Note The table on page 178 gives a classified list of insect
pests and directions for their extermination. Gardeners de-
siring additional information may apply direct to the Bureau
of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, although
it should be understood that there is no publication covering
the entire subject.
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Handy Reference Tables 181
Good Varieties for the Home Garden
It often happens that garden-makers are puzzled as to
the best varieties for them to grow. In the following
list will be found tested and proved varieties of the most
common garden crops:
Name Best Varieties
Asparagus Reading Giant
Argenteuil
Beans (bush string) Stringless Green Pod
Six Weeks
Brittle Wax
Fordhook Wax
Beans (bush shell) Dwarf Horticultural
Red Kidney
Beans (pole) Horticultural
Kentucky Wonder
Kentucky Wonder Wax
Beans (lima bush) Fordhook Bush
Seiva
Beans (lima pole) Giant Potted
Beets Eclipse
Detroit Dark Red
Brussels sprouts Case Dwarf
Cabbage (early) Copenhagen Market
Early Flat Dutch
Cabbage (late) Succession
Savoy
Carrots French Forcing
Chantenay
Danvers Half Long
Cauliflower .... Dwarf Erfurt
182 Handy Reference Tables
Good Varieties for the Home Garden Continued
Celery Paris Golden
Giant Pascal
Corn Golden Bantam
Stowell's Evergreen
Cucumbers Davis Perfect
Japanese Climbing
Eggplant Black Beauty
Endive ! White Curled
Kale Curly Scotch
Kohlrabi White Vienna
Purple Vienna
Leek American Flag
Lettuce Grand Rapids
Waj^ahead
May King
Mammoth White (Cos)
Muskmelon Jenny Lind
Honeydew, Montreal
Onions jDanvers Yellow Globe
Silver King
Onions (sets) Yellow sets
Parsley Moss Curled
Parsnips Student
Hollow Crown
Peas Little Marvel
Gradus
Nott's Excelsior
Thomas Laxton
Telephone
Peppers Ruby King
Golden Queen, Chili
Handy Reference Tables 183
Good Varieties for the Home Garden Concluded
Potatoes (Irish) Irish Cobbler
Gold Coin
Green Mountain
Pumpkins Sugar
Winter Luxury, Chirimen
Radish French Breakfast
Scarlet Globe
White Icicle
Rhubarb (roots) Linnaeus
Salsify (oyster plant) Mammoth Sandwich Island
Spinach Round Thick-Leaved
Squash (summer) Giant Crookneck.
Squash (winter) Delicious
Hubbard
Fordhook
Swiss chard Lucullus
Tomato Bonny Best
Dwarf Champion
Matchless
Baer
Stone
Turnip White Egg
White Milan
Rutabaga
Watermelon Cole's Early
Tom Watson
Dixie
Sweetheart
Agricultural Experiment Stations
All who are interested in gardening will find it greatly
to their advantage to keep in close touch with the near-
184
Handy Reference Tables
est experiment stations. The various stations are located
in the places named below :
Alabama Auburn, Uniontown
and Tuskegee
Alaska Sitka
Arizona Tucson
Arkansas Fayetteville
California Berkeley
Colorado Fort Collins
Connecticut Storrs and New
Haven
Delaware Newark
Florida Lake City
Georgia Experiment
Hawaii Honolulu
Idaho Moscow
Illinois Urbana
Indiana Lafayette
Iowa Ames
Kansas Manhattan
Kentucky Lexington
Louisiana Baton Rouge, New
Orleans and Calhoun
Maine Orono
Maryland College Park
Massachusetts Amherst
Michigan Agricultural Col-
lege
Missouri C olumbia and
Mountain Grove
Montana Bozeman
Nebraska Lincoln
Nevada Reno
New Hampshire Durham
New Jersey New Brunswick
New Mexico Mesilla Park
New York Geneva and Ithaca
North Carolina Raleigh
North Dakota Agricultural
College
Ohio Wooster
Oklahoma Stillwater
Oregon Corvallis
Pennsylvania State College
Porto Rico Mayaguez
Rhode Island Kingston
South Carolina Clemson Col-
lege
South Dakota Brookings
Tennessee Knoxville
Texas College Station
Utah Logan
Vermont Burlington
Virginia Blacksburg
Washington Pullman
West Virginia Morgantown
Wisconsin Madison
Wyoming Laramie
Index
Account book for the garden-
maker, 16
Agricultural experiment sta-
tions, 183
All-season crops, list of, 66
Annual flowers, good, 157
Aphides, 57
Artichokes, Jerusalem, 144
Asparagus beetle, 55
, best varieties of, 181
, to plant, 68
raised in cellar, 152
, varieties of, 69
Backyard garden, plan for a, 13
Beans, best varieties, 75, 181
, best varieties for canning,
139
, bush and pole, 74, 76
, how to pick, 76
, lima, 73
pole, 75
, poles to support, 63
, to protect, from blight, 75
, various kinds of, 72
, when to pick, 145
to grow with corn, 64
Beetle, asparagus, 55
, striped, 53, 115, 117, 125,
127
, flea, 117
, Remedy for, 117
Beet seed, peculiarity of, 97
Beets, 96
, best varieties, 97, 181
for canning, 139
, to evaporate, 141
Beets, to store, 149
at their best, 146
Black fly, 53
Blackbirds, to protect seed-corn
against, 55, 84
Blanching celery, 113
Blight on cucumbers, 126
on potatoes, 104
, to protect beans from, 75
Borecole, 129
Boxes as forcing-frames, 38
Broccoli, 131
Brush for peas, 94
Brussels sprouts, 130
,best variety,, 181
, to transplant, 59
Bugs, various kinds of, 56
Bush and pole beans, 74, 76
Cabbage, 77
, best soil for, 78
, best varieties, 78, 181
, Chinese, 129
, frozen, 150
, late, to grow, 77
plants, to start, 77
, Savoy, 79
, shearing leaves of, when
transplanting, 59, 77
, storage of, 77, 150
subject to clubroot, 78
, to prevent heads of, from
breaking, 78
, to transplant, 59, 77
, when ready, 146
worm, 55
Calendar, gardener's, 163
185
186
Index
Canning and evaporating, 139
Carrots, 96, 97
, best varieties of, 98, 181
, to evaporate, 141
,to store, 149
Cauliflower, 79
, best kinds, 80, 181
, cultivation of, 79
plants, to start, 79
, shearing leaves of, when
transplanting, 59
Celeriac, 128
Celery, HI
, best varieties, 112, 182
plants require transplant-
ing, 61
, storage of, 113
, to blanch, 113
, to transplant, 59
, trenches for, 112
, turnip-rooted, 128
Cellar garden, 152
Chard, Swiss, 109
Chervil, 135
Chickens, greens for, 161
Chicory, 153
, flower of, 144
Chinese cabbage, 129
Chives, 135, 154
Climbing plants, supports for, 62
Clubroot in cabbages, 78
Coal-tar to protect seed corn,
55
Cold frames, how to use, 35
Companion crops, 64
Corn, best varieties of, 81, 182
, best, for canning, 139
, cultivation of, 83
Corn, earworm, 54, 84
, fertilizers for, 82
, how to plant, 83
, pollenizing of, 82
, removing suckers from,
84
, steaming, 147
, succession of, 82
, how to grow the sweet-
est, 81
, to evaporate, 85, 141
, to protect seed, from
crows, 84
, when to pick, 147
Corn salad, 109
Cos lettuce, 88
Crops, all-season, 66
, companion, 64
, late, 67
, permanent, 68
, succession, 64
, successive, 67
Crows, to protect seed-corn
against, 55, 84
Cucumber plants, supports for,
63
Cucumbers, 125
, best varieties of, 126, 182
, to mature, indoors, 150
Cultivation, 21, 47
, best time for, 47
, mulching a substitute for,
52
takes place of rain, 49
Currants, mulching for, 52
, to protect, 55
Cutworms, 53, 56, 115, 117
in sod soil, 119
Index
187
Dandelion a salad plant, 154
Dandelions, to preserve, 140
Draining a wet garden, 50
Drying of vegetables, 140
Earworm, corn, 54, 84
Eggplant, 134
, to keep, 150
Endive, 108
, best variety of, 182
, French, 154
Evaporated vegetables, to store,
142
Evaporating and canning, 139
machines, 140, 141, 142
Experiment stations, 183
Fennel, Florence, 128
Fertilizers, commercial, 22, 28
.proportions of (table),
173
, mixer for, 162
, quantity of, per 1,000 feet,
30
, various kinds of, 28
Finocchio, 128
Florence fennel, 128
Flower garden, the, 156
, vegetables in the, 143
Fly, black, 53
Food value of crops, 12
Forcing early crop, boxes for,
34
Forcing-frames, 38
Formalin a remedy for potato
scab, 102
Frost, protection against, 160
Fungus, 58, 65, 102
Garden, size of, 17
, flower, 156
Gardening a patriotic duty, n
Germination of seeds (table),
174
Gooseberries, mulching for, 52
Gumbo, 130
Greens, 107
Green manuring, 28
Herbs, 160
Hoe, scuffle, 25
, to sharpen, 26
, various uses of the, 26
, wheel, 24
Horseradish, 70
, how to plant, 71
Hotbeds, 35
, plan for planting, 37
Humus, 22, 29
Insect pests, 56
Insects and remedies (table),
178
, chewing, 56
, sucking, 57
Jerusalem artichokes, 144
Kale, Scotch, 129
, variegated, 143
Kohlrabi, 129, 136
, best varieties, 182
, to store, 149
, when to pick, 145
Late crops, list of, 67
Leeks, 129
, best variety of, 182
require transplanting, 6r
188
Index
Lettuce, 16
as companion crop, 64
as a filler, 12
, best varieties, 88, 182
, early, 86
, good, all summer, 86
, head, 86
in vacation garden, 137
, to protect, from sun, 87
,to transplant, 60
, when to pick, 145
Lice, plant, 53, 57
Lima beans, best varieties of,
181
, to dry, 141
, when to pick, 147
Lime, why and how used, 31
Line, garden, 25
Manure for root crops, 45
, kinds of, 22
Manuring, green, 28
Markers, 160
Marrows, 115, 151
Martynias, 128, 143
Melons, 126
, lice on, 53
, to mature, indoors, 150
, when to pick, 146
Mildew, 58
Mice, to banish, 56
Mulching, 52
Multiplier onions, 91
Muskmelons, 126, 127
, best varieties, 127, 182
Mustard greens, 109
New Zealand spinach, 12, 16,
107
Okra, 130, 143
Onions, best varieties, 89, 182
, fertilizer for, 90
from seeds and sets, 89
, maggots on, 54
, multiplier, 91
, red, best keepers, 159
, thinning, 90
, white flies on, 54
Onion sets, 90
Paper pots and collars, 119
for seedlings, 40
Parsley, 133
, best variety, 182
Parsnips, 96, 97, 149
, best varieties, 98, 182
Pea, sugar, or edible-pod, 128
Peas, a long season of, 92
, best varieties, 92, 182
, fertilizer for, 94
, how to pick, 94
, how to plant, 94
, tall and dwarf, 93
, to evaporate, 141
Pea vines, supports for, 62
, to protect, 55
Pepper plants, when to start,
4i
Peppers, 134
,best varieties, 135, 182
,to dry, 141
Perennials, hardy, 156
Permanent crops, three, 68
Pe Tsai, 129
Picking vegetables, time for,
145
Pie-plant. See Rhubarb
Index
189
Plan for a backyard garden, 13
for hotbed planting, 37
for vacant-lot garden, 15
Plant, when and how to, 43
Planting, 43
, wetting ground before, 49
table for flowers, 179
for vegetables, 176
Plowing, time for, 16
Pole and bush beans, 74, 76
Pole beans, how to plant, 74
Poles for beans, 63
, substitute for, 63
Potato blight, 104
bugs, 104
hook, 25
, how to plant, 104
parings as seed, 102
, sod ground for, 101
, spray for, 58
, sweet, 106
, when to plant, 101
, when to dig, 145
, when to plant, 105
Potatoes, 14, 101
, best soil for, 101
,best varieties, 105, 183
, extra early, 162
, fertilizers for, 103
Pumpkins, 133
among corn, 64
, best varieties of, 133, 183
Pumpkin vines ornamental, 143
Quack grass, weeds and weed-
ing, 5i
Quick-growing vegetables, 66
Radishes, 132
as a filler, 12
as companion crop, 64
, best varieties of, 132, 183
in vacation garden, 137
, winter, 99
Raspberries, mulching for, 52
Rhubarb, best variety of, 183
, extra early, 70
, how to can, 140
, how to grow, 69
leaves not a salad, 70
raised in cellar, 152
Root crops, 96
Roses, best varieties of, 158
Rotation of crops, 45, 65
Rutabaga, 99
Salsify, 99, 129
,best variety of, 183
Scab on potatoes, 102
Scarlet runner bean, 143, 144,
161
Scotch kale, 129
Scuffle hoe, 25
Seakale raised in cellar, 152
Seed-boxes for early plants, 39
boxes, how to water, 40
corn, to protect, 55
Seeds, germination of, 174
, how to sow, 45
, how to sow small, 159
,how to test, 43
, soaking of, 44
, starting, indoors, 39
, wetting ground before
planting, 49
Shade and sunlight, 14
, perennials thriving in, 157
190
Index
Slow-growing plants, 65
Sod ground for potatoes, 101
Sod land, cutworms, in 119
, to prepare, 22
Sods, use for, 23
Soil, cultivation of, 21
, heavy, to improve, 21
, testing of, 31
, when ready for work, 17
Spinach, 107
, best variety of, 183
, New Zealand, 12, 16, 107
, prickly, 108
, to can, 139
Spray mixtures (tables), 175
Square-rod garden, the, 18
Squash bug, 57
Squashes, best soil for, 116
for summer and winter,
H5
, summer, 115
, summer, best varieties,
H5, 183
, winter, 115
, winter, best varieties of,
116, 183
, winter, best varieties of,
117, 183
, when to pick, 146
Stakes for tomtato plants, 122
Storage cellar, 148
Storing winter vegetables, 148
Strawberries, to protect, 55
String beans, when to pick, 145
, to preserve, 140
Striped beetle, 53
Succession crops, 64
Succession of vegetables (ta-
ble), 173
Successive crops, list of, 67
Sugar pea, 128, 143
Sunlight and shade, 14
Sweet potatoes, 106
Swiss chard, 12, 16, 109
, best variety of, 183
, may be canned, 140
, when to eat, 146
Testing seeds, 43
Thinning surplus plants, 52
Tomatoes, best varieties of,
123, 183
, early, 1 18
, end rot in, 123
, growing quality, 118
, ripening of, 122
, soil for, 119
, to transplant, 118
Tomato plants, how to prune,
121
, how to set, 119
, supports for, 62, 122
' , to protect, against
cutworms, 54
, when to start, 41
Tile draining, 50
Tools, 24
, care of, 26
, how to mark, 27
Transplanting, success in, 59
, soaking ground before,
49
Trenches for celery, 112
for peas, 93
Trench system, 21
Turnips, 98
, best varieties of, 98, 183
, to store, 149
Index 191
Turnips, winter, 99 Watermelons, 127
Twich grass, 51 , best varieties of, 127, 183
Wax beans, 72, 75
Vacation garden, 136 whed h seyeral kind
Vegetable cellar, 148 ^
marrows, 115 ' J
oyster, 99, 149 ^ /"? ' "
Witloof chicory, 153
Water, conservation of, 49 vegetables, storing, 148
Watering, 49 , flower of, 144
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