The garden yard

If this book is to be of real service, we must be clear about the terms and expressions, so that, though you may know nothing about gardening when you begin to read it, you may know enough to earn a living from the soil when you finish it—and practice a little.

Many talk glibly enough about the soil, though few could tell exactly what it means. But market-gardeners must understand it, if they are to live by it. So it will be well to begin with the soil itself. Soil is that thin layer of earth that covers our globe like a blanket, and in which all that plants, beasts and men live upon, grows. If it were washed off, starvation would follow. The scientific explanation of the origin of this blanket, is, that it was formed by the action of heat, cold, water, frost, ice, low forms of vegetable life and tiny animals; sometimes working singly and sometimes all together. It is now established that the most of the face of the earth was once rock which was rubbed, crushed and ground by these forces until this surface layer was made. Then higher forms of life became possible. Not centuries only, but aeons of time, were necessary to accomplish this. Layer upon layer of finely crushed particles were exposed to the action of the air which completed the work the grinding of Nature’s forces had begun.

To follow out the story of the development of the soil is a most fascinating study, and if you have time from your other interests, you will be glad that you took it up; for though you may be a good farmer without this knowledge, you will be a better one with it, because you will be more intelligent and sympathetic. The soil-blanket holds within its warm folds all that is necessary for life, and the wonder of it all increases the more we learn about the millions of years and numberless forces employed to bring it to this state of perfection. If Nature has not wearied in her great work, there is poor excuse for the gardener to shirk or neglect the labor necessary to get the best possible results from any given piece of soil.

Nobody yet knows what are the best possible results from any given piece of soil; for since new discoveries are being made every year, we can show only what has so far been done with the best knowledge and skill at our disposal. One man in Pennsylvania is selling his soil; not his crop, at $1.50 per bushel to inoculate other ground.

The fine, fertile layer of earth that is called soil does not go very deep. It covers another layer which is harder, coarser, colder than itself, and this second layer is known as the subsoil, or that soil which is under the surface layer. In all temperate climes the difference is strongly marked, but in rainless, sun-dried regions there is often no difference to be noted. The intelligent farmer or gardener has the opportunity to decide just how much of that subsoil he will convert into surface soil, and the means of doing this will be disclosed later under the head of “Tillage.” The more of it he brings into use the greater his own profit, so that it pays to know how. In the early days of farming no effort was made to bring the subsoil into use, and consequently the returns from agriculture were small. Now we know better than that, and we also know how to get more out of the soil, whether surface or subsoil.

No soil, no garden; so the new gardener must get acquainted with the ground he intends to cultivate. It is not to be denied that soil which is in good tilth will be a great help to the beginner, but that is only to be had in well-cultivated gardens, which usually bring a good price when found in the market. Besides, with proper care and attention, any well situated soil can be made to yield good returns, and the gardener who is not disposed to give proper care and attention will find nothing in this book, or in any other, that will teach him how to succeed. The German idea is that a good soil is merely a place to put fertilizers (and German ideas on gardening are not to be despised). This is simply another way of repeating that, with brains and work any soil can be made to yield good returns. It is not safe, however, to trust to the “Light of Nature” as to what “proper care and attention” is, so here are the details.

If you are already settled and are planning to use your back yard for a garden, you will have to take the soil as it is, and by your own effort make it what it should be. There is no cause for despair no matter what it may be. A back yard that was trodden almost as compact as asphalt, and whose clods when dug had to be broken up with an axe, was made to yield a large variety of flowers the first season it was planted. So go ahead and do what you can with what you have. But, if you are hunting for a garden plot, bear in mind the importance of soil texture. You may thereby save yourself both time and labor.

The first thing is to examine the soil to determine whether it is sandy or clayey, dry or moist, light or heavy, well drained or wet; whether it is warm and live, or cold and dead. You will then learn what sort of cultivation is best for your particular plot of ground.

Because in your neighbor’s garden a certain treatment has been successful, is not saying that it will give the same results in yours, unless all the conditions are the same. For instance, his light, sandy loam needs little cultivation, and your soil may be hard and clayey. In that case you would have to make up the difference by careful work.

There are “gardeners” who think it is sufficient barely to break up the ground, add a little manure or other fertilizer, and scatter seeds. That they get any sort of results only shows how willing Nature is to give a return on the slightest labor. But Nature is wise as well as willing, and therefore gives lavishly to him only, who, by intelligent labor, deserves the best returns.

Therefore, learn the needs of your soil and supply them, and you will have no cause to complain of the niggardliness of Mother Nature to those of her children who feed at her bosom.

Plants often die for lack of moisture in the soil, and this condition cannot be satisfactorily remedied by the watering-can. The trouble lies back of such surface treatment and can only be cured by getting at the cause. The soil should be so prepared by tillage that it will catch and hold enough water to supply the plants with the moisture they need even through hot, dry spells. Plants draw their nourishment through their roots to their stems and leaves, and you need only examine the fine roots and rootlets of any plant to realize for yourself that such nourishment could not be taken in in a solid form. Plants are constantly drawing this moisture from the soil and as constantly giving it off into the air through their leaves. If you will watch any plant during a drought, you will see the leaves begin to shrivel before the stems or branches show signs of suffering. This is Nature’s effort to sustain the life of the plant as long as possible. The shrivelling of the leaves prevents the escape of the little moisture the plant can draw, and retains it longer within the plant’s system.

Deep plowing, the breaking up of the subsoil, the addition of decaying vegetable matter or humus, fertilizing with stable manure, and the raising of crops that can be frequently tilled, all help to add moisture to the soil. If you do these and the dry spell does strike you hard, so that it seems necessary to bring water, the soil will suck it and hold it, instead of letting it pass off quickly through the action of sun and air. Frequent stirring of the surface soil, to the depth of one inch, will make a little dry layer or top-coat through which the moisture does not readily escape. This is what is called a “mulch.” A mulch may also be an added coat of leaf-mould or stable-litter or any little dry covering which will prevent the moisture from escaping.

For early crops a light, sandy loam is best. A sandy loam is a loose, sandy soil made productive by good tillage, by mixing in humus and plant food or fertilizer. But when you haven’t the best, it is for you to counterfeit it as nearly as possible. The advantages of sandy loam are that it is early, easy to work, responds quickly to fertilizers and is readily kept in good tilth.

“Tilth” is really the planting condition of the soil, and good tilth means the best possible conditions for planting seeds; where the plow and the harrow have done their work; where the sun has warmed and the rain moistened; where the fertilizer has sweetened and quickened; where stones and weeds are unknown, so that the new life finds the best conditions for sprouting and developing. You will understand why such soil is not often in the market. It is Nature’s materials plus man’s intelligent labor; and he who has it, is usually found working it to his own profit.

Some soils are easily put into condition: others require much time and labor, but all always repay. It is well, however, to avoid a hard, cold, clayey soil if possible; it takes so long to warm up, that the seeds make little progress. Of course, steady persistent effort will greatly improve even this soil, and if that is the sort you have, you must do your best with it, but the average gardener cannot afford to wait.

Compared with agriculture, which has been known in some form ever since there have been any records, tillage is very new. Like many another important thing, it was discovered quite accidentally by an English farmer, named Jethro Tull. He found that by stirring up the soil about his plants, he got better returns; and gave his discovery to the world. But he could not explain why it was so; he merely knew the fact itself. Science has since discovered that it is due to the action of the air in helping to break up the many compounds found in the earth containing plant food. It was a simple thing, yet it has really revolutionized gardening. Before tillage was known the returns from the sort of cultivation in use were very scanty, and this book had never been written had Tull’s discovery never been made. So you may be able to do the world a great favor if you cultivate intelligently, not fearing to experiment or to make known the results of your experiments. It may be reserved for you, in your little garden patch, to discover some new truth that will prove a blessing to the whole world, for no science today offers so wide a field for discovery as the science of Agriculture, nor so sure a return for labor expended.

There is a story that illustrates the value of tillage. A man lay dying and as his four sons gathered about his bed he whispered feebly, “My sons, there is a great treasure hidden in the garden.” Scarcely had they laid the body of their father away, when the sons went to the garden and began digging it up. They dug every inch carefully, and found nothing for their pains. Then the eldest son, being of a practical turn of mind, suggested to his brothers that they plant the garden and thus secure some return for their labor. This they did, and when harvest-time came the returns were so wonderfully increased that they said, “Now we know what our father meant. Let us seek like treasure in all our fields.” And in every garden and field lies hidden the same treasure that can be revealed only by the expenditure of intelligent labor.

Tillage is an art in itself, and very important to success. There are two kinds—the tillage of preparation and the tillage of maintenance. They are widely different in their purpose and effect. The average farmer thinks that both may be carried on at the same time, and this belief may be in part the cause of his failures.

The tillage of preparation includes not merely the breaking up of the soil by the plow, but pulverizing it for as great a depth as the roots of the plants will reach. How deep that may be, depends upon the character of the soil and of the crops. For example, a hard soil with a subsoil near the surface, must be plowed deep; so that the root crops, which run deep, may find sustenance. On the other hand, sandy soil, or one which leaches away, can stand only shallow plowing, as we must hold the subsoil firm to prevent leaching. So that, even in the tillage of preparation it comes back to the same point, to learn the needs of your particular soil and supply them.

The tillage of maintenance should be given as often as once a week or ten days, and is merely that surface loosening which enables the soil to drink in the rain and withstand the heat of the sun. The loosened surface will not cake about the plants, and it makes a layer of mulch for the protection of the under soil.

By the addition of humus, or vegetable matter, a clayey soil may be put in condition so that it will respond to further tillage as satisfactorily as the lighter, sandy loam. This is the way to “counterfeit the best soil.”

Humus is added by plowing into the land vegetable matter which is in condition to rot quickly and become thoroughly mixed with the soil. Rye, clover, cornstalks, vines or other garden waste, and manure, are commonly used. Manure that contains a large proportion of stable litter and sweepings, and street sweepings, are especially rich in humus, and are much sought after by experienced gardeners. By adding them, the texture of the soil is lightened and improved, made loose and mellow so as to hold moisture, and is at the same time prevented from caking. Moreover, humus contains plant food and heat that make seed sprouting easy.

The amateur gardener seldom recognizes the importance of the physical texture of the soil, but the best results demand the best conditions. Unless you want to grow pears and plums—which thrive in clayey soil—break up the clayey earth and improve its texture in every way. Your garden will repay you, and you won’t go about denouncing those who have written books about the possibilities of small areas as wilful deceivers of the guileless and unwary. Get it firmly fixed in your mind to start with, that, if your garden does not yield adequate returns upon your labor, the fault is yours. You are working unintelligently, and deserve no more than you are getting. To know your soil is to be able to give it the treatment it needs to make it fruitful.