Home Vegetable Gardening / A Complete and Practical Guide to the Planting and Care of All Vegetables, Fruits and Berries Worth Growing for Home Use

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HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING

A COMPLETE AND PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE PLANTING AND CARE OF ALL VEGETABLES, FRUITS AND BERRIES WORTH GROWING FOR HOME USE

BY

F. F. ROCKWELL

Author of Around the Year in the Garden, Gardening Indoors and Under Glass, The Key to the Land, etc., etc.

PREFACE

With some, the home vegetable garden is a hobby; with others, especially in these days of high prices, a great help. There are many in both classes whose experience in gardening has been restricted within very narrow bounds, and whose present spare time for gardening is limited. It is as "first aid" to such persons, who want to do practical, efficient gardening, and do it with the least possible fuss and loss of time, that this book is written. In his own experience the author has found that garden books, while seldom lacking in information, often do not present it in the clearest possible way. It has been his aim to make the present volume first of all practical, and in addition to that, though comprehensive, yet simple and concise. If it helps to make the way of the home gardener more clear and definite, its purpose will have been accomplished.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I INTRODUCTION II WHY YOU SHOULD GARDEN III REQUISITES OF THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN IV THE PLANTING PLAN V IMPLEMENTS AND THEIR USES VI MANURES AND FERTILIZERS VII THE SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION

PART TWO—VEGETABLES

VIII STARTING THE PLANTS IX SOWING AND PLANTING X THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES XI THE VEGETABLES AND THEIR SPECIAL NEEDS XII BEST VARIETIES OF THE GARDEN VEGETABLES XIII INSECTS AND DISEASE, AND METHODS OF FIGHTING THEM XIV HARVESTING AND STORING

PART THREE—FRUITS

XV THE VARIETIES OF POME AND STONE FRUITS XVI PLANTING; CULTIVATION; FILLER CROPS XVII PRUNING, SPRAYING, HARVESTING XVIII BERRIES AND SMALL FRUITS XIX A CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS XX CONCLUSION

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Formerly it was the custom for gardeners to invest their labors and achievements with a mystery and secrecy which might well have discouraged any amateur from trespassing upon such difficult ground. "Trade secrets" in either flower or vegetable growing were acquired by the apprentice only through practice and observation, and in turn jealously guarded by him until passed on to some younger brother in the profession. Every garden operation was made to seem a wonderful and difficult undertaking. Now, all that has changed. In fact the pendulum has swung, as it usually does, to the other extreme. Often, if you are a beginner, you have been flatteringly told in print that you could from the beginning do just as well as the experienced gardener.

My garden friend, it cannot, as a usual thing, be done. Of course, it may happen and sometimes does. You might, being a trusting lamb, go down into Wall Street with $10,000 [Ed. Note: all monetary values throughout the book are 1911 values] and make a fortune. You know that you would not be likely to; the chances are very much against you. This garden business is a matter of common sense; and the man, or the woman, who has learned by experience how to do a thing, whether it is cornering the market or growing cabbages, naturally does it better than the one who has not. Do not expect the impossible. If you do, read a poultry advertisement and go into the hen business instead of trying to garden. I have grown pumpkins that necessitated the tearing down of the fence in order to get them out of the lot, and sometimes, though not frequently, have had to use the axe to cut through a stalk of asparagus, but I never "made $17,000 in ten months from an eggplant in a city back-yard." No, if you are going to take up gardening, you will have to work, and you will have a great many disappointments. All that I, or anyone else, could put between the two covers of a book will not make a gardener of you. It must be learned through the fingers, and back, too, as well as from the printed page. But, after all, the greatest reward for your efforts will be the work itself; and unless you love the work, or have a feeling that you will love it, probably the best way for you, is to stick to the grocer for your garden.

Most things, in the course of development, change from the simple to the complex. The art of gardening has in many ways been an exception to the rule. The methods of culture used for many crops are more simple than those in vogue a generation ago. The last fifty years has seen also a tremendous advance in the varieties of vegetables, and the strange thing is that in many instances the new and better sorts are more easily and quickly grown than those they have replaced. The new lima beans are an instance of what is meant. While limas have always been appreciated as one of the most delicious of vegetables, in many sections they could never be successfully grown, because of their aversion to dampness and cold, and of the long season required to mature them. The newer sorts are not only larger and better, but hardier and earlier; and the bush forms have made them still more generally available.

Knowledge on the subject of gardening is also more widely diffused than ever before, and the science of photography has helped wonderfully in telling the newcomer how to do things. It has also lent an impetus and furnished an inspiration which words alone could never have done. If one were to attempt to read all the gardening instructions and suggestions being published, he would have no time left to practice gardening at all. Why then, the reader may ask at this point, another garden book? It is a pertinent question, and it is right that an answer be expected in advance. The reason, then, is this: while there are garden books in plenty, most of them pay more attention to the "content" than to the form in which it is laid before the prospective gardener. The material is often presented as an accumulation of detail, instead of by a systematic and constructive plan which will take the reader step by step through the work to be done, and make clear constantly both the principles and the practice of garden making and management, and at the same time avoid every digression unnecessary from the practical point of view. Other books again, are either so elementary as to be of little use where gardening is done without gloves, or too elaborate, however accurate and worthy in other respects, for an every-day working manual. The author feels, therefore, that there is a distinct field for the present book.

And, while I still have the reader by the "introduction" buttonhole, I want to make a suggestion or two about using a book like this. Do not, on the one hand, read it through and then put it away with the dictionary and the family Bible, and trust to memory for the instruction it may give; do not, on the other hand, wait until you think it is time to plant a thing, and then go and look it up. For instance, do not, about the middle of May, begin investigating how many onion seeds to put in a hill; you will find out that they should have been put in, in drills, six weeks before. Read the whole book through carefully at your first opportunity, make a list of the things you should do for your own vegetable garden, and put opposite them the proper dates for your own vicinity. Keep this available, as a working guide, and refer to special matters as you get to them.

Do not feel discouraged that you cannot be promised immediate success at the start. I know from personal experience and from the experience of others that "book-gardening" is a practical thing. If you do your work carefully and thoroughly, you may be confident that a very great measure of success will reward the efforts of your first garden season.

And I know too, that you will find it the most entrancing game you ever played.

Good luck to you!

CHAPTER II

WHY YOU SHOULD GARDEN

There are more reasons to-day than ever before why the owner of a small place should have his, or her, own vegetable garden. The days of home weaving, home cheese-making, home meat-packing, are gone. With a thousand and one other things that used to be made or done at home, they have left the fireside and followed the factory chimney. These things could be turned over to machinery. The growing of vegetables cannot be so disposed of. Garden tools have been improved, but they are still the same old one-man affairs—doing one thing, one row at a time. Labor is still the big factor—and that, taken in combination with the cost of transporting and handling such perishable stuff as garden produce, explains why the home gardener can grow his own vegetables at less expense than he can buy them. That is a good fact to remember.

But after all, I doubt if most of us will look at the matter only after consulting the columns of the household ledger. The big thing, the salient feature of home gardening is not that we may get our vegetables ten per cent. cheaper, but that we can have them one hundred per cent. better. Even the long-keeping sorts, like squash, potatoes and onions, are very perceptibly more delicious right from the home garden, fresh from the vines or the ground; but when it comes to peas, and corn, and lettuce,—well, there is absolutely nothing to compare with the home garden ones, gathered fresh, in the early slanting sunlight, still gemmed with dew, still crisp and tender and juicy, ready to carry every atom of savory quality, without loss, to the dining table. Stale, flat and unprofitable indeed, after these have once been tasted, seem the limp, travel-weary, dusty things that are jounced around to us in the butcher's cart and the grocery wagon. It is not in price alone that home gardening pays. There is another point: the market gardener has to grow the things that give the biggest yield. He has to sacrifice quality to quantity. You do not. One cannot buy Golden Bantam corn, or Mignonette lettuce, or Gradus peas in most markets. They are top quality, but they do not fill the market crate enough times to the row to pay the commercial grower. If you cannot afford to keep a professional gardener there is only one way to have the best vegetables—grow your own!

And this brings us to the third, and what may be the most important reason why you should garden. It is the cheapest, healthiest, keenest pleasure there is. Give me a sunny garden patch in the golden springtime, when the trees are picking out their new gowns, in all the various self-colored delicate grays and greens—strange how beautiful they are, in the same old unchanging styles, isn't it?—give me seeds to watch as they find the light, plants to tend as they take hold in the fine, loose, rich soil, and you may have the other sports. And when you have grown tired of their monotony, come back in summer to even the smallest garden, and you will find in it, every day, a new problem to be solved, a new campaign to be carried out, a new victory to win.

Better food, better health, better living—all these the home garden offers you in abundance. And the price is only the price of every worth-while thing—honest, cheerful patient work.

But enough for now of the dream garden. Put down your book. Put on your old togs, light your pipe—some kind-hearted humanitarian should devise for women such a kindly and comforting vice as smoking—and let's go outdoors and look the place over, and pick out the best spot for that garden-patch of yours.

CHAPTER III

REQUISITES OF THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

In deciding upon the site for the home vegetable garden it is well to dispose once and for all of the old idea that the garden "patch" must be an ugly spot in the home surroundings. If thoughtfully planned, carefully planted and thoroughly cared for, it may be made a beautiful and harmonious feature of the general scheme, lending a touch of comfortable homeliness that no shrubs, borders, or beds can ever produce.

With this fact in mind we will not feel restricted to any part of the premises merely because it is out of sight behind the barn or garage. In the average moderate-sized place there will not be much choice as to land. It will be necessary to take what is to be had and then do the very best that can be done with it. But there will probably be a good deal of choice as to, first, exposure, and second, convenience. Other things being equal, select a spot near at hand, easy of access. It may seem that a difference of only a few hundred yards will mean nothing, but if one is depending largely upon spare moments for working in and for watching the garden—and in the growing of many vegetables the latter is almost as important as the former—this matter of convenient access will be of much greater importance than is likely to be at first recognized. Not until you have had to make a dozen time-wasting trips for forgotten seeds or tools, or gotten your feet soaking wet by going out through the dew-drenched grass, will you realize fully what this may mean.

EXPOSURE

But the thing of first importance to consider in picking out the spot that is to yield you happiness and delicious vegetables all summer, or even for many years, is the exposure. Pick out the "earliest" spot you can find—a plot sloping a little to the south or east, that seems to catch sunshine early and hold it late, and that seems to be out of the direct path of the chilling north and northeast winds. If a building, or even an old fence, protects it from this direction, your garden will be helped along wonderfully, for an early start is a great big factor toward success. If it is not already protected, a board fence, or a hedge of some low-growing shrubs or young evergreens, will add very greatly to its usefulness. The importance of having such a protection or shelter is altogether underestimated by the amateur.

THE SOIL

The chances are that you will not find a spot of ideal garden soil ready for use anywhere upon your place. But all except the very worst of soils can be brought up to a very high degree of productiveness— especially such small areas as home vegetable gardens require. Large tracts of soil that are almost pure sand, and others so heavy and mucky that for centuries they lay uncultivated, have frequently been brought, in the course of only a few years, to where they yield annually tremendous crops on a commercial basis. So do not be discouraged about your soil. Proper treatment of it is much more important, and a garden- patch of average run-down,—or "never-brought-up" soil—will produce much more for the energetic and careful gardener than the richest spot will grow under average methods of cultivation.

The ideal garden soil is a "rich, sandy loam." And the fact cannot be overemphasized that such soils usually are made, not found. Let us analyze that description a bit, for right here we come to the first of the four all-important factors of gardening—food. The others are cultivation, moisture and temperature. "Rich" in the gardener's vocabulary means full of plant food; more than that—and this is a point of vital importance—it means full of plant food ready to be used at once, all prepared and spread out on the garden table, or rather in it, where growing things can at once make use of it; or what we term, in one word, "available" plant food. Practically no soils in long- inhabited communities remain naturally rich enough to produce big crops. They are made rich, or kept rich, in two ways; first, by cultivation, which helps to change the raw plant food stored in the soil into available forms; and second, by manuring or adding plant food to the soil from outside sources.

"Sandy" in the sense here used, means a soil containing enough particles of sand so that water will pass through it without leaving it pasty and sticky a few days after a rain; "light" enough, as it is called, so that a handful, under ordinary conditions, will crumble and fall apart readily after being pressed in the hand. It is not necessary that the soil be sandy in appearance, but it should be friable.

"Loam: a rich, friable soil," says Webster. That hardly covers it, but it does describe it. It is soil in which the sand and clay are in proper proportions, so that neither greatly predominate, and usually dark in color, from cultivation and enrichment. Such a soil, even to the untrained eye, just naturally looks as if it would grow things. It is remarkable how quickly the whole physical appearance of a piece of well cultivated ground will change. An instance came under my notice last fall in one of my fields, where a strip containing an acre had been two years in onions, and a little piece jutting off from the middle of this had been prepared for them just one season. The rest had not received any extra manuring or cultivation. When the field was plowed up in the fall, all three sections were as distinctly noticeable as though separated by a fence. And I know that next spring's crop of rye, before it is plowed under, will show the lines of demarcation just as plainly.

This, then, will give you an idea of a good garden soil. Perhaps in yours there will be too much sand, or too much clay. That will be a disadvantage, but one which energy and perseverance will soon overcome to a great extent—by what methods may be learned in Chapter VIII.

DRAINAGE

There is, however, one other thing you must look out for in selecting your garden site, and that is drainage. Dig down eight or twelve inches after you have picked out a favorable spot, and examine the sub-soil. This is the second strata, usually of different texture and color from the rich surface soil, and harder than it. If you find a sandy or gravelly bed, no matter how yellow and poor it looks, you have chosen the right spot. But if it be a stiff, heavy clay, especially a blue clay, you will have either to drain it or be content with a very late garden—that is, unless you are at the top of a knoll or on a slope. Chapter VII contains further suggestions in regard to this problem.

SOIL ANTECEDENTS

There was a further reason for, mentioning that strip of onion ground. It is a very practical illustration of what last year's handling of the soil means to this year's garden. If you can pick out a spot, even if it is not the most desirable in other ways, that has been well enriched or cultivated for a year or two previous, take that for this year's garden. And in the meantime have the spot on which you intend to make your permanent vegetable garden thoroughly "fitted," and grow there this year a crop of potatoes or sweet corn, as suggested in Chapter IX. Then next year you will have conditions just right to give your vegetables a great start.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

There are other things of minor importance but worth considering, such as the shape of your garden plot, for instance. The more nearly rectangular, the more convenient it will be to work and the more easily kept clean and neat. Have it large enough, or at least open on two ends, so that a horse can be used in plowing and harrowing. And if by any means you can have it within reach of an adequate supply of water, that will be a tremendous help in seasons of protracted drought. Then again, if you have ground enough, lay off two plots so that you can take advantage of the practice of rotation, alternating grass, potatoes or corn with the vegetable garden. Of course it is possible to practice crop rotation to some extent within the limits of even the small vegetable garden, but it will be much better, if possible, to rotate the entire garden-patch.

All these things, then, one has to keep in mind in picking the spot best suited for the home vegetable garden. It should be, if possible, of convenient access; it should have a warm exposure and be well enriched, well worked-up soil, not too light nor too heavy, and by all means well drained. If it has been thoroughly cultivated for a year or two previous, so much the better. If it is near a supply of water, so situated that it can be at least plowed and harrowed with a horse, and large enough to allow the garden proper to be shifted every other year or two, still more the better.

Fill all of these requirements that you can, and then by taking full advantage of the advantages you have, you can discount the disadvantages. After all it is careful, persistent work, more than natural advantages, that will tell the story; and a good garden does not grow—it is made.

CHAPTER IV

THE PLANTING PLAN

Having selected the garden spot, the next consideration, naturally, is what shall be planted in it.

The old way was to get a few seed catalogues, pick out a list of the vegetables most enthusiastically described by the (wholly disinterested) seedsman, and then, when the time came, to put them in at one or two plantings, and sowing each kind as far as the seed would go. There is a better way—a way to make the garden produce more, to yield things when you want them, and in the proper proportions.

All these advantages, you may suppose, must mean more work. On the contrary, however, the new way makes very much less work and makes results a hundred per cent. more certain. It is not necessary even that more thought be put upon the garden, but forethought there must be. Forethought, however, is much more satisfactory than hind-thought.

In the new way of gardening there are four great helps, four things that will be of great assistance to the experienced gardener, and that are indispensable to the success of the beginner. They are the Planting Plan, the Planting Table, the Check List and the Garden Record.

Do not become discouraged at the formidable sound of that paragraph and decide that after all you do not want to fuss so much over your garden; that you are doing it for the fun of the thing anyway, and such intricate systems will not be worth bothering with. The purpose of those four garden helps is simply to make your work less and your returns more. You might just as well refuse to use a wheel hoe because the trowel was good enough for your grandmother's garden, as to refuse to take advantage of the modern garden methods described in this chapter. Without using them to some extent, or in some modified form, you can never know just what you are doing with your garden or what improvements to make next year. Of course, each of the plans or lists suggested here is only one of many possible combinations. You should be able to find, or better still to construct, similar ones better suited to your individual taste, need and opportunity. That, however, does not lessen the necessity of using some such system. It is just as necessary an aid to the maximum efficiency in gardening as are modern tools. Do not fear that you will waste time on the planting plan. Master it and use it, for only so can you make your garden time count for most in producing results. In the average small garden there is a very large percentage of waste—for two weeks, more string beans than can be eaten or given away; and then, for a month, none at all, for instance. You should determine ahead as nearly as possible how much of each vegetable your table will require and then try to grow enough of each for a continuous supply, and no more. It is just this that the planting plan enables you to do.

I shall describe, as briefly as possible, forms of the planting plan, planting table, check list and record, which I have found it convenient to use.

To make the Planting Plan take a sheet of white paper and a ruler and mark off a space the shape of your garden—which should be rectangular if possible—using a scale of one-quarter or one-eighth inch to the foot. Rows fifty feet long will be found a convenient length for the average home garden. In a garden where many varieties of things are grown it will be best to run the rows the short way of the piece. We will take a fifty-foot row for the purpose of illustration, though of course it can readily be changed in proportion where rows of that length can not conveniently be made. In a very small garden it will be better to make the row, say, twenty-five feet long, the aim being always to keep the row a unit and have as few broken ones as possible, and still not to have to plant more of any one thing than will be needed.

In assigning space for the various vegetables several things should be kept in mind in order to facilitate planting, replanting and cultivating the garden. These can most quickly be realized by a glance at the plan illustrated herewith. You will notice that crops that remain several years—rhubarb and asparagus—are kept at one end. Next come such as will remain a whole season—parsnips, carrots, onions and the like. And finally those that will be used for a succession of crops—peas, lettuce, spinach. Moreover, tall-growing crops, like pole beans, are kept to the north of lower ones. In the plan illustrated the space given to each variety is allotted according to the proportion in which they are ordinarily used. If it happens that you have a special weakness for peas, or your mother-in-law an aversion to peppers, keep these tastes and similar ones in mind when laying out your planting plan.

Do not leave the planning of your garden until you are ready to put the seeds in the ground and then do it all in a rush. Do it in January, as soon as you have received the new year's catalogues and when you have time to study over them and look up your record of the previous year. Every hour spent on the plan will mean several hours saved in the garden.

The Planting Table is the next important system in the business of gardening, especially for the beginner. In it one can see at a glance all the details of the particular treatment each vegetable requires— when to sow, how deep, how far apart the rows should be, etc. I remember how many trips from garden to house to hunt through catalogues for just such information I made in my first two seasons' gardening. How much time, just at the very busiest season of the whole year, such a table would have saved!

——————————————————————————— 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 ——————————————————————————-| 0| |PA| | | | RHUBARB-2 |RS| | SEED BED | | |LE|??| | 5| |Y | | | |————————————————————————-| | ASPARAGUS-2 | 10|————————————————————————-| | | | POLE BEANS-2 | 15|————————————————————————-| | TOMATOES-1 | |————————————————————————-| 20| CABBAGE EARLY-1 | | LATE -1 | |————————————————————————-| 25| BROCCOLI-1 | BRUSSELS SPROUTS-1 | | PEPPERS-1 | EGG PLANT-1 | |————————————————————————-| 30| CELERY-1 | |————————————————————————-| | | 35| ONIONS-5-1/2 | | LEEKS-1/2 | |————————————————————————-| 40| | | CARROTS-4 | |————————————————————————-| 45| | | BEETS-4 | |————————————————————————-| 50| TURNIPS-1-1/2 | RUTABAGA-1/2 | | PARSNIPS-1 | |————————————————————————-| 55| | | | | | 60| CORN-4 | | | | | 65| | | | |————————————————————————-| 70| | | | | | 75| PEAS-4 | | | | | 80|————————————————————————-| | | | BUSH BEANS-3 | 85|————————————————————————-| | | | LETTUCE-2 | 90| ONION SETS-1 | ENDIVE-1 | |————————————————————————-| | MUSKMELONS-6 HILLS | CUCUMBERS-7 HILLS | 95|————————————————————————-| | | | | PUMPKINS-4H | WATERMELONS-5H | 100| | | |————————————————————————-| | | SUMMER SQUASH, BUSH-8H | 105| WINTER SQUASH-5H | | | | SUMMER SQUASH, VINE-5H | | | | 110|————————————————————————-|

A typical Planting Plan. The scale measurements at the left and top indicate the length and distance apart of rows. [ED. Distances are approximate, due to typing line constraints.]

The Planting Table prepared for one's own use should show, besides the information given, the varieties of each vegetable which experience has proved best adapted to one's own needs. The table shown herewith gives such a list; varieties which are for the most part standard favorites and all of which, with me, have proven reliable, productive and of good quality. Other good sorts will be found described in Part Two. Such a table should be mounted on cardboard and kept where it may readily be referred to at planting time.

The Check List is the counterpart of the planting table, so arranged that its use will prevent anything from being overlooked or left until too late. Prepare it ahead, some time in January, when you have time to think of everything. Make it up from your planting table and from the previous year's record. From this list it will be well to put down on a sheet of paper the things to be done each month (or week) and cross them off as they are attended to. Without some such system it is almost a certainty that you will overlook some important things.

The Garden Record is no less important. It may be kept in the simplest sort of way, but be sure to keep it. A large piece of paper ruled as follows, for instance, will require only a few minutes' attention each week and yet will prove of the greatest assistance in planning the garden next season.

VEGETABLE GARDEN RECORD—1910

——————-|———————-|————|————|——————————— VEGETABLE |VARIETY | PUT IN | READY | NOTES ——————-|———————-|————|————|——————————— Beans, dwarf |Red Valentine | May 10 | July 6 | Not best quality. Try | | | | other earlies |Golden Wax | May 15 | July 22| Rusted. Spray next | | | | year Bean, pole |Old Homestead | May 16 | July 26| Too many. 6 poles | | | | next year |Early Leviathan| May 25 | Aug. 19| Good. Dry. Bean, lima |Fordhook | May 15 | | Rotted. Try May 25 Beet |Egyptian | Apr. 10| June 12| Roots sprangled |Eclipse | Apr. 10| June 14| Better quality Cabbage |Wakefield | Apr. 9 | June 20| Injured by worms. | | | |Hellebore next year Etc., etc. | | | | ——————-|———————-|————|———-|———————————

The above shows how such a record will be kept. Of course, only the first column is written in ahead. I want to emphasize in passing, however, the importance of putting down your data on the day you plant, or harvest, or notice anything worth recording. If you let it go until tomorrow it is very apt to be lacking next year.

Try these four short-cuts to success, even if you have had a garden before. They will make a big difference in your garden; less work and greater results.

CHECK LIST

Jan. 1st—Send for catalogues. Make planting plan and table. Order seeds.

Feb. 1st—Inside: cabbage, cauliflower, first sowing. Onions for plants.

Feb. 15th—Inside: lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, beets.

March 1st—Inside: lettuce, celery, tomato (early).

March 15th—Inside: lettuce, tomato (main), eggplant, pepper, lima beans, cucumber, squash; sprout potatoes in sand.

April 1st—Inside: cauliflower (on sods), muskmelon, watermelon, corn. Outside: (seed-bed) celery, cabbage, lettuce. Onions, carrots, smooth peas, spinach, beets, chard, parsnip, turnip, radish. Lettuce, cabbage (plants).

May 1st—Beans, corn, spinach, lettuce, radish.

May 15th—Beans, limas, muskmelon, watermelon, summer squash, peas, potatoes, lettuce, radish, tomato (early), corn, limas, melon, cucumber and squash (plants). Pole-lima, beets, corn, kale, winter squash, pumpkin, lettuce, radish.

June 1st—Beans, carrots, corn, cucumber, peas, summer spinach, summer lettuce, radish, egg-plant, pepper, tomato (main plants).

June 15th—Beans, corn, peas, turnip, summer lettuce, radish, late cabbage, and tomato plants.

July 1st—Beans, endive, kale, lettuce, radish, winter cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and celery plants.

July 15th—Beans, early corn, early peas, lettuce, radish.

Aug. 1st—Early peas, lettuce, radish.

Aug. 15th—Early peas, lettuce, radish in seed-bed, forcing lettuce for fall in frames.

Sept. 1st—Lettuce, radish, spinach and onions for wintering over.

NOTE.—This list is for planting only (the dates are approximate: see note I at the end of the chapter). Spraying and other garden operations may also be included in such a list. See "Calendar of Operations" at end of book.

PLANTING TABLE

                                    DEPTH TO -DISTANCE APART-
VEGETABLE PLANT[1] SOW—INs. SEEDS[2] ROWS

I. CROPS REMAINING ENTIRE SEASON

Asparagus, seed April-May 1 2-4 in. 15 in.
Asparagus, plants April 4 1 ft. 3 ft.
Bean, pole May 15-June 10 2 3 ft. 3 ft.
Bean, lima May 20-June 10 2 3 ft. 3 ft.
Beet, late April-August 2 3-4 in. 15 in.
Carrot, late May-July 1/2-1 2-3 in. 15 in.
Corn, late May 20-July 10 2 3 ft. 4 ft.
Cucumber May 10-July 15 1 4 ft. 4 ft.
Egg-plant, plants June 1-20 .. 2 ft. 30 in.
Leek April .. 2-4 in. 15 in.
Melon, musk May 15-June 15 1 4 ft. 4 ft.
Melon, water May 15-June 15 1 6-8 ft. 6-8 ft.
Onion April 1/2-1 2-4 in. 15 in.
Okra May 15-June 15 1/2-1 2 ft. 3 ft.
Parsley[4] April-May 1/2 4-6 in. 1 ft.
Parsnip April 1/2-1 3-5 in. 18 in.
Pepper, seed June 1st 1/2 3-6 in. 15 in.
Pepper, plants June 1-20 .. 2 ft. 30 in.
Potatoes, main April 15-June 20 4-6 13 in. 30 in.
Pumpkins May 1-June 20 1-2 6-8 ft. 6-8 ft.
Rhubarb, plants April .. 2-3 ft. 3 ft.
Salsify April-May 1 3-6 in. 18 in.
Squash, summer May 15-July 1 1-2 4 ft. 4 ft.
Squash, winter May 15-June 20 1-2 6-8 ft. 6-8 ft.
Tomato, seed June 1/2 3-4 in. 15 in.
Tomato, plants May 15-July 20 .. 3 ft. 3 ft.

NOTE.—The index reference numbers refer to notes at end of chapter.

—————————+————-+—————————————————————
                  |SEED FOR |
                  | 50 FT. |
VEGETABLE | ROW | VARIETIES
—————————+————-+—————————————————————
Asparagus, seed | 1 oz. | Palmetto, Giant Argenteuil, Barr's
                  | | Mammoth
Asparagus, plants | 50 | Palmetto, Giant Argenteuil, Barr's
                  | | Mammoth
Bean, pole | 1/2 pt. | Kentucky Wonder, Golden, Cluster,
                  | | Burger's Stringless
Bean, lima | 1/2 pt. | Early Leviathan, Giant Podded, Burpee
                  | | Improved
Beet, late | 1 oz. | Crimson Globe
Carrot, late | 1/2 oz. | Danver's Half-long, Ox-heart, Chantenay
Corn, late | 1/2 pt. | Seymour's Sweet Orange, White Evergreen,
                  | | Country Gentleman
Cucumber | 1/2 oz. | Early White Spine, Fordhook Famous, Davis
                  | | Perfect
Egg-plant, plants | 25 | Black Beauty, N.Y. Purple
Leek | 1/2 oz. | American Flag
Melon, musk | 1/2 oz. | Netted Gem, Emerald Gem, Hoodoo
Melon, water | 1/4 oz. | Cole's Early Sweetheart, Halbert Honey
Onion | 1/2 oz. | Prizetaker, Danver's Globe, Ailsa Craig,
                  | | Southport Red Globe, Mammoth
                  | | Silverskin (white)
Okra | 1/2 oz. | Perfected Perkins, White Velvet
Parsley | 1/2 oz. | Emerald
Parsnip | 1/4 oz. | Hollow Crowned (Improved)
Pepper, seed | 1/2 oz. | Ruby King, Chinese Giant
Pepper, plants | 25 | Ruby King, Chinese Giant
Potatoes, main | 1/2 pk. | Irish Cobbler, Green Mountain, Uncle Sam
                  | | (Norton Beauty, Norwood, early)
Pumpkins | 1/4 oz. | Large Cheese, Quaker Pie
Rhubarb, plants | 25 | Myatt's Victoria
Salsify | 3/4 oz. | Mammoth Sandwich
Squash, summer | 1/4 oz. | White Bush, Delicata, Fordhook, Vegetable
                  | | Marrow
Squash, winter | 1/4 oz. | Hubbard, Delicious
Tomato, seed | 1/2 oz. | Earliana, Chalk's Jewel, Matchless, Dwarf
                  | | Giant
Tomato, plants | 20 | Earliana, Chalk's Jewel, Matchless, Dwarf
                  | | Giant
—————————+————-+—————————————————————

PLANTING TABLE

                                    DEPTH TO -DISTANCE APART-
VEGETABLE PLANT[1] SOW—INs. SEEDS[3] ROWS

II. CROPS FOR SUCCESSION PLANTINGS

Bean, dwarf May 5-Aug 15 2 2-4 in. 1-1/2-2 ft.
Kohlrabi[4] April-July 1/2 - 1 6-12 in. 1-1/2-2 ft.
Lettuce[4] April-August 1/2 1 ft. 1-1-1/2 ft.
Peas, smooth April 1-Aug 1 2-3 2-4 in. 3 ft.
Peas, wrinkled April 10-July 15 2-3 2-4 in. 3-4 ft.
Radish April 1-Sept 1 1/2 2-3 in. 1 ft.
Spinach April-Sept 15 1 3-5 in. 18 in.
Turnip April-Sept 1/2-1 4-6 in. 15 in.

III. CROPS TO BE FOLLOWED BY OTHERS

Beet, early April-June 2 3-4 in. 15 in.
Broccoli, early[4] April 1/2-1 1-1/2 ft. 2 ft.
Borecole[4] April 1/2-1 2 ft. 2-1/2 ft.
Brussels sprouts[4] April 1/2-1 1-1/2 ft. 2 ft.
Cabbage, early[4] April 1/2-1 1-1/2 ft. 2 ft.
Carrot April 1/2-1 2-3 in. 15 in.
Cauliflower[4] April 1/2-1 1-1/2 ft. 2 ft.
Com, early May 10-20 2 3 ft. 3-4 ft.
Onion sets April-May 15 1-2 2-4 in. 15 in.
Peas April 1-May 1 2 2-4 in. 3 ft.
Crops in Sec. II.

IV. CROPS THAT MAY FOLLOW OTHERS

Beet, late July-August 2 3-4 in. 15 in.
Borecole May-June[2] 1/2-1 2 ft. 2-1/2 ft.
Broccoli May-June[2] 1/2-1 2 ft. 2-1/2 ft.
Brussels sprouts May-June[2] 1/2-1 1-1/2 ft. 2-1/2 ft.
Cabbage late May-June[2] 1/2-1 2-1/2 ft. 2-1/2 ft.
Cauliflower May-June[2] 1/2-1 2 ft. 2-1/2 ft.
Celery, seed April 1/2 1-2 in. 1 ft.
Celery, plant July 1-Aug 1 .. 6 in. 3-4 ft.
Endive[4] April-August 1/2 1 ft. 1 ft.
Peas, late May 15-Aug 1 2-3 2-4 in. 4 ft.
Crops in Sec. II.

II. CROPS FOR SUCCESSION PLANTINGS

—————————+————-+—————————————————————
                  |SEED FOR |
                  | 50 FT. |
VEGETABLE | ROW | VARIETIES
—————————+————-+—————————————————————
Bean, dwarf | 1 pt. | Red Valentine Burpee's Greenpod,
                  | | Improved Refugee, Brittle Wax,
                  | | Rust-proof Golden Wax, Burpee's
                  | | White Wax
Kohlrabi | 1/4 oz | White Vienna
Lettuce | 50 | Mignonette, Grand Rapids, May King,
                  | | Big Boston, New York, Deacon, Cos,
                  | | Paris White
Peas, smooth | 1 pt | American Wonder
Peas, wrinkled | 1 pt | Gradus, Boston Unrivaled, Quite Content
Radish | 1/2 oz. | Rapid Red, Crimson Globe, Chinese
Spinach | 1/2 oz. | Swiss Chard Beet, Long Season, Victoria
Turnip | 1/3 oz. | White Milan, Petrowski, Golden Ball

III. CROPS TO BE FOLLOWED BY OTHERS

Beet, early | 1 oz. | Edmund's Early, Early Model
Broccoli, early | 35 | Early White French
Borecole | 25 | Dwarf Scotch Curled
Brussels sprouts | 35 | Dalkeith, Danish Prize
Cabbage, early | 35 | Wakefield, Glory of Enkhuisen,
                  | | Early Summer, Succession, Savoy
Carrot | 1/2 oz. | Golden Ball, Early Scarlet Horn
Cauliflower | 35 | Burpee's Best Early, Snowball, Sea-foam
                  | | Dry Weather
Corn, early | 1/3 pt. | Golden Bantam, Peep o' Day, Cory
Onion sets | 2 pt. |
Peas | 1 pt. |

Crops in Sec. II.

IV. CROPS THAT MAY FOLLOW OTHERS

Beet, late | 1 oz. | Crimson Globe
Borecole | 25 | Dwarf Scotch Curled
Broccoli | 25 | Early White French
Brussels sprouts | 35 | Dalkeith, Danish Prize
Cabbage, late | 25 | Succession, Danish Ballhead Drumhead
Cauliflower | 25 | As above [Savoy, Mammoth Rock (red)]
Celery, seed | 1 oz. | White Plume, Golden Self-blanching,
                  | | Winter Queen
Celery, plant | 100 | White Plume, Golden Self-blanching,
                  | | Winter Queen
Endive | 1/2 oz. | Broad-Leaved Batavian, Giant Fringed
Peas, late | 1 pt. | Gradus

Crops in Sec. II.

REFERENCE NOTES FROM THE TABLES

1 In the vicinity of New York City. Each 100 miles north or south will make a difference of 5 to 7 days later or earlier.

2 This is for sowing the seed. It will take three to six weeks before plants are ready. Hence the advantage of using the seed-bed. For instance, you can start your late cabbage about June 15th, to follow the first crop of peas, which should be cleared off by the 10th of July.

3 Distances given are those at which the growing plants should stand, after thinning. Seed in drills should be sown several times as thick.

4 Best started in seed-bed, and afterward transplanted; but may be sown when wanted and afterward thinned to the best plants.

CHAPTER V

IMPLEMENTS AND THEIR USES

It may seem to the reader that it is all very well to make a garden with a pencil, but that the work of transferring it to the soil must be quite another problem and one entailing so much work that he will leave it to the professional market gardener. He possibly pictures to himself some bent-kneed and stoop-shouldered man with the hoe, and decides that after all there is too much work in the garden game. What a revelation would be in store for him if he could witness one day's operations in a modern market garden! Very likely indeed not a hoe would be seen during the entire visit. Modern implements, within less than a generation, have revolutionized gardening.

This is true of the small garden as certainly as of the large one: in fact, in proportion I am not sure but that it is more so—because of the second wonderful thing about modern garden tools, that is, the low prices at which they can be bought, considering the enormous percentage of labor saved in accomplishing results. There is nothing in the way of expense to prevent even the most modest gardener acquiring, during a few years, by the judicious expenditure of but a few dollars annually, a very complete outfit of tools that will handsomely repay their cost.

While some garden tools have been improved and developed out of all resemblance to their original forms, others have changed little in generations, and in probability will remain ever with us. There is a thing or two to say about even the simplest of them, however,— especially to anyone not familiar with their uses.

There are tools for use in every phase of horticultural operations; for preparing the ground, for planting the seed, for cultivation, for protecting crops from insects and disease, and for harvesting.

First of all comes the ancient and honorable spade, which, for small garden plots, borders, beds, etc., must still be relied upon for the initial operation in gardening—breaking up the soil. There are several types, but any will answer the purpose. In buying a spade look out for two things: see that it is well strapped up the handle in front and back, and that it hangs well. In spading up ground, especially soil that is turfy or hard, the work may be made easier by taking a strip not quite twice as wide as the spade, and making diagonal cuts so that one vertical edge of the spade at each thrust cuts clean out to where the soil has already been dug. The wide-tined spading-fork is frequently used instead of the spade, as it is lighter and can be more advantageously used to break up lumps and level off surfaces. In most soils it will do this work as well, if not better, than the spade and has the further good quality of being serviceable as a fork too, thus combining two tools in one. It should be more generally known and used. With the ordinary fork, used for handling manure and gathering up trash, weeds, etc., every gardener is familiar. The type with oval, slightly up-curved tines, five or six in number, and a D handle, is the most convenient and comfortable for garden use.

For areas large enough for a horse to turn around in, use a plow. There are many good makes. The swivel type has the advantage of turning all the furrows one way, and is the best for small plots and sloping ground. It should turn a clean, deep furrow. In deep soil that has long been cultivated, plowing should, with few exceptions, be down at least to the subsoil; and if the soil is shallow it will be advisable to turn up a little of the subsoil, at each plowing—not more than an inch—in order that the soil may gradually be deepened. In plowing sod it will be well to have the plow fitted with a coulter, which turns a miniature furrow ahead of the plowshare, thus covering under all sods and grass and getting them out of the way of harrows and other tools to be used later. In plowing under tall-growing green manures, like rye, a heavy chain is hung from the evener to the handle, thus pulling the crop down into the furrow so that it will all be covered under. Where drainage is poor it will be well to break up the subsoil with a subsoil plow, which follows in the wake of the regular plow but does not lift the subsoil to the surface.

TOOLS FOR PREPARING THE SEED-BED

The spade or spading-fork will be followed by the hoe, or hook, and the iron rake; and the plow by one or more of the various types of harrow. The best type of hoe for use after the spade is the wide, deep-bladed type. In most soils, however, this work may be done more expeditiously with the hook or prong-hoe (see illustration). With this the soil can be thoroughly pulverized to a depth of several inches. In using either, be careful not to pull up manure or trash turned under by the spade, as all such material if left covered will quickly rot away in the soil and furnish the best sort of plant food. I should think that our energetic manufactures would make a prong-hoe with heavy wide blades, like those of the spading-fork, but I have never seen such an implement, either in use or advertised.

What the prong-hoe is to the spade, the harrow is to the plow. For general purposes the Acme is an excellent harrow. It is adjustable, and for ground at all mellow will be the only one necessary; set it, for the first time over, to cut in deep; and then, set for leveling, it will leave the soil in such excellent condition that a light hand- raking (or, for large areas, the Meeker smoothing-harrow) will prepare it for the finest of seeds, such as onions and carrots. The teeth of the Acme are so designed that they practically constitute a gang of miniature plows. Of disc harrows there are a great many makes. The salient feature of the disc type is that they can tear up no manure, grass or trash, even when these are but partly turned under by the plow. For this reason it is especially useful on sod or other rough ground. The most convenient harrow for putting on the finishing touches, for leveling off and fining the surface of the soil, is the lever spike-tooth. It is adjustable and can be used as a spike-tooth or as a smoothing harrow.

Any of the harrows mentioned above (except the Meeker) and likewise the prong-hoe, will have to be followed by the iron rake when preparing the ground for small-seeded garden vegetables. Get the sort with what is termed the "bow" head (see illustration) instead of one in which the head is fastened directly to the end of the handle. It is less likely to get broken, and easier to use. There is quite a knack in manipulating even a garden rake, which will come only with practice. Do not rake as though you were gathering up leaves or grass. The secret in using the garden rake is not to gather things up. Small stones, lumps of earth and such things, you of course wish to remove. Keep these raked off ahead of where you are leveling the soil, which is accomplished with a backward-and-forward movement of the rake.

The tool-house of every garden of any size should contain a seed-drill. Labor which is otherwise tedious and difficult is by it rendered mere play—as well as being better done. The operations of marking the row, opening the furrow, dropping the seed at the proper depth and distance, covering immediately with fresh earth, and firming the soil, are all done at one fell swoop and as fast as you can walk. It will even drop seeds in hills. But that is not all: it may be had as part of a combination machine, which, after your seeds are planted—with each row neatly rolled on top, and plainly visible—may be at once transformed into a wheel hoe that will save you as much time in caring for your plants as the seed-drill did in planting your seed. Hoeing drudgery becomes a thing of the past. The illustration herewith shows such a machine, and some of the varied attachments which may be had for it. There are so many, and so varied in usefulness, that it would require an entire chapter to detail their special advantages and methods of use. The catalogues describing them will give you many valuable suggestions; and other ways of utilizing them will discover themselves to you in your work.

Valuable as the wheel hoe is, however, and varied in its scope of work, the time-tried hoe cannot be entirely dispensed with. An accompanying photograph [ED. Not shown here] shows four distinct types, all of which will pay for themselves in a garden of moderate size. The one on the right is the one most generally seen; next to it is a modified form which personally I prefer for all light work, such as loosening soil and cutting out weeds. It is lighter and smaller, quicker and easier to handle. Next to this is the Warren, or heart-shaped hoe, especially valuable in opening and covering drills for seed, such as beans, peas or corn. The scuffle-hoe, or scarifier, which completes the four, is used between narrow rows for shallow work, such as cutting off small weeds and breaking up the crust. It has been rendered less frequently needed by the advent of the wheel hoe, but when crops are too large to admit of the use of the latter, the scuffle-hoe is still an indispensable time-saver.

There remains one task connected with gardening that is a bug-bear. That is hand-weeding. To get down on one's hands and knees, in the blistering hot dusty soil, with the perspiration trickling down into one's eyes, and pick small weedlets from among tender plantlets, is not a pleasant occupation. There are, however, several sorts of small weeders which lessen the work considerably. One or another of the common types will seem preferable, according to different conditions of soil and methods of work. Personally, I prefer the Lang's for most uses. The angle blade makes it possible to cut very near to small plants and between close-growing plants, while the strap over the back of a finger or thumb leaves the fingers free for weeding without dropping the instrument.

There are two things to be kept in mind about hand-weeding which will reduce this work to the minimum. First, never let the weeds get a start; for even if they do not increase in number, if they once smother the ground or crop, you will wish you had never heard of a garden. Second, do your hand-weeding while the surface soil is soft, when the weeds come out easily. A hard-crusted soil will double and treble the amount of labor required.

It would seem that it should be needless, when garden tools are such savers of labor, to suggest that they should be carefully kept, always bright and clean and sharp, and in repair. But such advice is needed, to judge by most of the tools one sees.

Always have a piece of cloth or old bag on hand where the garden tools are kept, and never put them away soiled and wet. Keep the cutting edges sharp. There is as much pleasure in trying to run a dull lawnmower as in working with a rusty, battered hoe. Have an extra handle in stock in case of accident; they are not expensive. In selecting hand tools, always pick out those with handles in which the grain does not run out at the point where there will be much strain in using the tool. In rakes, hoes, etc., get the types with ferrule and shank one continuous piece, so as not to be annoyed with loose heads.

Spend a few cents to send for some implement catalogues. They will well repay careful perusal, even if you do not order this year. In these days of intensive advertising, the commercial catalogue often contains matter of great worth, in the gathering and presentation of which no expense has been spared.

FOR FIGHTING PLANT ENEMIES

The devices and implements used for fighting plant enemies are of two sorts:—(1) those used to afford mechanical protection to the plants; (2) those used to apply insecticides and fungicides. Of the first the most useful is the covered frame. It consists usually of a wooden box, some eighteen inches to two feet square and about eight high, covered with glass, protecting cloth, mosquito netting or mosquito wire. The first two coverings have, of course, the additional advantage of retaining heat and protecting from cold, making it possible by their use to plant earlier than is otherwise safe. They are used extensively in getting an extra early and safe start with cucumbers, melons and the other vine vegetables.

Simpler devices for protecting newly-set plants, such as tomatoes or cabbage, from the cut-worm, are stiff, tin, cardboard or tar paper collars, which are made several inches high and large enough to be put around the stem and penetrate an inch or so into the soil.

For applying poison powders, such as dry Paris green, hellebore and tobacco dust, the home gardener should supply himself with a powder gun. If one must be restricted to a single implement, however, it will be best to get one of the hand-power, compressed-air sprayers—either a knapsack pump or a compressed-air sprayer—types of which are illustrated. These are used for applying wet sprays, and should be supplied with one of the several forms of mist-making nozzles, the non- cloggable automatic type being the best. For more extensive work a barrel pump, mounted on wheels, will be desirable, but one of the above will do a great deal of work in little time. Extension rods for use in spraying trees and vines may be obtained for either. For operations on a very small scale a good hand-syringe may be used, but as a general thing it will be best to invest a few dollars more and get a small tank sprayer, as this throws a continuous stream or spray and holds a much larger amount of the spraying solution. Whatever type is procured, get a brass machine—it will out-wear three or four of those made of cheaper metal, which succumbs very quickly to the, corroding action of the strong poisons and chemicals used in them.

Of implements for harvesting, beside the spade, prong-hoe and spading- fork already mentioned, very few are used in the small garden, as most of them need not only long rows to be economically used, but horse- power also. The onion harvester attachment for the double wheel hoe, costing $1.00, may be used with advantage in loosening onions, beets, turnips, etc., from the soil or for cutting spinach. Running the hand- plow close on either side of carrots, parsnips and other deep-growing vegetables will aid materially in getting them out. For fruit picking, with tall trees, the wire-fingered fruit-picker, secured to the end of a long handle, will be of great assistance, but with the modern method of using low-headed trees it will not be needed.

Another class of garden implements are those used in pruning—but where this is attended to properly from the start, a good sharp jack-knife and a pair of pruning shears (the English makes are the best, as they are in some things, when we are frank enough to confess the truth) will easily handle all the work of the kind necessary.

Still another sort of garden device is that used for supporting the plants; such as stakes, trellises, wires, etc. Altogether too little attention usually is given these, as with proper care in storing over winter they will not only last for years, but add greatly to the convenience of cultivation and to the neat appearance of the garden. Various contrivances are illustrated in the seed catalogues, and many may be home-made—such as a stake-trellis for supporting beans.

As a final word to the intending purchaser of garden tools, I would say: first thoroughly investigate the different sorts available, and when buying, do not forget that a good tool or a well-made machine will be giving you satisfactory use long, long after the price is forgotten, while a poor one is a constant source of discomfort. Get good tools, and take good care of them. And let me repeat that a few dollars a year, judiciously spent, for tools afterward well cared for, will soon give you a very complete set, and add to your garden profit and pleasure.