The H o me

Ve g e t a b l e G a r d e n

By
AD O L PH R U HM
!

IL L U STR ATED

BHWV YO RK

O RANGE !UDD C O MPA NY

LONDON
K EGAN PAUL , T R EN C H, T R fiBN ER a co .
, La mi na
1 91 7
 Cop yri g ht. 19 14, b y

OR ANGE !UD D COMPANY

A ll R ig ht: R eser v ed

Em u !! A1 Sm uonnns HAL L , L ONDON .

’

Printed in U S A
. . .
 P REFAC E

Notwithstan d i n g the f a c t that w e a re a

nation of tillers of the soil dependable i n ,

formatio n ou th e subject of gardening i s

scarce M ost books available are either too
.

technical or too theoretical M any years of .

p ractical experience as both seedsman and

gardener have taught me the needs of the
average home gardener This book i s i n .

tended to fill these needs .

The second part contains the most reliable

and up to date advice obtainable on the
- -

varieties of vegetables Strictly unbiased

.

judgment i s exercised in my r ecommenda

tion of the various sorts for several seasons ,

sections and soils The descriptions are d i c

.

ta te d by experience which h a s p roved th e

,

truest teacher of all .

T ha t this book may help to c onve rt many

would be gardeners into true gardeners and
-

cause others to get sta rted i n th e work is my

fond hope .

ADOL PH K RU HM .

Col u mbus , O h i o Fe bruary

,
I st, 1 9 1 4.

31 54 4 0
 TABLE O F CO NT ENT S
'5
‘

T H E LOCATION H
T H E SOI L N
PR EPARING TH E GROU ND W
SPADING OR P LOW ING F
-

MAK ING A P LA N F
-

FI! ING TH E PLANTING SEASO N

N

PUTTING SEEDS IN TH E GROU ND Q

D E PTH To Sow SE EDS O
K EE PING R ECORDS O
‘

SUCC ESSIVE P LAN TING O

CR OP ROTATI ON
INT EN SIVE C U LTI VATION
C U LTI VATION T HR OU G H OU T TH E SEASON
SAVE EVERYT HING
C LEAR E GR OU ND
TH

PR EPAR E R EST OF GARDEN

HOTBED CON STR U CTION AN D M ANAGEM E NT
UP T O D ATE VE GETAB LES
- -

As para g us
Bean s
Bush Beans
Pol e Bea ns

L ima Beans
Bee ts
Swiss Char d
Br usse ls Sp r o u ts
 THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

C auli flowe r
Carro ts
C el e ry
Swee t Co r n
Cucumbe rs
Eg g p l a n t s
E n dive
Ka l e
K ohl r abi
L e ek
Le tt uce
M uskmelon s
W ate rmelo ns
M ustard
O k ra
O n io ns
Pa rsl ey
Pa rsn i ps
Pea s
Peppe rs
Pumpk i n s
Ra dishes
Rhubarb
Sa l si fy
Sp i n ach
S! uashes
T omatoes
T ur ni ps a nd R u t abag as
VEG ETABLE P LA NTING T A BL E
 PA R T I

T H E HO M E VE GE TA BL E GA R D E N

N c onnect i o n w i th gardens learn to t ake

,

things as they a re ra ther tha n to wa i t for

,

things as they should be according to the

opinions of many write rs Th e re will then
.

be more and be tter ga rdens Few pl a ces are

.

ide a lly adapted to garden making B ut this .

should not prevent anyone from making a

serious attempt to have a home garden for ,

in no other way c a n really fresh and whole

some vegetables co m e w i th i n the reach
of all .

The L oca ti on. T ake a ny piece of bare

ground s i ze 20 by 20 fee t and larger and it
, ,

may become the basis of a garden O nly .

one requisite is a bsolute ly necessa r y that is—

a c e rtain amount of sunlight Good ga rde ns

.

may be s ee n even i n crowded ci ty yards

wh ere the sun sh i ne s only a few hours each
day If th e g arden gets sun from 9 o clock
.
’

i n th e mornin g until 3 o cloc k i n the a fter

’
 THE HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

no o n a lmost a ny vege tab le can b e grown in

,

i t a nd by actual exp e riment it ha s been

, ,

proved that many standard vege tables are

s a tisfie d with less .

A n ideal home veget able gard e n would

b e a piec e of ground size 50 b y 1 00 f ee t , ,

away from trees or house gently slop i ng ,

toward t he south B y careful management .

a nd intensive culti vation such a garden c a n ,

b e m a d e to supply all the vegetables a fam

i l y of six can eat b es i des o fferin g c hanc e s
,

to grow some flowers and berri es .

The S oi l M ost wri te rs on ga rd e n i ng

.

topics discourage the beg inner at the start

by layi n g too much emphasis upon th e
“
p roper soil Few people have access to
!
.

i deal soil but all can i mprove what they

,

have Actual exp e ri e nce with and study of

.

th e so il at one s disposal will soon reve al

’

w ha t i s nee de d If the so i l i s h e avy a n d

.

sticky cl ay i t needs sand or ashes and h umus

,
.

I f so il is th i n and sandy i t n eeds plen ty of ,

b a rnyard m a nure supp leme nte d by g ree n

,

c ove r c rops such as w i nte r vetch or rye dur

,

i n g the win ter A goo d s a ndy loam is the

.
.

2
 THE H OM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

’
i de a l soil fo r a gar d e n O n e s eason s exp er i
.

ment should teach what the soil needs .

P r epa r i ng the Gr o und M ost soils a re

.

devoid of humus which is another n ame for

,

d e composed vegetable matter In humus .

d ev e lops those bacteria essential to thrifty

ve getation . N 0 better thing e xists for
putting humus in the soil th an plen ty O twell
rotted stable manure O n most soils too
.

much of it cannot be used th ough w i th some

,

crops like tomatoes i t develops more Vine

, ,

than i s desir able .

S ca tter th e manure evenly over the ga r

den . eral a l i ca ti on would b e 0

bus he l wheel ba z mwl oa d for fi ery 4 sg ua r c

,

y ards . This w i lW A infi hfi S-d

m—

w i th manure which , wh e n dug i nto the

round will rais e th e beds 2 to i nches
b
a ove the p a ths In addition it pays i n con
.
,

ne cti on with c ertain c rops to use some good

,

commerc ia l ferti liz e r These should be a p

.

pl ie d e i ther broadcast after the soil i s dug ,

a nd raked care fully i nto th e surfac e or they ,

may b e scattered alon g th e rows of vegeta

b les dur i n g development Sp eci fi c di rec
.

3
 TH E H OM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

t io ns for thi s w i l l b e found u nd e r the v arious

chapters on up to date vege tables
- -
.

Sp a d i ng or Pl ow i ng Where the li m i ts
.

o f th e garden do not e xc e ed 40 o r 50 feet

! the size of an avera g e kitche n garden ! i t

pays we ll to dig by h and Never spade .

more on any one day than can be planted

th a t day for should it rain overnight on
,

ground not pl a nted the spading will have

,

to be done over again If the garden is

.

larger have it plowed and se e th a t the man

,

s e ts his plowshare a t least I O inc h es deep ,

p rov i ded the soil is deep enough to stand

such a depth Then smooth the ground with
.

a r ake getting it as level as possible so h e avy

,

rains will not l e ave water on the beds Such .

portions of the garden as re ceive drench i ng

r a ins after plowing should be stirred deeply
,

w i th a wheel hoe o r a cultivator be fore r ak

in g as a hard subsoil will prove detrim en ta l
,

to many crops . B e p a rticul a r about the

p re paration of th e so i l It s aves h a rd b ack
.
,

breaking cultiva ti on a f te rwards .

M a k i ng a P l a n N 0 other f a ctor in g a r
.

den m a k i n g is a s sadly ne glected as the plan

4
 TH E H OME VEGETABLE GARDEN

n i n g o f the wo rk on p a p er M ost p l a n te rs
.

underestimate the importan ce of this phase ,

yet non e would think of building a house

without bluep ri nts H aphazard planting is
.

responsible for most of the indi fferent re

sul ts met with in home ga rdens A well
.

thought out plan is necessary in order to

take care o f p roper crop rotation o ne of —

the most vital factors in connection with

home gardens wh e re a small area has to be a r
several crops in the course o f a season .

O n a pi e ce o f paper draw the outline of

the g arden to a definite scale say one —

fourth inc h for every foot M ark in the

.

white spac e th e various rows and beds o f

eve ry vegetable to b e grown Keep a mem
.

or a ndum book besides and mark down dates

when crops ma ture and second sowin gs are

made In this way only can one hope to
.

make the best out of garde ning opportuni

ties.

PLAN TI NG TH E GARDEN
All vegetables may b e divided i nto two
broad c lasses according to the mann e r in
5
 TH E HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

w hich they b ea r thei r p roduc ts :Root cro p s ,

those which bear thei r e dible produ c t be

neath the soil ; and bushes or Vines , which
“
yield their pro duct a bove ground Vin .

ing vegetables are used sparingly in most

!

home garde ns because the space they occupy

i s sadly out of p roportion to the valu e of the
c rops they bear Almost everybody grows a
.

few cucumbers but there is littl e excuse for

,

growing melons pumpkins and Vining

,

squashes in the limited a rea of th e hom e

gard e n .

F ix i ng the P l a nti ng S ea s on Th e root

.
,

plant and bush vegetables may in turn be , ,

subdivid e d again in early midseason and ,

late kinds according to their season of plant

i ng and maturing Nearly all impo rtant
.

vegetables like beans radishes lettuce i n

, , , ,

cl ude types for all seasons Special refer

.

ence to th is is made u n der the respective

chapter heads .

The first vegetables that may safely be

planted in all sections as soon as the ground
can be dug a nd raked are onion sets rad , ,

i sh e s le ttuce mustard smooth se e ded pe a s

, , ,
-
,

6
C u um b er
c !top !
, Ca nt a l o up e !middl e !
, W a t e r me l on !b o t t om !
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

spin ac h a nd e arly c abb age Th e av e ra ge

.

planting date for these in th e lati tud e of

New York i s Ap ril 1 0 These are the hard i
.

e st of all vegetables which stand li g ht frosts

,

wi thou t injury a nd th rive wel l i n cool

weather A week to 1 0 days after th a t beets
.
,

carrots endi Ve kale onion s e ed w rinkl ed

, , , ,

peas and early turnips may fo l low .

Any time after M ay first som e o f th e ,

e arliest and hardiest vari e ties of swee t c orn ,

bush beans !not L imas ! okra parsley pars

, , ,

nips and salsify may be sown F inally be .

,

t ween M ay 1 5 and D ecoration D ay i t be ,

comes safe to plant out all the rest of the

vege tabl es the plan calls for w i nding up ,

the o perations by setting out tomatoes pep ,

per and eggplants about the last of M ay

,
.

None of the Vining plants such a s cucum ,

bers melons and squashes should be plante d

, ,

before M ay 1 5 M ost gardeners are in too

.

big a hurry to start these th i ngs and as a t e

sult often court disappointment and failure .

P utti ng S e e ds i n the Gr ound With a .

few exceptions as menti oned below make

, ,

it a ru le to pl ant eve rythi n g in long, str ai gh t

7
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

rows The adva ntage of planti n g i n stra i ght

.

rows i s so obvious that it i s really surprising

why people adhere so long to the old method
“
of making beds Straight rows simplify
.
!

planting facilitate cultivation and eliminate

,

much back breaking work If a horse cul

-
.

tiv a tor i s available place rows 3 feet apart

,
.

If cultivation is done by wheel hoe put rows

from 1 2 to 2 4 inches apart a ccording to the ,

vegetables .

A safe rule to follow i s to allow a s much

space be tween the rows as the lants are tall
when full rown For instance i f bush
.
,

beans g row 1 2 inches tall allow 1 2 inches ,

space o n either side of the row or 2 4 inches

be tween two rows The planter will be on
.

the safe side to apply this rule to all dw a rf

vegetables Tall plants like staked toma
.
,

toes pole beans o r tall varieties of peas

, ,

should h ave 2 % to 3 feet be tween th e rows

or hills Vining plants such as cucumbers
.
,

and muskmelons may be planted in hills 3

.

feet apart each way and the plants p i nched ,

back as soon as they reach the limit of their

allotted space .

8
 TH E HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

the ga rden i t sho uld be dec i ded to keep

,

records Garden records require a note

.

book and wooden labels E ach sort of veg e

.

table planted should have an allotted space

in the notebook E ach vegetable row should
.

be p roperly marked in the garden with an

inch wide foot label such a s can b e bought
-
,

for 1 0 cents a dozen O n e ach label should

.

be the name of the vegetable and the date

when seeds were planted or plants se t out .

As the rows bear crops m a rk in th e note ,

book additional dates quantities ha r vested

, ,

special obse r vations etc Thos e who p r a c

,
.

tice this will soon learn to look upon garden

ing a s a mighty educational factor It is .

safe to state that the knowledge acquire d in

this manner will be worth quite as mu ch as
the value of the garden p rodu c t .

S uccess iv e P l a nti ng The i dea l garden

.

will furnish a continuous supply of the best

liked vegetables throughout the season Two .

methods ar e op e n by which this ideal may be

realized e i the r su c cess i ve p lantings o r
—

selection of sorts that cover the season from

ea rly to l a te M any fa c tors make th e first
.

10
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

way the e a sier and more desirable Few .

persons are su ffi ciently familiar with the

number of days required by certain varieties
to reach maturity True one reads tha t this .
,

i s a 60 day co m the next sort a mi dse a

“ “ !
-
,
“
son variety and the next a late kind
!
B ut
such terms mean little even to the ex p e r i

e nce d gardeners because local conditions

, ,

soil climate amount of moisture etc alter

, , ,
.
,

ci rcumstances to such an extent that a

“
s cience of ga rdening cannot b e estab !

l i shed .

M ake successive plantings o f the vari e ties

best enjoyed governed by the amount Of
,

crop one would like to secure For instanc e .

,

if snap beans are a favorite plant 30 feet o f

-
,

row every other week from M ay 1 5 until

Au gust I for a f amily of four Even th i s .

rule will vary according to the var i ety

planted M any o f the choicest strains of
.

vegetables are shy yi elders so if a taste i s ,

cultivated for some of them it requi res a ,

ye ar s record to figure corre ctly how much

’

and how often they should be planted f or

su c c e ssive crops .

I I
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARD EN

The question of s u cc ess i ve crop s s ho u ld

really b e considered when the original pl a n
i s made It w i ll be necessary to reserve cer
.

tain S pace for later plantings ; should th e

garde n be planted completely a t the start ,

th e re wou l d be a su rplus of vegetables one

week a nd a d e arth the next
,
.

Cr op R ota ti o n . In connection w i th suc

cessi ve plantings it pays to give attention to

the p roper rotation of crops M ake it a rule

.

never to plant the same vegetable on the

same piece of ground two years in succes
sion This rule alone makes the ke e p i n g of
.

records and the drawing of a plan a neces

si ty for memory cannot be depended upon
,

to tell correctly what occup i ed o ne spot o r

another the year before .

E ach vege table takes c ertain el emen ts out

o f the ground Plant th e sam e vegetable on
.

the same spot f or several years and soon th e

soil will become exh austed o f th at special
p lant food dep,
r i v i ng the vegetable o f one
qual i ty or another O nly one garden crop I
.

know s eems indi fferent about the enforce

men t o f thi s rule the on i on B u t eve n ou
—
.

12
 TH E H OM E VEGETABLE GARD EN

i ons be co me subj ec t to a ttacks b y the oni o n

maggot if plante d in th e sam e l oc a tion ye a r
after year .

O ne of th e b e st sugge stio ns wh ich w i ll ,

help greatly to solve the problem of crop r o

“
t a ti on is offered in W a tts s book
,
Vegetable ’
,

Gardening B efore planting and while

.
!

planning the garden group the various ,

vegetables according to their h abit of

growth root crops salad plants vegetables
, , ,

formin g bushes etc Then plant them in ,

.

g roups a nd the followin g s e ason shift the

groups to d i fferent rows This will save the .

e ndless j ob of m a rkin g m a ny rows in th e

noteboo k .

Within th e limite d area of the h ome g ar

den the strain ou fertili ty i s naturally great
,
.

Good f a rmers in addition to p ra cticing

,

crop rotation give the i r field s a rest after a

,

number of years by p u tt i ng them i n sod ,

clover or pasture Goo d ga rden e rs s h ould

.

likewise give thei r garden a rest O ne of th e .

best means to accomplish this is to sow the

garden patch to rye or h a i ry vetch during
the f a ll a nd w in te r Besi des p rop e r c ro p
.

ll 3
 THE HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

rota ti o n n oth i n g w i ll help more to k eep th e

,

garden i n tip top shape th an the employ

-

ment o f these humus furnishing field crops-

,

wh i ch may be du g under in the sp ring as

green manure or utilized a s chicken feed .

Th e vetch will also furnish considerable

n i tro genous plant food because i t c o l lects
such from the air .

I nte ns iv e C ul tiva ti on These two W ords

.

S pell the secret of successful home vegetable

gard e n i ng N 0 other phase is so sadly
.

ne gl e cted a nd no oth e r factor o ffers such big

ch a nces as th i s To make each square foot
.

o f so i l y ie ld three to four crops in a season

o f six mon ths i s a fascinating problem the ,

sol u ti o n o f which c arries with i t rich re

wards to the planter Waste ful methods .

have been th e rul e in gardens i n the p ast ;

but strange to say i t has remained for th e
, ,

c i ty man to Sh ow the country gard en e r what

reall y can b e a ccomplished by co n c e ntr a ted
e flor t on a small piec e of ground .

Suppose radishes lettu ce on i ons S p i nach

, , , ,

etc are planted on April 1 0 All th ese a re

.
,
.

“ !
wha t m i g ht be te rmed short season c ro ps .

14
 TH E H OM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

By the m i dd le of M ay some of the rows w i l l

,

have don e th ei r du ty b orne thei r c rop s a nd

,

be re a dy for ei the r wee d s or oth er c rops .

W her e sp a c e i s a b u nd a nt, th e te ndency e xists

’
to stretc h out th e g arde n D o n t do i t, but
.

a s soon a s a row stop s b ea r i n g p la n t some

,

thing els e i n tha t row Deci d e on a little

.

program som e thin g l i ke thi s : Radi s he s , ex

ha uste d M ay 20 follow w i th s um mer let
,

tuc c e xhausted Au gus t 1 , fol low with sn ap

beans e xhauste d by f rost Sow g round to .

vetch or rye O r e arly p eas exh auste d June

.

1 5 follow with bush b e ans exhaust e d A u

,

g ust 1 5,
fo llow with tu rnips e xhausted by
O ctober I 5 Sp a d e and tre nch soil de e ply
. .

Any numb e r of programs of this typ e may

be made up Th e soil which afte r D e c ora
.

tion D ay w i ll c arry th e tomato plants ca n ,

be made to yi e ld ab u ndant crops of all the

early ve getables before that date without
detriment to the tomatoe s In fact continu .
,

ous working will improve th e c onditi o n of

the soil considerabl y .

Another factor tha t will aid in working

out the p ro gr am of intensive cultivation is
IS
 TH E H OM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

a knowle d ge of the ti m e requ i red by ce rtai n

crops to reach maturity Summer lettuc e .

may be planted by the end of M ay in rows 2

feet apart B efore the plants spread a crop of
.
,

quick growing radishes may have been har

-

vested be tween the rows The benefit in a .

case of this kind is threefo ld you get the —

radishes the lettuce gets extra cultivation

,

and the taller r adish tops will temporarily

and partially shade the young ten der le ttuce
plants .

C ul tiva ti on Thr oug hout S ea son F rom .

the time the first seedling plants peep

through the soil until Jack Frost nips be
lated crops the watchword in every regu
,

lated garden should b e constant cultiv a

tion Not only should hand or wheel hoe be
.

kept go i ng all the tim e but th e work should

,

be done thorough ly .

Experiments have p rov e d tha t gardens

can get along nicely with less moisture if
they receive more cultivation This fact .

alone should make cultivation look more a t

tractive to most planters Close observation
.

w i ll p rove th a t in wet seasons a ll pl an ts s how

11 6
O ni ns T p P r i e k er idd le L eft So ut h po r t Y el l w
o : o —
z Ta . M —
,
o

G l b e ; r ig h t
o Y el low G l b e D a n e r s
, o B tt m Sou t h
v . o o —

p rt W h i t e G l b e
o o .
 THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

mo re or l ess of a te n den cy to m ake b ig foli

age growth to the d e triment o f the crop of
,

vegetables des i red Some vegetabl e s of

.
,

c ours e like cabbage c auliflower etc can

, , ,
.
,

h a rdl y get too much water B ut this chap .

te r on cultivation i s i nte nded to con vince

pl a nters that it pays better to work th e hoe
than to use th e hose overtime .

B ri efly th e constant use of the hos e c l ogs

,

up the pores of the soil p roduces big foliage

,

growth washes away pollen and i s de tr i

,

mental to the formation of normal crops

with most vegetables Th e benefits of c on
.

stant culti vation are the elimination of

weeds thorough airing of the soil and the
,

formation of a dust mulch wh i ch co nse rves

the moisture below E liminating the weeds
.

gives e ach useful plant in the g arden a

chan ce to develop i n an ideal w ay and be a r
the best crops pos sible .

The amount of cultivation a garden

should receive varies with different kinds of
so i l Sti ff clay soil should be hoe d more
.

fre ely th a n light sandy so il Eve ry crust .

tha t forms a f ter a rai n sho u ld b e p romptly

FZ
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARD EN

'
b ro ke n Afte r th e soi l th rou ghout th e ga r
.

den i s once brought into good co ndition by

deep and thorough cultivation a stout nar , ,

r ow rake i s a s good an instrument to keep

the surface loose as can be found With it .

the re i s less chance to do damage among

plants which have feeding roots close to the
surface than with a hand or a wheel hoe .

E arly i n the season deep cultivation among

,

a l l garden crops i s advisable As the season

.

advances and plants sp read keep away from,

their bases and cultivate shallow E ach .

plant has a root system equal to more than

i ts top growth . Work around the base of
plants with a rake or some of the various
weeders that will not cut Any serious dis
.

tur b a nce of the root system will affect the

p roducti veness of the plant .

L evel cultivation is now p r acti ced by

many p l anters i n preference to hill methods .

Some of the reasons for this logi c al change

are th at a h i ll will dry out quicker than a
row w i th a dust mulch When hoe i ng a
.

hi ll to kil l we eds one i s very a pt to strike

,

deep er tha n a round a p l an t re cei vi ng l eve l

18
 TH E HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

culti v a ti on to th e de tri m e nt o f i mportant

—

feeding roots The drainage which th e hill

.

method provides may easily be secured by

ke eping th e path between rows a littl e lower
in the center This is a common occurrenc e
.
,

s i nce constant tramping will settle th e soil

there most Tall plants such a s tomatoes
.
, ,

c orn bush L imas etc may be b i l l ed sl i ghtly

, ,
.
,

to resist the wind B ut otherwi s e keep .

eve rythin g level a s poss i bl e .

FA LL W OR K IN TH E GARDEN

Part the re a sons why th e home garden

of

does not yield all it should lies in the fact

that with the app roach of cold weather
, ,

most people lose interest i n the garden .

Weeds are allowed to grow rampant corn ,

stalks dead vines and plants rubbish stakes

, , , ,

etc are left on the ground to become the

.
,

p l aything of wind and weather to furnish ,

wel come hiding places for all k i nds of i n

j ur i ou s insects .

I t i s safe to st a t e th at the e ffi c i ency of the

average ga r d en would be i ncre a sed 2 5 per
I9
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

c ent i f p rOp e r a tte n ti o n were pa i d to fa l l

management Th e fall i s really the tim e to
.

lay the foundation for a bette r garden the

next season N o urgent planting or cul tiva t
.

ing is pushing then as in the sp ring The

,
.

days are cool and work can be done quic k ly

with comfort B riefly fall operations in th e
.
,

garden may be divided into three parts : 1 ,

Takin g care of crops on hand ; 2 clearing ,

the ground and digging for extra e a r l y

sprin g c rops ;and 3 putting the soil in such
,

shap e that it gets th e mos t benefit out o f a

short rest period .

Sa v e E v er ythi ng .Soo n a fte r rep e ated

frosts play havoc in the home garden all
so rts of vegetables become more e xpensive .

Save every fruit and every root and store

in safe frost proof places Pick all green
,
-
.

tomatoes before they are touched by frost ,

wrap i n p a per and put on a d ry shelf They .

w i ll r i p e n a nd color up n i cely D ig al l root

.

crops suc h a s c a rrots beets and turnips and

, , , ,

either bury th em i n trenches in the garden or

put them in boxes with sand in the cellar .

Pa rsnips and salsify are improved by frost ,

20
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

so you can let them wait until the las t, or

some of them even until sp ring .

Celery should have been b illed through

out August a nd September With the a p
p roach of very cold weather put bo a rds
alon g th e rows place straw over thes e and
,

throw soil on top to hold the straw in pl ace .

Cut and burn all stalks of a sparagus and

cover the bed also the rhubarb bed w i th
, ,

4 inches of coarse manure Where winters

.

get severely cold without snow it pays to ,

scatter marsh or salt hay over the strawberry

patch likewise This is better than manure
.

because of its fre e dom from dry land we e d

seeds.

C l ea r the Gr ound D on t p e rmi t de ad ’

.

plants branches vines etc to remain i n th e

, , ,
.
,

garden all winter R ake everythin g into a

.

pile and burn i t Then prepare several beds

.
,

the same a s in the spring by carefully sp a d

,
’
ing and raking th e soil Th e next yea r s.

garden may be started in th e fall by sowi ng

kale and spinach seeds in September Soo n .
,

the youn g plants will make a good g row th ;

with th e a pp roach of severe cold wea ther
21
 TH E H OME VEGETABLE GARDEN

! Th a n k s gi v i n g D a y i n the la t i tude o f N e w
York ! cover the se plants w i th several
,

i nches of straw or co a rs e str awy manure .

In O c tob e r, secure some large onion sets ,

a ve r a gi n g 1 to 1 % inches in diam e ter Plant .

the s e i n furrows 5 i nches deep and fill in the

fu rrow g ra dually as tops grow up When the .

sp rou ts re a c h the top o f the ground and the

weather be c omes very cold scatter some ,

coarse manure over this bed These onions .

will furn i sh th e first scullions in the spring .

F inal ly when th e warm days of Indian

,

summ e r a re past and w i nter starts seriously ,

plant th e rest of the prepared beds with a

few rows e ac h of lettuce and smooth seeded
peas T hi s may seem like a radical d e
.

pa rtu re B ut i t is an established fact that

.

thes e se ed s are perfectly hardy ;th ey will lie

d orman t in the g round all w i nter and start
to g row w i th the first signs o f sp ri n g lon g ,

b efo re the so il can be put i n s hap e i n the

regu l ar c ou rs e of events .

P r epa r e R es t of Ga r de n . Suc h portions

of th e h om e garden a s a re no t oc cupied by
s tand i ng vege tab les sto r age p i ts or n ewly
,

22
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

of th e a nnu a l flowe rs started fo r t ran splant

ing and thus getting results earlier in the se a
so n than could be done were th e seeds sown

out of doors B y f orwarding plants under

.

glass two o r more crops may be secured

from the same area du ring th e season A .

great gain i s made in combat ing we eds when

plants of good size are set from the hotbed
in the garden Some plants especially to
.
,

mato eggplant and pepper produce larger

, ,

crops when started in this way Crops .

which normally finish their season in early

fall may be hastened so the ground may be
sown to a cover crop for supplying humus
when turned under the following sp ring .

O ne special advantage about the hotbed i s

that when the gardener i s a renter he need
not be at great expense to supply glass ; the
hotbed will take the place of a greenhouse
to a certain extent A s hotbeds are i ne x
.

pensive the amount of space devoted to

,

them may be i ncreased from year to year

without much outlay Then too they re
.
, ,

quire less attention a t ni ght than do furnaces .

I t mu st b e re m e mb e red howev e r tha t th ey

, ,

24
P a p a s L i tt l e B r i k
’
c G a t he r ing S t n e
o To m at e s
o
 ow b a l l C a uli flow e r !a b o
Sn v e!
, All S ea son s C a bb a g e !b e l w !
o
 TH E HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

a re i nf e rior to g ree nh ouses in eve ry p a r ti cu

lar though with skillful management they
,

can be made to p roduce excellent results .

Th e first requisite of a hotbed should be

a n ea sil y accessible water supply . Prefer
abl y the water should reach the hotbed
through buried metal pipes Th e next best
.

plan i s to have a S pigot and hose Always .

such arrangements should be p rovided with

underground cuto ffs so as to p revent i njury
from frost especially when not in use The
,
.

beds should b e as convenient a s possibl e to

th e house or th e workshop wher e sowing ,

potting and transplanting are to be done in

unpleasant weather They should be p ro
.

tected from north and west winds either by

the wall of a building o r a tight board fence
5 or 6 feet high . H edges are fa i rl y goo d
substitutes for walls a nd fences .

Where possible the exposure should be

directly south so as to get the full sun Th e .

next best exposure i s so utheastern so th e ,

morn i ng sun will r e ach the frames without

obstruction Where two rows of hotbeds
.

a re u s e d amp le sp ac e should be a l lowed be

,

25
 TH E
. HOM E VEGETAB LE GARDEN

twee n them so th e sash may b e ea s ily m ove d

into the alleyways E ight f e et i s none too
.

much f o r alleys between the frames .

The tim e to make a permanen t hotb e d is

in the autumn before th e g round i s frozen
,
.

Thus work and time c a n be s ave d In order .

to p revent the ground from b ei n g froze n

deeply in the pit the hole s h ould be filled
,

with fallen leaves o r litter wh i ch may easily

be moved when the filling for f e rmentatio n
i s to be appl i ed late in th e w i nter o r early
in the sprin g This pit should be the same
.

width a s th e frame of the hotb e d The first .

essential of th e bed is that dr a ina ge should

be good e i th er naturally or arti fic i ally The .

latter m ay be p rovided by ti le runn i ng from

the bottom to some lower po i nt In most .

soils however this p recaution is unnece s

, ,

sary as the seepage o f water will be good

enough S ti ff soils h ow eve r, u sua l ly need a
.
,

tile dra i n .

The p rop e r depth for a hotbed pit will de

pend largely upon the climate In the lati .

tude of New York Ci ty and northward the ,

depth m ay v a ry f rom 1 5 to 30 inches I n .

26
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

the la ti tu de of W a sh i n gton 1 0 to 1 5 i nche s ,

m ay be suffi ci e nt In the south the pit may

.

b e dispensed with enti rely D epths of f er .

menti ng material from which th e heat i s de

rived should be the full depth of the p i t i n
the North and from 6 to 1 2 i nch e s i n the
So u th .

The hotb e d fram e may be of bri ck ston e ,

o r concrete Where the gardener is own e r

.

o f the place it is usually advisable to ha v e

,

a p e rmanent bed of masonry ;w h ere h e i s a

renter a wooden frame will answer all p ur
,

poses Pre ferably locust c edar or ch e stnu t

.
,

should b e chosen for the f ram e as th e se ,

woods are most durable The popular pl a n .

i s to use either locust o r cedar for the posts

and chestnut or other less durable wood for
th e sides and crossbars The frame may be .

o f any desired length preferably a multiple

,

of 3 feet plus half an inch to allow for the

,

shrinking and swelling of the frames when

damp Width should be half an i nch less
.

than 6 feet so that there may be no crac k be

,

tween the sash and the fram e These di men .

si o ns a re suggested b eca us e s a s h a re made in

27 .
 THE
. HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

stan d a r d size s 6 by 3 f ee t T hey can be pur

, .

chas e d a t a ll S ee d supply stores .

The upper north side of the fr a m e Sh ould

b e 6 i n c hes high e r than the lower south side ,
so a s to g iv e a good slope to the sash The .

eas ie s t way to ge t this i s to use boards 6 and

1 2 i n c h e s w i d e , r e spectively usually one 6
—

inch a nd two 1 2 inch boards on the upper

-

si d e a nd two 1 2 inch one s on the lower side

-
.

Th es e boards should always extend to the

bottom of the pit At the corners the posts
.

sh o u ld b e made o f 2 by 4 inch o r heavier -

scan tl i n g
. Th e b est frames are made when
th e length o f the boards is not more than 1 2
f e et with posts drive n at th e corners and
,

m idway on each side O ne hotb ed of this

.

s ize w i l l requ i re four standard sash a nd will

supp ly the ne e ds o f an o r d i n ary s ized am a
teur ga r de n .

C ross b a rs or sl i des a re no t essent ial but

th ey a re so conveni e nt tha t they should a l
'
ways b e use d A 2 by 3 inch p ie c e o f wood
.
-

i s p e rhaps th e most co nven i ent s i ze It .

s h ould b e smooth on the upper s i de so the

f r am es w il l sl i p ea s ily ac ross the m Some .

28
 TH E H OM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

and b reakage of gl ass A pr i ming c o a t o f

‘

paint should be applied b e fore glazin g .

None but glass of good qual i ty should b e

used It is a matter of p e rsonal p ref e renc e
.

wheth e r the glass should overlap or come

end to e nd B y the f ormer method a good
.

dea l o f shad e i s cast e specially afte r dirt

,

works i n the c r a cks B y th e latter method

.

th e re i s likely to b e leakage unless th e edges

are very closely pu t together Afte r gl azing
.

th e sash should be again painted a nd this ,

work should be repeated eve ry ye a r p ref er ,

ably as soon as the season closes T hey .

shoul d then be stacke d i n a d ry pla ce until

needed again .

D ouble glass sas h have rece ntly b een

placed on the market Thei r chief a dva n
.

tages are that plants are g iven almost as thor

ough p rotection as when single glass is used
and covered with straw mats The labor o f .

managing the frames is re duced becaus e

mats do not have to be handle d morn i ng and
even i ng The plants under double glass
.

may receive li ght during the entire d ay be

caus e no m a ts a re the re to obst ruc t i t A ’
.

30
 TH E HOM E VEGETAB LE GARDEN

g row ing temp e rature i s se cured e a rlier and

maintain e d longe r unless the sunshin e i s de
fi ci ent
.

Aga i nst thes e advanta ges are the di sa d

vantages tha t double glass sash are heavier
to h a ndle ;they cost about 30 per cent more
tha n single glass sash ; they accumulate and
re ta in mois t ure between th e two layers ;are
not considered as durable as single glass
sash ;the two layers gather dirt betwee n the
panes and thus reduce the amount o f light
which should enter and i n conse qu e nc e pro
,

duce weaker plants .

The management of a h otb ed i s a c omp a r

a ti ve l y simple matter Anyon e can d o i t
. .

Th e p rincipal things to remember are tha t

a tte ntion must be given at proper times both
to wa tering and to ventilati ng as well a s to
the m a nual c a re of the plants In e ac h of
.

these lines there i s nothing di ffi cult but un

,

l ess the ventilation i s p rop e rly managed the ,

plants a re likely to grow tall spindling a nd

,

c omp a ratively weak at least unable to with

,

stand the changes of temperature they will

n a tura lly be e xpos e d to wh e n tr a nspl ante d to
31
 TH E HO M E VEGETABLE GARDEN

th e ga rd e n As to wate r i n g the re i s nothing

.
‘

diffi cult at all The main thing is to see that

.

the plants do not su ffer at any time The .

manual part consists merely in weeding and

thinning out the plants where the seeding
has been too thick .

In the l a ti tude of New Yor k ci ty th e time

‘

to begi n work with the amateur hotbed is

the latter part of February or the early part
of M arch In the latitude of B oston work
.

may start somewhat later and in that of ,

Washington and southward earlier A

, ,
.

good rule by which the gardener may gauge

his time to start is to remember tha t for each
1 00 miles north or south of the points men

ti one d he may allow a week in time For .

instance at Albany the beds may be started

,

about 1 0 days later than around New York

city because Albany is about 1 50 miles
,

north The reverse case need not be given

. .

The first th ing to do is to remove the

leaves or litter which were placed in the pit
during the fall The Object of this l i tter i s
.

to prevent deep freezing of the ground The .

labor of remov i ng s uch m a te r ia l is m u ch less

32
Ab o v e D et r oi t D a r k R d B ee t
e !le ft ! ,
Ox he a r tC a rr ot !r igh t ! .

B e l w P ur p l e T il n nip
,

o ,
op M a T ur
G r ee n C ur l e d En di v e !a b o v e !
,
B r uss e ls Sp r u t s
o !b e l w!
o
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

tha n th a t of gettin g rid o f earth because ,

both leaves a nd litter being somewhat d ry

will not freez e as much as soil O f course
.
,

where no pit has been dug the fermenting

material may be pil e d directly on the
g round This however i s not as a dva nta
.
, ,

g e ous a method as the pit method It should .

be employed only when no pit can be made

in the fall .

Th e material most popularly used for

producing heat is horse manure which has
not been exposed to the weather It must be .

fresh or at least only a few days ol d Spent .

hops from breweries tanbark and forest

,

leaves are sometimes used separately They .

are occasionally also used when m i xed with

m a nure the object being to lighten up the
,

fermenting mater i al and prevent its becom

i ng either too compact or too loose Where .

the material is composed almost exclusively

o f the manure it may e i ther fail to h eat o r
,

i t may become too hot very suddenly an d

then subside too quickly In e i ther case fail
.

ure is almost sure to result Perh aps the

.

best mixture for success is to use two parts

33
 TH E HOME VEGETAB LE GARDEN

of manure with one par t o f l i tte r cons isti ng

either of leave s or straw It i s n ever sa tis
.

facto ry to use S havi ngs especially those of

,

p i ne an d other resinous woods for thi s pur

p os e.

P reparati on o f the compositio n should be

gi n at least a week before the time when th e
b e ds wil l be wanted for se e d sowing or trans
planti ng Ten or 1 2 days would be even b e t
.

ter It is necessary or a t least advisabl e to

.
, ,

h ave th e shed in which the material i s kep t

dur i ng this time well p rote cte d so th e m i x
ture may not be exposed to cold we ather ,

har d rains or other influences that would

hinder o r even prevent ferme ntation I f the .

material must be secured from citie s and

shipped on railways or boats to th e po i nt of
use i t may already be i n proper condition
,

for th e pit upon arrival Usually however

.
, ,

i t should be piled an d turned as described

below This t urning and piling i s espec i ally
.

necessary where the source o f supply i s clos e

’
a t hand ;as for i nstance on on e s own p l a ce
, ,

where a h orse i s kep t .

Th e p i les should b e ma de 4 or 5 feet w ide

.

‘
34
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

should be placed along the sides and in th e

corners at this time and firmed even more
than any other part of the bed Two thre e .
,

or more layers should be added and tramped

down in similar fashion After the tramp .

ing has been done eve r y square foot of the

,

bed should be gone over and eve ry hollow

spot filled up so the whole mass may be of
even thickness In S pite of all this p reca u
.

tion of tramping the mass will settle a s fer

,

mentation p rogresses so it is advisable to

,

have an abundant thickness to o ffset this

settling A foot to even 30 inches is used
.
,

according to the latitude or the altitude of

the locality and somewhat to the character
,

of plants to be grown in the beds .

After the mass has been put in plac e a

layer of soil from 4 to 6 in ches deep must be
placed upon i t Preferably th is m a teri al
.

should have been kept under cover where it

h a s not been frozen Where the soil has
.

been frozen a much longer t i me must be a l

,

lowed for thawing out an d getting th e bed

in order for planting When seeds are to be
.

sown i n flats or seed pans a d epth o f only ,

36
 TH E H OM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

2inc hes of soil need be placed over the fer

menti ng material This will be suffi cient , as
.

a general thing to absorb steam and to keep

,

the air comparatively pure and free from

the gases of fermentation Nothing is bet .

ter than soil a s an absorber of such gases It .

is a good plan to bank the outside of the hot

bed frame with the same material a s used in
the bottom so as to aid in maintainin g the
,

temperature inside This material should

.

be tramped down very thoroughly It may .

e xtend even to the top of the frame outside .

N 0 seeds should ever be sown and no

plants should ever be placed in a hotbed un
til after the fierc e temperature h a s settled to
9 0 degrees or less .At first there will b e an
almost sudden rise of temperature to per
haps 1 0 0 degrees or even more This will .

subside in a week or two If plants or seeds

.

a r e put in before the subs i dence the chances

are they will be ru i ned With suc h plants

.

a s cabbage ,
lettuce cauliflowe r and other
,

ve getables that germinate at comparatively

low temperatures the heat of the hotbed may
be allowed to subside to 60 degrees or eve n
37
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

less O f c ours e these temperatures i mply

.
,

that the hotbed has be e n covered by the sash .

In the latitude of New York ci ty it is

usual to sow in February or early M arch
seeds of such plants a s tomatoes cabbage ,

a nd other subjects that either require a long

season or must be set out early and then to ,

p i ck out the seedlings when they show the

first or the second true leaves Pref e rably
.

the seedlings should be placed in flats an

inch or so apart e a ch way and later trans
planted into flower pots f rom whi ch they
may be set in the garden .

M any crops other than thos e started i n the

hotbed for transplanting may be grown by
this method Among th e p rincipal are set
.

onions radishes lettuce mustard and pep

, , ,

p g
e r r a ss These
. may be started at any time
and utilized as rapidly as they reach edible
size A convenient way for e conomizing
.

S pace is to sow the lettuce !which when full

grown o c cupies most room ! in alternate
rows with peppergrass mustard radish or
, ,

onions each of which may be expected to be

,

out of the way before the lettuc e w i ll re quire

38
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

a l l th e sp ace B y this meth od i t is a lso un

.

de rstood th a t the lettuce pl a nts shal l b e

th i nned frequ e ntly the first t i me to stan d a n
,

i nch apart E ach subs e quent thinn i n g

.

should remove the alte rnate plants thus leav

,

ing those that remain re sp ec t i vely 2 4 an d

,

lastly 8 inch e s a part .

B y the time the plants have b een redu c ed

o 8 inches the first sow i n gs i n t he ope n
t
ground should be ready for use and th e crop
in the hotbed may b e rap i dly cleared out ,

the soil raked over and made ready for a

crop of cucumbers melons o r tomato e s
,
.

Pl a nts for these crops m a y b e started i n a

corner of the hotbed p referably i n flowe r

,

pots or berry boxes These plants S hould

.

yield fruit three weeks to two months earlier

than th ose S tarted in the open ground .

39
 PA R T II
UP -
TO D AT E VE GE TA BL E S
-

HE g reat majori ty of American plant

e rs dislike to try new th i n gs Part of .

the bl am e must be put on thos e seedsmen

who either pushed novelties prematu rely or
p romulgated inferior sorts with new names .

The result has been distrust which cannot

be w i p e d out in one generation M any gar.

dene r s are thus ve r y backw a rd when it

comes to ta king advantage of new things .

Another reason for the existe n ce of th is

condition is the attitude of our agricultural
and horti cultural educators Most write r s
.

on gardening dislike to make posit i ve S tate

ments with reference to varieti es preferrin g ,

to follow th e footsteps of others To pursu e .

an absolutely safe course they constantly

recommend such things a s Golden W a x
beans M arblehead M ammoth cabb age
, ,

Advanc er peas etc As a matter of fact p ro

,
.
,

g r e ssi v e planters and seedsmen t h roughout

the country a re discarding the s e a nd many
40
 UP TO
- -
DATE VEGETABLES

other sorts on a ccount o f th eir S h ortcom ings

when compare d with newer sorts of bette r
quali ty .

So with a limited knowledge of gard e n

,

ing to begin with and certain sources of

,

information giving antiquated advice it i s ,

small wonder that the amateur gardener i s

groping in the dark most of the time feeling ,

his way along and learning slowly at ex

ce ssi ve expense of time and money To .

remedy to some extent th e existence of thes e

c onditions is the purpos e of the following
discussions on individual vegetables .

O n account of the long life which a work

Of this kind enjoys great care has been exe r
,

ci se d to reco mmend only such sorts and

types as are firmly established and w i ll com e

true to descriptions and ideals o f planters .

Special reference h as been made where ,

possible to highly s pecialized characte r

,

i sti cs and tendencies of certain kinds N0 .

o ne sort of vegetable will do equally well on

all soils or in all climates Not all the strong

.

characteristics of a sort will S how up equally

well u nde r various cond i tio ns B u t m e r i t
.

4 1
 TH E HO ME VEGETABLE GARDEN

will Sh ow everywhere and a good kind will

always do better th an a poor kind under the
same conditions .

R GUS
ASPA A

Wh i le a n asparagus bed b e ars onl y a Sh ort

S eason the fact that the product can never be
,

bought cheaply makes it worth while to

,

have a few rows in even the small garden .

M oreover some short season crops like

,
-

curly lettuce radishes and onions from sets

,

may be grown be tween the rows early in the

season should garden space be very limited .

An aspara g us bed can be started i n two

ways sowing seeds or setting out roots A
—
.

5
-
cent packet of seed will p roduce all the
plants n e eded for a small h ome garden .

Seeds should be sown in rather sandy soil ,

in rows half an inch deep with 1 2 inc h es

, ,

be tween the rows When they are 4 to 6

.

inches tall th ey may be thinned out to stand

,

6 inc h es apart in the row The next year .

they should be lifted and transplanted in

their pe rmanent place 1 2 inches apart in th e
,

row with a t l east 2 feet betw ee n the rows

,
.

42
T oma t o e s S ton e !a b o v e ! C hal k s l
E ar y !e w el !b e l ow !
’
, ,
 UP -
TO -
DATE VEG ETABLES

Exp e ri m e nts h ave p roved that two year -

O ld roots are the most p ractical size to se t

out Where quick results are wanted three
.
,

year old roots deserve the p reference A bed

-
.

of two year old roots should not be cut the

- -

first year A we ll established bed will bear

.
-

many years .

Good sorts for the home garden are E arly

Argenteuil Palmetto and Columbian M am
,

moth Whi te .

BEAN S

T h ree bro ad di vi sions and numerous sub

d i visions make beans interesting The ama .

te ur is usually acquainted with the three

broad divisions :Bush L i ma and Pole beans , ,
.

These are name d h ere in order of thei r i m

portance to the planter No other vegeta .

bles will yield more profitable crops in the

h ome garden T o get the most out of them
.
,
’
a clear analys is of one s likes and dislikes a s
well as a thorough understanding of varie
ties is absolutely necessary M ost people .

“ !
thin k of b e ans as string beans Please be .

43
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARD EN

gin to th in k that beans with strings d o not

deserve to be planted or cooked Thanks .

to the e fforts of American plant breeders we

have now a splendid assortment of both
green and yellow podded beans free of
strings To these achievements of American
.

horticul tu re due credit shall b e given here .

BUSH B EAN S

Nature divided bush beans into two di s

tinct classes Vi z : Wax podded and green
,
.

podded sorts In both classes are found

.

round podded and flat podded kinds SO .

far as flavor goes experts disagree whether

,

there is a di fference or not be tween the wax

and the green podded sorts B ut more good .

quality points such a s brittleness stringless

, ,

ness p roductiveness etc are found among

, ,
.
,

the round podded sorts Those sorts among .

the flat podded beans worthy of being put

“
i n the quality cla ss are mentioned below
!
.

In the home garden quality is easily the

,

most i mportant point to be considered At .

th e sam e time the question of quanti ty or

,

44
 UP TO
- -
DATE VEGETABLES

produc tive n ess canno t b e disreg ar de d be

cause each row should be a r maximu m
yields The s e lected list below contains the
.

foremost sorts pos se ssing both points in a ’

l arge degree .

Gr e e n P a dde d S or ts A ccording to thei r

.

season of be a rin g pods fit for table use sorts ,

are divided into early mid season and late ,

-

k i nds The title for the earliest good hom e

.

ga rden bean is disputed by Stringless Green

Po dded and B ountiful The latter is a ve ry .

p roductive flat podded sort of superb qual

, ,

i ty wh ile Stringless Green Podded is round

,

and very mea ty E arly Round Podded Red

.

Valentine is often recommended Whi l e .

i t i s perhaps a few days earlier than either

, ,

of the above sorts it dOe s not deserve a place

,

i n th e home garden because its pods a r e ,

short and soon become strin g y .

Two good midseason kinds are L ong fel

l ow a round podded sort about 1 0 days later
, ,

than Stringless Green Podded It should be .

p icked regularly as old pods have some ,

s t r i ngs Full M easure with long perfectly

.
, ,

round b rittle pods i s a splendid sort of g reat

, ,

45
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

p roductiveness and good quality The most .

popular late green po dded sort is Refugee

or to 1 While it is ve ry productive
.
,

i t is stringy and ha s lots of fiber in the pods .

The new Stringless Refugee now firmly ,

fixed and sold by most seedsmen is d evoid ,

of this unpleasant feature and bears hand

some light green sem i round pods about
, ,
-

4% inches long .

W a x P a dd e d S or ts In B rittle W a x we
.

have the earliest of all round podded wax

beans The lemon yellow pods average 5
.

inches long ; are slightly curved very brit ,

tl e and absolutely S tringless Following .

B rittl e Wax comes H ardy Wax with ,

slightly shorter pods but more o f them

,
.

Round Podded Kidney Wax belongs i n the

same class with above two All these e arly.

S orts have perfectly round pods and are

S tringless For a succession in crops B ur
.

pee s New Ki d ney Wax should b e used in

’

place of W a r dwel l s Kidney W a x It out

’
.

yields this old sort two to one and has hand ,

somer pods and no strings whatever N ew .

K i dney Wax i s a flat podd e d sort, bu t t e

46
 UP TO- -
DATE VEGETABLES

ma r k a bl y m e a ty, and f rom 5% to 7 i nc h es

long .

, The latest of the wax beans i s Strin g less

Refugee Wax sometimes called Pencil Pod
,

Wax It is a full blooded brother of String

.
-

less Refugee described under gree n podded

,

sorts and po ssesses all the good points found

,

in tha t kind .

The above limited list contains some of

the best bush beans in cultivation today .

For the home garden these varieties are un

excelled They are just as easily grown and
.

managed as som e of th e old standbys A .

row 1 5 feet long planted every week up to ,

August 1 will supply all the beans a family

,

o f five can use Plant bush beans in rows 30

.
,

i nches apart place beans 4 inches apart in

,

row and hill plants slightly to keep pods

Off the ground D o not pick while vines are
.

wet ;i t causes blight O ne pint of seeds con .

ta ins enough for th e ave rage h om e g arde n .

POL E B EANS
To get the best out of pole beans the ,

ground should be made very ric h A good .

47
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

meth od i s to set the stake s 3 feet apart eac h

way and pile well rotted manure around -

them Cover with 4 to 6 inches of soil and

.

plant seeds four to a hill eye down about 2

, , ,

inches deep after nights become thoroughly

,

warm Where poles are s carce se t a post a t

.
,

each end of the row and connect tops of posts

with a S tout wire From the wire run .

S trings 6 inches apart to the ground fa sten ,

i ng them on small stakes stuck in th e row .

Twen ty hill s are ample for the home gar

den Plant either White C r e a seb a ck B ur
.
,

ger s Stringless or L azy Wife s Pole the

’ ’
—

three best green podded sorts The best .

known yellow podded sort i s Golden Cluster

Wax For shell beans for winter use H orti
.
,

cultural or Speckled Cranberry is the most

p o pul ar .

LI MA B EANS
T he re a re bush and pole vari e ties of
L imas None should be planted until the
.

trees are out in full leaf As they are by far .

the latest maturing of all beans it pays to ,

start some in paper pots in the h ou se for ex

4 8
 TH E HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

a ged an d grown have no insect enemies of

,

any account and are no t at all particular as

to s o il .For a constant supply from the mid
dle of June unt i l frost plant 1 5 fe e t of row
,

every o ther wee k from early sp ring until the

end of July If this advice is followe d one
.
,

of the early so rts mentioned below should be

selected for the successive sowings .

Sow the seeds thinly in rows 1 2 to 1 8

i nch e s apart half an inc h deep Soak the
,
.

s e eds in warm water overnight and be sure

to walk over the rows after covering the
seeds D oin g so presses the soil in firm con
.

tact with them and insures qu ick and even

germination This is especially impo rtant
.

during the summer when the soil is dry .

When the young seedlings are 2 inches

tall th in them out to stand 4 inches apart i n
,

v a ti ng .
'
the row H oe close to the row when culti
.

As beets depend mostly upon long

tap roots the so i l in th e bed should be kept
,

loose a ll the time to a considerable depth

' '
.

A perfect succession of fin e tend e r be e ts

may b e assured by paying some attenti on to
v a rie tie s Best e arli es t sor ts a re Elec t r ic
.
,

50
Ra dis h !a bo v e!
, P e a s !b e low !
A bo v e i p Spin a
T r um h ch B el ow L e tt uce !l e ft ! A l l S e a s o ns
!r ig h t ! I ce b er g
.
, , , ,

.
 UP TO DAT E
- -
VEGETABLES

Cr i mson Glob e a n d De tro i t D ark Red

, .

These hav e small foliage and mature under ,

favorable ci rcumstance s i n about two ,

months . Following th ese co me E arly

M odel C rosby s Eg ypti a n D ew i ng s I m
,
’
,
’

proved B lood and B astian s H alf L ong In ’

.

the ord e r menti oned thes e mature in 70 to

1 00 days .For repeated sowin g l a te i n th e
se ason use only the earliest so rts
, .

Sw iss C ha r d is a var i ety Of b ee t g rown

only fo r th e tops whi ch ma ke excellent
,

greens dur i n g summer Rows of Swiss .

Chard should be placed a t least 2 feet apart

an d the plan ts th inned to stand 6 inches a nd
finally a foot apart in th e row A we l l .

developed indivi dual plant will conta in at

least a do zen fine leaf stal ks Use the fol i
-
.

age part for g reens and p repare th e center

ribs like a spara gus Always cut the largest
.

si desta l k s If the center of th e plant t e

.

mains undisturbed i t will continue to be a r

,

all season A 2 0 foot row will furn i sh an

.
-

ab undance of greens dur i n g J uly a nd Au

gu s t fo r a f am i ly of four .

SI
 THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

BRU SSELS SP ROUTS

J u s t why this wholesome vegetable i s not
better known remains a puzzle Perhaps
,
.

o ne Of th e reasons is that people think it

hard to grow because the S p routs sell usually

a t 2 5 cents a quart B russels sp routs are as
.

e a s i ly grown in the same way as late cab

, ,

bage s In most sections heat dry weather

.
,

and i nsects cause early sowings to fail .

Set the plants 2 feet apart each way in

well e nr i ched ground
-
Cultivate freely
.
,

hillin g slightly and if the cabbage worms

bother the plants sprinkle occasionally with
,

a weak solution o f bordeaux mixture The .

most desirable sorts in cultivation are Paris

M arke t L ong Isl a nd Improve d and D anish
,

Pri ze .

CABBAGE

W i th ca reful m a n agement h om e ga rd en
,

c abbages may be enjoyed t he year round .

Before the stored supply of winter cabbages

becomes exhausted the earl i est new cabbage
,

s h o u ld mature in the garden D ur i ng July

.
,

52
 UP TO
- -
DATE VEGETABLES

Au gu s t a n d S eptemb e r, th e m id s ea son sorts

will b e fit to u se and the winter sorts in C c
tob er w i ll agai n round the circle of c on tin
nous s u pp l y from snow to snow .

Th e qu esti on of a year s cabbage S upply

’

depends l a rgely upon three thin g s : Th e

amount o f spac e at one s disposal th e ’
,

thou gh tfuln ess of the planter in S tarting

plants a t the p roper time and the sel ec tion
of th e c o r rect varieties for various seasons
and p urposes C abba ges take up consider
.

able sp a c e and the value of th e finished

p rodu c t to th e square foot does not come up
to th a t of b e ans for instance It pays well
,
.

th e re fore to do som e careful figuri ng in

,

conn ecti o n with this crop early in the se a

son . After a decision is rea ched , p repare
f or a suc cess i on by mak i n g t i m ely sow i n gs a s
f oll ows :
Abo u t M a rch I st sow s eed s o f ea rly so rts
,

and m i dse a so n va rieti es i n a h otb ed in rows ,

a qu arter i n c h deep w i th 4 i n che s b e twe en

-

th e rows When th e see d l i ngs d eve lop the

.

se con d p ai r of le ave s transpl an t i nto a col d

,

fr ame 4 i n che s ap a rt each w ay H ard en the .

53
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

plants g radually by a i r i n g th e fr am e f reely .

B y Ap ril 1 5 they may safely b e se t in th e

open ground Slight subsequent frosts will
.
,

not injure them Set the small e xtra early

.

sorts 2 feet a part each way and cultivate

both w ays D ust with tobacco dust ground
.
,

l i m e or slug shot to prevent damage by th e

little green cabbage louse or aphis When .

s e tting the plants in the open ground watch ,

t ha t they are planted deeply so most of th e

ste m will be submerged .

B y th e end of M ay seeds of th e b est w i n

,

te r varieties should be sown in the same

manner as described above in a carefully ,

worked over cold frame o r a thoroughly

p repared seedbed outdoors It is customary .

to sow seeds Very thinly in rows 4 inch es

apart and to thin out the seedlings to stand
4 i nches ap a rt in the row This saves
. tran s
pl a ntin g L ate in July or early i n Augu st
.

these seedlings are tra nsplanted into thei r

permanent place 2 feet apart in the row and
,

2V ; to 3 feet b e tw e en the rows When setting .

them pour about a p in t of w a te r i nto each

,

of the h ol es op ened to recei v e the p la nts .

'
54
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

Da nis h Ba l l hea d One S tr ai n o r a noth e r of

.

either of these two sorts i s sure to give s a tis

factio n i n a ll sections of this country .

Finally try a few Savoy and a few red

,

cabbages The Savoy varieties are of dis

.

ti nctl y delicate fla vo r ideal for the home

—

garden As plants of these can rarely be

.

bou gh t they usually have to be started by

,

the priv a te planter Perfection D rumhead

.

S avoy i s th e recognized leader in this class ,

while among R ed Cabbages D anish Round ,

Re d possesses the most desirable qualities .

CA U LI FLOW ER
The hi gh p rice wh ich this vegetable com
mands in the market will cause any space
devoted to it to bear a handsome revenue .

Two factors are a bsolutely necessary to i n

sure Success with cauliflower :Very rich soil
and lo ts of water Seeds should be started
.

w i th those of late cabbages Set plants in .

the gar d en the end of June or th e beginning

o f July D on t get them mixed with cab
.
’

bages a s th e yo u n g p la nts cannot b e to ld

,

apart .

56
 U P TO - -
DATE VEGETABLES

Where hand cu ltiv a ti on i s employed ,

pl an ts may be set a s close as 2 feet apart eac h

way For horse cultivation leave 3 feet be
.
-
,

tween the rows with plants 2 feet apart in

,

the rows H oe freely and water O ften L et

. .

the ground be soaked through and through

a t least onc e a week during the deve lopment
of heads A l ack o f moisture at that period
.

causes stunted h e ads H ill slightly to sup.

,

port th e stems .

Whe n th e heads get th e s i z e of an ora nge ,

g ath er the l a rgest outside leaves loosely and

tie th em together at the tips forming little ,

hoods over the heads This will keep off th e.

sun insects a nd at th e same time blanch

,

them Two dozen plants are usually a ll on e

.

wants in the h ome garde n .

E xtr a E arly D warf E rfurt i s a S pl e n d id

but small so rt for first crop It is closely fol .

lowed i n season of maturity by Snowb a ll a ,

well known highly satisfactory kind of

-
,

good s iz e D ry Weather or Gilt E dge i s

.
,

perhaps the most drouth resisting sort

,
-
,

thou gh a l i ttl e late r an d l a rge r than either

of th e oth er two .

57
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARD EN

RROTS
CA

The s e s h ou l d b e g rown mo re b ecaus e th ey

ar e so wholesom e and so easil y managed .

As the seeds sp rout ve ry S lowly it i s a dv i s

,

able to sow them with some qui ck growing -

short season crop like S pinach or radis h es

-
.

Sow both kinds of seeds in the same drill a ,

quarter i nch deep with 1 2 to 1 8 inches be

tween the rows The strongly germinating
.

r adish or spinach seeds will break the h ard

c rust for the carrot seedlings which will
,

l i kewise be benefited by subsequent thin

n i n g and cultivation o f th e s h ort seaso n -

c rop.

For a c ontinuous supply sow a 1 5 foot -

row of E arly Scarlet H o rn as soon as the

ground can be worked Two weeks later .

sow Chantenay and two weeks after that

D anvers This will insure carrots th at are

.

just right th roughout the summer D urin g .

July make a second sowing of Chante nay

and D anvers which will furnish th e winter
,

supply of this delicious vegetabl e .

58
G i a n t Podd e d P o le L im a B e a n
A b ov e , P epp e rs R uby K ing !l e ft ! C h in e s e G i a n
: , t !r ig h t !
B el ow B l a k B e a u y E g g p l a n t
.

, c t .
 UP TO
- -
DATE VEGETABLES

CELERY

Too ma ny h ome gardeners negl e c t this

crop w h ich O ffers one of the opportunities
,

to make garden space pay extra dividends .

A good practice i s to buy plants about the

firs t week of July and se t them in rows
wh i ch formerly grew beans Those who .

p re fer to start at the beginnin g s h ould p ro ,

cee d as follows :

Fo r the e arly crop sow s eed s of a n e xt r a

early 30 1 1 in the middle of February in th e
h otbe d in rows a quarter inch deep with 3
, ,

to 4 i nches be tween the rows A S soon a s .

the seedlings are large enough to be handled ,

transplant into a cold frame 2 to 3 inches

a part ea ch way Water freely a n d ft c
.

qu e ntly throughout develo pm e nt of pl a n ts .

B y the middle of M ay these pl a nts w ill ,

u suall y be large enough to be set in the ga r

de n 6 inc h es apart i n the rows w i th 2 % to
, ,

3 f eet betw een t he rows Th e v a.r ie ty esp e

ci a l l y suitabl e to b e grown in thi s m a nn e r

i s White Plume .

Al on g in Ap ri l m ake a c a refu lly p re

,

59
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

p a re d seedbed in a sheltered corner of the

garden to start plants for successive and late
,

crops Sow seeds in the same manner a s de

.

scribed above and transplant seedlings later

o n to another bed At least one transplant
.

in g S hould be p racticed with cele ry or the ,

plants will not have tha t well developed -

roo t system which is so essential to p roduce

the plump finished stalks When trans
,
.

planting the seedlings , and a lso when finally

settin g out the plants trim both roots and
,

tops It will help them to recover quicker

.

f rom shock Use Paris Golden Self B lanch

.
-

ing and Giant Pascal for succ ess i ve and late

crops
'
.

B eg i n blanching i n Au gust by drawing

l oos e soi l up to the stalks which s h ould be
,

g a th ere d carefully B e sure not to get any

.

so i l i nto the heart of the plants and never

hil l w h il e th e plants a re wet f rom rain or
dew Cel er ia c i s a turnip rooted kin d Of
.
-

cel ery g rown for i ts fleshy roots wh i ch make ,

elegant sala d It i s h andled exactly like

.

stal k cel e ry but sh o uld recei ve leve l c ult i

,

v a ti on .

'
60
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

st art seve r a l do zen p a pe r p o ts w i th two or

th ree seeds e a c h in the hous e b y th e middle
of Ap r il Kept in a warm temp e ratu re and
.

we ll w a te re d th ese pots w il l s o on contain

,

s ever a l young plants ea c h S e t th e m out by

.

th e m i dd l e of M ay in hills 2 % to 3 f eet
ap a rt each w ay a nd p rote c t d u ri n g c ool
nigh ts .

Cultiv a ted al l th e ti me corn w ill s ta nd a

,

r e marka b le a mo u nt of dry we a the r p r ovi ded,

a dust mulch is mainta i ned between the

rows Two rows each 1 5 fe e t lo n g of th es e
.

two sorts w ill p rovide at l e a s t 3 d ozen ea rs

durin g the middle of July .

Fo r succe ssive crops th e p la nter m ay

e i ther m ake repeated sowin gs of th ese small
sorts eve ry other wee k up to the m i ddle of
Jul y or sow some larger l ater sorts Two ,
.

S plendi d m i dseaso n sorts whi c h w i ll mature

,

ears between the extra early and late kin d s ,

are K ende l s E arly Giant and Cosmopoli

’

tan Crosby s E arly another well known

.
’
,
-

second early sort should be used with ca n

,

tion in the home garden because i ts flavor,

does no t co m e up to that of othe r sorts dur

62
 UP TD -
DATE VEGETABLES
-

i ng the summ e r ;pl a n te d la te to m a tu re d ur

ing th e cool fall month s i t is unsurp a ssed
, .

Th re e sp l end i d l a te types which furnish ,

the swee t corn season are R ed Cob Ever

,

g reen Wh ite Evergreen an d Country

,

G e ntleman All these late sorts should

.

be pl a nte d deeper than the early small ,

ki n d s so as to give them the benefit of

,

a firmer foundation and deeper root

i n g Also put 3 to 4 fe e t o f S pace be
.
,

tween the rows and h ill th em more to resist

wind Few i f any of the late sorts surpass
.

a goo d S train of the old fashioned Re d Cob

-

Evergreen in flavor White Evergreen is

.

th e most highly developed form of the pop

ular Stowell s Evergreen whic h sort it sur
’
,

passes i n color and uniformity of ca r s .

Count ry Gentleman i s perh aps the most, ,

widely grown of the thre e M any people .

c all it Sho e Peg corn on account of the i r

regu larity of the gra i ns in the ca rs This .

has always been co ns id ere d an indication of

excell e nt quality .

63
 TH E HOME VEGETAB LE GARDEN

CUCU M B RS E
T he ra ther c o mpact spac e to wh i ch the
cucumber ma y be confined by pinching out
the tips of the vines make it available for
even small gardens While cucumbers are
.

genera lly grown in hills they may likewis e ,

b e tra i ned to trellises thus economizing ,

space Where space is plentiful build hills

.
,

about 6 inches above the surface of the

g round placing them 2 to 3 fee t apart each
,

way M ake the hills of well rotted manure

.

or compost and cover these with about 4

inches of good soil Sow a dozen seeds to
.

each hill planting them a quarter inch deep

,

in heavy soil and from V ; to 1 inch deep in

light sandy soil which cucumbers like best

,
.

After the young plants make the fourth leaf ,

and danger from i nsects is past thin them ,

out to three strong plants in t he hill Pick .

the fruits regularly to insure a continuous

,

growth Great care should be exercised

.

in gathering the fruits since pulling or jerk

,

i ng the vines will prove injurious Cut .

,

don t pull
’
.

64
 UP TO DATE VEGETABLES
- -

The first pl a nting may be m a de soon as a s

the nights are thoroughly warm ;late pickles

should be planted toward the end of June .

The best sorts for the home garden are of the

White Spine type While the E arly Russian
.

is the earliest of a ll cucumbers it is not ,

recommended for general use on account of

its insignificant size short bearing season
, ,

and indifferent quality For dhook Pickling .

,

D avis Pe rfect and L ondon Long Green are

’
,

all good strains of the White Spine cucum

ber and p rove satisfactory with planters
,

throughout this count ry J apanese Climb .

ing cucumbers rank first for training vines

to trellises because numerous tendrils
,

cause them to climb readily The only seri .

ous insect pest endangering cucumbers is a

small yellow and black striped beetle As
,
.

soon as it appears dust the plant with slug

,

shot or paris green mixed with land plaster .

It a tt a cks only young plants and is easily de

feated if a ttacked in ti m e .

EGGP LAN TS

B e i ng of trop i cal origi n th e see d s requi re ,

a very h i gh degree of heat for p roper ger

65
 THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

minati on O n a ccoun t o f thi s and b ec a use

.
,

a dozen plants a r e usually all requi re d for

the home garden i t pays best p e rhaps to
, , ,

secure plants from som e n e ar by flori st or -

seedsm a n Eggplants like rather s an dy s o il

.
,

enri ched with plenty o f well rotte d m a nu re

-
,

Set out plants any time after Deco r a tion

D ay in rows 2 feet apart wi th 3 fee t be
, ,

tween the rows H ill slightly to supp o r t

.
,

the plants and keep the fruits off the groun d .

D ust young plants with slug shot o r p a r i s

green mixed with 50 parts o f flour to pr e ,

ve nt the potato beetle from doing d a mage .

New York Imp roved Purple is th e standard

in all parts of the country whil e B lac k , .

B eau ty i s a so mew h at ea rl ie r so rt of g rea t

popularity in the east .

ND IVE
E

W hil e end i ve m ay be h ad ve ry ea rly i n

the season by sowing seeds and treating
plants exactly like early lettuce i t i s far ,

better treated as a fall crop be c aus e then ,

oth e r s ala d p la nts a re s ca rce Sow the seeds

.

66
 UP TO DATE
- -
VEGETABLES

early i n June i n a well pre p a re d b ed the -

,

same as lettuce When th e seedlings are 2

.

to 3 inches high transplant them to stand ,

4. inches apart in a shaded bed or a cold

frame In the middle of August they should
.

be tra nsplanted to the garden a foot apart ,

w i th 2 feet betwe en the rows Fifty to 7 5 .

plants are all an average family would use .

When the plants are a foo t across gath e r ,

the leaves and tie the ti ps together to blanch

the heart of the plant B e sure to open the .

plants after a rain to permit d ryi ng D o not .

blanch more plants at one time than can be

use d Two distinct typ e s Green Curl e d
.
—

and White Curled are available Th e re —

.

i s ve ry little if any di ffere n c e in thei r qu a l

, ,

i ty a nd ti m e of m a tu ri ty .

KALE

'
A very ha r dy v a rie ty o f cabba ge fo rm ,

i n g flat spre a din g plants w i th m any curly

,

leaves As a winter ve getable for greens it

.

ha s f ew e quals Start the se e ds a t the same

.

t i m e a nd in the s ame w ay a s l ate c a bb age .

67
 THE H O MEj EGETABLE GARDEN

T he e nd of July transplantthe se e dlings into

rows I foot ap a rt with 2 feet be twe e n the
rows Cultivate the same a s cabbage With
. .

the app roach of cold weath e r gather th e

plants hill slightly and p rotect with straw
,

and boards They stand considerabl e frost

.
,

which improves the quali ty D warf Ge r .

man i s the best sort for home us e A row .

3 0 feet long furnishes,

an ample supply for
a n ave rage family .

K OHLRAB I

Th i s m e mber of the cabbage family is

g rown for i ts fleshy stems which make an
excellent dish boiled and stewed l i ke tur
,

ni ps Kohlrabi is a distinct cool season

.

ve getable doing its best only early in the

,

sp ri ng and towards fall Treat seeds and .

plants like early and late cabbage For late .

crops i t i s best to sow the seeds i n rows

w h ere the plants are to mature When 4 .

i nches tall thin th e seedlings to stand 6

,

inches apart in the row Use the stems while

.

youn g a nd tender For winte r use store i n

.
,

68
A b ov e Peas : d er m a n !l eft ! B st on Un r i a le d !middl e !
Al ,
o v

Bu tt er up !r ig ht ! B e l w L ee ks
, ,

c . o , .
 UB TO DATE VEGETABLES
- -

a f rost p roof c ellar i n boxes with san d

-
.

E arly White Vienna i s th e most popular

sort in cultivation today .

L EEK

H ighly esteemed for soups and as a salad .

Sow at the same time and treat exactly like

onions Transplant the seedlings to stand
.

4 inches apart in the row and permit about

,

2 feet space betwe en the rows When the .

stalks are nearly full grown about 1 % —

inches in diameter hill them to blanch A

—
.

row 20 f eet long furnishes an ample supply

for all purposes L eeks keep splendidly
.

and a s they are hardy may be left where t hey

grow with a p rotection o f boards ;or t hey
,

may be taken into the c ellar where they may ,

be store d in th e s a m e mann e r a s ce l e ry or
carrots .

LETT UCE

Notwithstanding the fact that lettuce is

one of the easiest grown vegetables it is sel ,

69
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

dom one finds i t of goo d qu a lity i n the hom e

ga rd e n throughout the s e ason The reason
.

i s partly hot weath er Then aga i n planters

.
,

do not pay enough attention to the p roper

selection of varieti e s for di fle rent seasons of
the year .

N 0 other vegetable shows a s distin c t c har

a cte r i sti cs a s lettuce adaptin g i ts va rious
,

classes to di fferent seasons M ost books state

.

plainly which sorts do best during sp ring ,

summer or fall Still pl a nters disrega rd

, .
,

the se facts and thus secure bitte r tough let

, ,

tuce , unfit for culinary purposes The ques

.

tion of good lettuce in the home gard en may

therefore be sifted down to two points :
Proper growing and correct sorts The best .

of cultivation would not help M a y Kin g to

form good heads durin g July and August ,

while Iceberg would m ake only a fair

growth du r ing its p roper season if c ulti va
tion were neglecte d .

For a succession of lettu ce start the s e eds

o f the earliest sorts i n a cold frame by
M arch I 5 B y April I 5 these p l ants should
.

b e set i n the garden possibly betwee n rows

,

70
 UP TO
-
DATE VEGETABLES
-

of slowe r g row i n g vegetab le s p laci n g plants ,

a f oot apart to permit of perfe c t develop

ment B etween Ap ril 5 and 1 5 depending
.
,

upon the condition o f the soil and the season ,

the first planting should be m a de outdoors ,

s e lecting again early sorts About M ay I

, ,
.
,

sow seeds o f solid heading midseason varie ,

t i es which will stand the heat of July and

August without detriment to their quality .

Finally during July sow again seeds of

, ,

early sorts which will he a d rapidly during

,

the cool fall months and furnish the last l et

tuc c of the season .

While lettuce i s a shade loving plant a nd -

,

thrives best in cool moist weather p rop e r

, ,

cultivation will overcome unfavorable

weather conditions every tim e L ettuce .

likes plenty of hoeing and more hoei ng ,

.

Keep a dust mulch around the plants a nd

they will stand a surp rising amount of dry
weather and hot sun N 0 other vege t ab le.

will respond more gratefully to i ndivi d ual .

attention than lettuce A well grown soli d.

-
, ,

crisp head is well worth all th e tro ubl e one

takes to g row i t .

7 !
 TH E HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

O ne of the points necess a ry to g row per

f ee t lettuce is timely thinnin g of the young
,

plants to stand the p roper distance apart in

the row As soon as seedlings a re 3 to 4
. .

inches h i gh thin them to stand 4 inches

, .

apart i n the row When their spreading .

leaves b e gin to crowd cut ou t every o ther ,

plant E i g h t inches i s usually enough space

.

for the small early sorts B ut sorts like Ice

‘
,
.

berg a nd N ew York should have another

thinning leaving the plants finally 1 2 to 1 6
,

inche s apart in the row D o not delay this .

work for a s soon as lettuce plants become

,

crowded they cease developing and tend to

form seed stalks before b ecom i n g fully de
v el o p e d .

The ea rliest sorts are d i v i ded into loose

leaved and heading varieties E arly Curled .

Simpson B lack Seeded Simpson B on Ton

, ,

and P r i z ehe a d are the best of the loose

leaved type Th ey mature in the order men
.

ti one d H ead lettuce of earliest maturity

.

are W a ya hea d M ay King Golden Q ueen

, ,

and California Cream B utter All form .

h eads with i n a week of each other i f sown

7 2
 UP TO
.
- -
DATE VEGETABLES

outdo o rs b y the mi d dl e of April , f o llow ing

closely those that were transplanted fro m
the cold frame at th e sam e tim e .

Among the midseason sorts are two di s

tinct divisions : B utterhead and crisphead
—
one with smooth fatty le aves a nd the ,

other with brittle crisp leaves and p romi

,

nent midribs The best butterhead lettuce

.

in this class is All Seasons with D eacon as ,

a close rival All Seasons may b e d escribed

.

as a black seeded D eacon There i s very

-
.

little difference in the quality of th e plants .

The list of good crisphead sorts i s long

i nd e ed but any of the three sorts mentioned
,

here w i ll come up to quali ty requirements .

Iceberg heads the list with i ts handsom e , ,

light green shapely heads D enver M ar

,
.

ket is noticeable on account of i ts peculiarly

“
savoyed or c urly outsid e leaves N ew
!
.

York or Wonderful i s the latest but larges t ,

o f this trio forming re markable he ad s of

,

d ark green outside color .

Finally the Cos or Roma i ne lettuces de

,

serve a few word s of recommendation .

The i r upri gh t compa c t growth a dapts them

,

73
 TH E HOME VEG ETABLE GARD EN

i d ea lly to th e home garden When plante d

.

between tomatoes or in the cabbage patch

t hey will form up right elongated heads
, ,

which should be blanched like c e lery for

best quali ty .

M U SK M ELONS

The only way to get mus kmelons that

are just right in quality i s to grow them in
one s own garden While they take up more
’
.

space than other vegetables and returns to ,

the square foot are not so large they may ,

be confined to certain limits by pinching o ff

the ends of the main shoots early in the se a
son . This causes a more compact g rowth
with many lateral branches and li kewise i n .

duces plants to bear earlier .

M uskmelons are usually plante d i n hills ,

5 feet apart each wa y ,

plac i ng about a d ozen
seeds i n each hill As soon as young plants
.

appear S prinkle them sli ghtly with slu g

,

shot to defy the insects After se e dlings

, .

have b e come we ll established reduce the m ,

to three o f the st ro n gest pl a n ts in e a ch hill .

74
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

tions in the east Those who want a larger

.

green fle shed melon should try either

-

M atchless Acme or O hio Sugar All are

, ,
.

of fine quali ty and ideal for the home

garden .

The salmon fle she d sorts possess that

-

peculiar musky flavor responsible for the

name of this fruit Their requirements as .

to culture and soil do not di ffer from those

o f the green fle she d varieties
-
Emerald .

Gem is a small deeply ribbed very sweet

, ,

sort of great populari ty in all sections .

Fo r dhook a small but very delicious new

,

sort of recent introduction embodies table , ,

a s well as shipping qualities in an unusual

degree B urrell s Gem may be described as

.
’

a salmon fle she d Rocky Ford It i s mo re

-
.

oval in shape and runs a littl e l a rger th an

that popular sort .

W AT ERM ELO N

The gen e ral management of w a termelons

in the home garden di ffers little from that of
muskmelons for which expl i c i t d i rections
,

7 6
L e tt u c e Ma y
,
K ing !a bo v e!
, W a ya he a d b el w !
! o
 TH E H OM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

g re en skin weigh i ng 8 to 1 0 p o unds It i s

, .

one o f the sweetest mel o ns g rown and as i t ,

is only a few days later than some of the

poorer flavored kinds bette r wa i t for it
, .

N ext in season and perhaps better in qual

,

ity tha n Fo r dhook E arly are H albert ,

H oney Kl e ckley Sweets Tom Watson and

, ,

a recen t i n troduction called Sugar S ti ck .

Th i s last i s the only light skinned melon in

-

t he collecti on All the re st have a dark

.

gre e n skin faintly striped with a lighter

green They range from I O to 20 pounds
.

each Th e re are showier melons but for

.
,

qual i ty th ese few sorts are the i d eal kinds to

plant i n the home garden .

M USTARD

M ustard i s a short season c rop used i n

-
,

connection with other vegetables It should .

be sown in small quanti t i es only and used ,

up quickly as it goes to seed i n a s h ort time

,
.

Sow s e e d s of varieties recomm e nde d below

thinly in d ri lls 1 8 inch e s to 2 feet apart .

When the see d lin gs are 3 to 4 inc h e s ta ll ,

78
 U P TO
- -
DATE VEGETABLES

th i n the m to sta nd 6 i nches a part in th e row .

Constant cultivation p romotes rapid a nd

continuous growth As soon as the plants
.

are fully grown use them as seed stalks

, ,

form rapidly and th ey become unfit for use .

O ne of the best ways to use mustard i s in

connection with endive or spinach which ,

vegetables are greatly imp roved by the

peculiar pungent flavor mustard lends to the
dishes Vari eties especially recommended
.

for home growin g are For dhook Fancy ,

with handsomely c urled leaves Southern ,

Giant Curled a va rie ty freely used in the

,

south and E lephant E ar a large sort with

, ,

fine fleshy leaves M ake i t the rule to sow

.

mustard frequently planting littl e a t a time

,
.

O KRA
’
Few peop l e north of M ason a nd Di xon s
line are acquainted with th i s easily
grown vegetable which forms the basis fo r
,

many splendid southern dishes O kr a grows .

2 to 5 feet tall with a spr ea d of 2 to 4 feet

, ,

accordin g to th e var i e ty Sow the seeds

.

'
79
 TH E HOM E VEG ETABLE GARD EN

toward the e nd of M a y in the latitude of

New York dropping them 4 inches apart in
,

rows 3 feet apart When th e plants begin to

.

crowd thin them out to stand 2 to 3 f eet

,

apart in the row according to the kinds ,

grown .

The earliest and choicest of O kras is

White Velvet a varie ty with many hand
,

some smooth velve ty white pods Perkins

, , ,
.
’

Perfected Long Podded i s the tallest of all

kinds with handsome green pods of excel
,

lent quali ty O kra h a s no insect enemies is

.
,

of easy culture and bears freely on all kinds

o f soil .

ON ION S
The earliest supply of green onions the
home garden yields is usually produced by
planting onion sets late in the fall previous .

These onion sets which can be secured in

,

white red and yellow are really small on

, , ,

ions grown from seed the summer before .

O nion sets may be planted in the fall just ,

before the ground freezes and left out in the ,

garden all winter with but a slight p rotec

t i on of coarse m a nure .

80
 m a HOME VEGETABLE GARD EN

fro m one a nd a ha lf pounds to two pounds

e a ch .

Those who have n o f ac i l i ti es to pu rsue

th is me th od m ay start growin g on i ons by
,

sow i ng s e eds di rectly i n th e open g roun d in

a w e ll p r e pared bed e arl y i n Apr il

-
Sow .

the seeds thinly in rows 1 2 to 1 8 i nch e s

a part, an d when the young seedl i ngs are 3
to 4 i nc h es tall thin them out to stand 4
.
, .

i n c hes apart i n the row Give sh a llow c ul

.

ti v a ti on throughout the season a n d keep the

row f ree f ro m weeds In the fall wh e n the
.
,

tops begi n to bend over, whic h i s an i ndica

tion of r i penin g pull the on i ons and leave
,

th em i n rows exposed to the sun for several

days so they may dry thoroughly A f ter
,
.

they are dried trim the necks and store in a

,

coo l room for w i nter use Th ey will stand

.

cold ai r better than warm air wh i ch i s apt ,

to caus e th em to sprout and spoi l .

The on i on i s one of the few vegetabl e s

t hat may b e grown on the same piece o f
ground for several years w i th out detriment
to quali ty I t is not always w i se to do this
.
,

howeve r, b ecaus e of the p o ss i b ili ty of d am

82
 '
UP IO DATE VEGETAB LES
r -
.

a g e b y the o n i on m aggot The e arliest va .

r i e ti e s ar e the so called Q ueen and B arletta

-

onions seeds o f which a re imported from

,

F rance Next to these i n se a son of ripen

.

ing com e th e ea rl i est American varieties of ,

whic h the Southport White Globe a nd

Southport Yellow Globe are eas i ly th e most
beautiful and mos t p ro d uctive The Yel .

low Globe D anvers on i on enjoys great p op ,

ul a ri ty in many sections of the east while in ,

the ce ntral west Southport Red Globe and

,

Red W e the rfi el d are th e most popular “

These last two are the largest of all Ameri

can onions Prize Taker Gigantic Gi b r a l
.
,

tar and Ailsa Craig are th e largest onions in

cultivati on today They are a peculiar .

greenish yellow distinct from any other v a

-
,

r i e ty o f Americ a n orig in .

PARSLEY

Parsley comes in so handy in connection

with such a great varie ty of dishes tha t a ,

short row should be found in every garden .

Th e see ds a re o f rath er slow ge rm i n a tion .

33
 TH E H OM E VEGETAB LE GARDEN

B est results are obtained by soakin g them

in warm water 24 hours before sowing .

When the seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall ,

thin them out to stand 6 to 8 i nches apart in

the row Even if cut free l y parsley will
.
,

come again from the roots A few roots .

dug i n the fall and planted i n pots will pro

vide a n ample supply during the winter .

The ea rliest varieties and the best for the

home garden M oss Curled and D warf
,

D ouble Curled combine beauty wi th util

,

i ty D w a rf Perfection i s a beautiful com

.
,

pact growing sort ornamental enough to be

-
,

utiliz e d a s a border plant a round flower

beds .

PARSN IPS

A wholesome vegetabl e g rown for i ts

fleshy roots which form a del i c i ous dish
,

when boiled a nd fri e d The seeds a re rather

.

fine and should be sown th i nly i n drills not

more th a n Mi nch d eep w i th 2 fee t be t ween
,

the rows Two rows 1 5 feet long e ach will

.
, ,

furnis h a n ample supply for th e average

fam i ly Tr a nsplant th e se ed l i n gs to stand
.

84
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

Smooth seeded peas are sown a s ea rly i n

-

the spr i ng a s the ground can be put in shape .

The early wrinkled ki nds should be sown

about two weeks later w hen the soil ha s be
,

come w a rm . Sow peas in drills dropping

,

the seeds about 2 inches apart in the row ,

a nd permitting 2 to 2 % feet betwe e n th e

r ows for th e tall varieties . The dwarf kinds

ma y b e planted a s close a s 1 8 inch e s apart .

It i s a good scheme to sow them i n double

drills with 4 i nches betwe e n the drills .

These broad rows will then support them

selves and require no staking For the tall
.

kinds drive a stake at ea ch end of the row

, ,

o r if the rows are very long place the stakes

,

about 1 0 feet apart Then run twine from

.

the base of th e stake a nd between the stakes ,

placing the rows of twin e 4 to 6 i nches abov e

each other .

Peas appre ci ate liberal manur i ng Ex

.

ce l l e nt results are obtained by digging deep

trenches in th e bottom of which manure is

placed O n top of this spread a layer of soil
.

an i nch or so thick and sow the seeds and

cov e r w i th about 2 i nch es o f good loos e soil
,
.

86
 TH E HOM E VEG ETABLE GARDEN

later if planted on the same day the first

, ,

o f the sweet fla vo r e d sorts will be ready for

-

use This is Gradus or Prosperity a large

.
,

podd e d kind with very large sweet peas .

Following closely in season come Sutton s ’

E xcelsior L ittle M arvel and Thomas L ax

,

ton Experts p ronounce the last named

.

the finest all around American pea in cul

-

t i va ti on today In most sections o f this

.

country none of the varieties mentioned

,

will grow vines taller tha n 1 8 to 30 inches ,

according to varie ty Gradus in cool se c .

,

tions will p rove ideal in the home garden

, ,

since it will furnish a continuous supply of

sweet luscious peas from th e middle of M a y
until the first week of July if sowings have ,

been made n o t later than the middle of

April Foremost among the tall varieties
.

are Alderman and B oston Unrivaled both ,

ma tur i ng four to five days after the l ast

picking of t he early kinds has been used up .

The s e varieties grow 4 to 5 feet tall and ,

should be staked .

Following these m i dseason varieties ,

come th e late kinds the three best of wh ic h

,

88
 UP -
TO -
DATE VEG ETABLES

are B ritish Wonder Champion of E ngland

,

and Potlach Potlach i s a decided improve

.

ment over the popular N o tt s Excelsior ’

.

These late peas are dwarf making vines 2 ,

to 2 % feet tall .All are very prolific and

mature pods in the order mentioned After .

they mature the weather usually turns so

,

hot there is little use to attempt to g row

peas for succession B ut along in August
.

several sowings of early kinds may be made ,

which will again provide the table with d e

l i ci ous p ea s just before frost While the .

y ields at that season wi ll not compare fa

vo r a b l y with those recorded in t he S p ring ,

the quality secured i n hom e grown p eas will

-

make the e xtr a effort worth wh i le .

P EPP ERS

Pepp er p la nts are usu a lly sta rted by sow

ing seeds in the house or in hotbeds toward
the end of February The young plants are
.

potted when they get large enough i n which ,

shape they are kept under c ove r unt i l coo l

ni ghts a re a matter of th e past A do zen .

89
 THE HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

plants p rovid e usually an ample supply of

peppers for all purposes Set them in well .

enriched soil 2 feet apart each way and cul

, ,

ti va te freely H ill the stems slightly to t e

.

sist wind and weather The best way in .

which to secure a success i on o f peppe rs i s

to pick out suitable varieties wh ic h be ar a t
di fferent seasons .

The earliest of all pepp e rs of good s i z e is

E arly Neapolitan a medium sized elon
,
-
,

gated kind of sweet flavor Following N ea

,
.

politan in season comes Ruby King which ,

is easily the most popular and most widely

grown sort in all sections of the country .

B ell or B ull Nose follows Ruby King in s ea

son . Chinese Giant is the latest of all but ,

the largest of the large fruited peppers suit

-

“
able for making man goes It i s not .
!

recommended to grow Chinese Giant in

sections of t he country having a shorter s ea

son than northern O hio a s i ts frui t re qui res

,

a rather long season to mature .

A few plants of a small hot vari e ty will

be found useful for flavori ng The most .

p opular of these is L ong R ed Cayenne pods ,

9o
 THE
. H OM E VEGETAB LE GARDEN

g round w i th o ut a ny d e tr i ment to ei th e r .

Pumpki ns hav e pr a c ticall y no i nsec t ene

mie s an d a re remarkably free from di sea se .

Th ey fail in hot dry seasons o nly wh en the

corn a bso rbs a ll the mois ture i n the soil ,
ca usi ng a stu nted g rowth of th e pum p ki n
vines a nd i nju ry to the f r u i t Pump ki n s
, .

should b e g ath e re d before severe col d

we ath e r sets in If th ey a re h andled care
.

fu l l y, they will k e ep f or a consider able

length of time Among the best vari eties
.

fo r home use are Small Su g ar and C roo k

nec k o f th e early sorts ;Cushaw and Gol d en
O blong among the winter v ari e ti es .

T o grow e xtra large pumpkins for fai rs,

ca re should be taken to ma ke the so i l extra
r ich by i n c orpor a ti ng pl e nty o f we l l r otted
-

s tabl e or cow manure Wate r f ree ly and

.
,

re du ce the numb e r of fruits to two to the

vi n e
. L ate r i n the season remove one pe r
, ,

mi tting o nl y the l arger to deve lo p .

RAD ISH ES
The h ort s e ason i n whic h they m a ture if
s

g r ow n on corr ec t soi l a nd unde r ro

p p e r con

92
 UP TO
- -
DATE VEG ETABLES

di rions makes r adishes adapta bl e to cultiva

ti on between other crops Sp ace th at will
.

be occupied by c rops of later maturi ty may

be utili ze d for the p roduction of e a rly va -

r i e ti e s.

As early i n the season a s the g round i s

in fit condition to be worked se e d s of e a rly,

spring varieties may be sown in the open

ground i n rows 8 to 1 3 in c h es ap a rt I t is .

very important that radish e s b e thi n ned out

to stand the p roper dista nc e in th e row so ,

th ey may d evelop properl y The smalle st .

k inds should be thinned to sta nd 1 to 2

'
inches apart i n the row ; large r a nd later
v arieties requir e 3 to 4 i nc hes for p rope r

development .

With proper managem ent r a d i s h es may ,

be e njoyed from early i n the sp ring until

well into the winter As th e crops of early
.

spring radishes deteriorate very rap i dly i t ,

i s advisable to plant short rows often rather ,

than to plant one long row M ake repeated

.

sowings of the earliest kinds and larger sow

ings of the summer and winte r va ri eti e s

which will stand the hea t read ily .

93
 TH E HOM E VEG ETABL E GARDEN

Am on g the e arlie st spr i n g r a d i sh es sev ,

era l vari e ti e s will m a ture i n 20 to 2 4 d ays . .

Rosy Gem is one o f th e ea rli es t a s well a s

one o f the most b e autiful o f th i s e xtr a ea rly
typ e. N e Plus Ultra Sc a rl e t Glob e S n ow
, ,

B al l a nd H ai lston e are all extra early round

or tu rni p sh ap e d v a rie tie s Amon g the so
-
.

cal led o l i ve s h ap ed sorts F re nc h B rea kf a st

-
,

i s eas i ly the h andsom e st whi l e Tw e nty D ay

,
-

Forci n g i s a S plen di d sort of so lid sc a rlet .

Next in s ea son o f maturi ty a re the ea rly

lon g sorts o f wh i ch Wo od s Earl y F r ame
,
’
,

L on g Scarlet Short Top Wh i te Ic i cl e and

,

C i n c innati M arket are the best Thes e ma .

ture i n the order menti oned .

As hot weather approach es a ll th ese v a r ie

ti e s becom e unfit for us e Be ginnin g in .

June sowi n gs should be made of summer

,

vari e ties which have a fi rmer texture and

, ,

stand the h ea t better The best known red

.
,

long summer radish i s Charti ers whil e

, ,

L on g White Vienna and White Strasburg

are the choicest white sorts of th i s type .

These m a ture in July .

94
 ‘
‘
UP l O
- -
DATE VEGETAB LES

Two di sti nct cla ss e s of w in te r rad i shes a re

found in th e Chinese and the California
ty pes C a l i fornia M ammoth Winter and
.

White Celestial are the largest growing of

the C a lifornia winter radishes Round .

B lack Spanish a nd Lon g B lack Spanish are

of much firmer texture They will keep well
.

unti l spring if properly stored in sand in

th e cell a r during the winter Sowings of .

winter r a dishes should be made in July and

should b e treated in th e s am e manne r a s
turnips .

RH U BARB
Sow see ds thinly in drills about ha lf an
inch deep with 1 foot between the rows Be .

sure to press the soil firmly over th e r ow to

insure even germination Keep the row free
.

of weeds and give frequent cultivation to en

courage rapid growth of the seedlings .

E arly in th e S p ring before they start to

,

sp rout take up these seedlings and trans

,

plant them to thei r permanent location 2 ,

to 3 feet apart each way .

Since rhubarb occupies the same p i ece of

9S
 THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

g round fo r yea rs it p a ys we l l to ma ke the

,

so i l ve ry r i c h , by i ncorpor a tin g pl e nty of

well rotte d manure A dozen pl a n ts sup

-
.

ply us ual ly a h a mp le a moun t of sta lk s for a

small fam i ly .

R hub a rb i s e a sily fo rce d by ta king up a

large clump late i n the fall a f te r a l l to p
growth ha s d i sa ppe a re d a nd the clumps are ,

frozen B r in g i t into the house and place

.

it i n a b a rrel i n the c e llar Soon long deli .

,

c a te stal ks will a pp e ar which will make ,

deli c ious sauce a nd extend the season for th i s

d e li cious ve ge ta ble late into the w i nte r .

SALS IFY

Of ten cal l ed oyster plan t an d ve getable

oyster Seed s should be sown in very shal
.

low drills 1 5 i nches apart during M a y in

, , ,

fine loose s o il Transplant se e dlings to

,
.

stand 4 to 6 inches a part in th e row and cul

ti v a te freely to insure good S ize The roots .

of th i s vegetable are very hardy and can be

left in the ground o r stored in the cellar dur
ing th e winter The b e st known v a r i e ty
.

96
 TH E H O ME VEGETABLE GARDEN

ac h g ree ns The re i s li ttle us e of pl ant i ng

.

spin ach dur i n g July or August but by the ,

end of Au gust sowings may b e mad e for fal l

use. Rep e ated sowings during Septembe r
wi ll supply th e tabl e with spin a c h r ight up
to cold we ath er .

The best var i eti es fo r the home gar den a r e

V i ctor i a L on g Season and Triumph The
, .

last sort p roduces fine cr i sp plants of rathe r

,

flat spreading growth N ew Z ealan d spi n

,
.

ach although not a member o f the S p i nach

,

fam i ly may be consid e red another excellen t

,

substitute for greens during the h ot summe r

months This pecul i ar strange r from the
.

south e rn hemisphere develops plants of t e

markable Si z e som e attaining a sp read o f 6
,

to 8 fee t .

SQ UASH ES

Two di sti n c t types of squash the summer ,

a nd the winter varieties make th i s vegetable

,

useful dur i ng a long season Squashes have .

the advantage over pumpki ns i n having a

number of bush varieties which on account , ,

of th e i r compact growth are a d aptable to ,

9 8
 ur m na r a VEGETABLES
- -

the s mall area of the home g a rden There .

i s ve ry li ttle di fi er ence in the re qu i re ments

a nd cu l ti v a t i on of pumpkin s a nd squashes ,

w i th th e exce pti on that squashe s a re a lways

pl an te d a s a di s ti n c t c rop .

Foremo st among the bus h squ as hes ra nk ,

th e p opu la r Wh i te B ush and Yel low B ush ,

the fo r mer b ei n g b e tte r known under the

nam e o f Pa tty Pa n . For dhook , a varie ty
foun d i n both bush and vin i n g fo rm i s like ,

w i s e highly re commende d on acco unt o f i ts

ex c ell e n t qu ali ty While som e o f th e se early
.

varie ti e s a re good keepers they c a nnot com

,

pare w i th the w i nter squashes whi ch grow ,

to much la rge r siz e and have a ve ry har d

shell The most i mportant o f all winte r
.

squashe s in m o st sections of th e c ountry i s

H ubbar d, a n d a stra i n of it call e d Wa rt ed
H ubb a r d An oth e r very popu la r var ie ty in
.

m a ny se c ti ons o f the east is B oston M arrow .

A h andsom e sort o f finest qual i ty i nt ro duce d

in l ate years is D el ici ou s .

Squ a s h es like p umpk i ns s h ou ld b e sto red

, ,

b e fore he avy f ro st ma kes i ts app ea ra n ce I f .

they a r e p ut awa y i n good cond i tio n a nd i .

99
 TH E HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN

p roperly taken c a re of th ey will k eep a l most

,

u n til the next se a son s cro p i s re a dy

’
.

TO MATOES
Tomatoes are a mon g th e most profita bl e
crops in the ho me garde n Few othe r th ings .

yield a s handsome re turns to the squ are foot .

Wi th ca reful man agemen t a consta nt sup ,

p ly ma y be secured from the middl e of July

unti l frost Tomatoes are not particular a s
.

to s oil. They thrive to perfe cti on in ne a rly

a l l p a rts of the country The seeds are usu
.

al ly sown in a box i n th e house i n Feb ru a ry .

Wh en the seedlings are 3 to 4 inch es tall ,

they s hould be tran splanted into oth e r b oxes

4 i nc hes apart each way o r they ma y,
b e se t
i n to in dividual paper pots Af te r the trans .

pl a nted seedlings h ave become we ll rooted ,

they s h ould be ke pt in a som ewha t coo le r

tem pera ture in ord e r to e ncourage a stu rdy
, ,

stocky g rowth Any ti me a f ter the m id dle

.

o f M ay or when all d an ge r of n i gh t frost i s

,

p ast the pl a n ts m ay be set in the garden

, ,

2 % to 3 f ee t a p a r t ea ch way Where sta k .

ing and p r uni n g a s a dvoca te d b el ow i s

, ,

1 00
 THE HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

ment w i ll p rodu ce a n abund a n ce of ha nd

some fruits th at w i l l r i p en un i forml y an d b e
free of a ll d e fec ts .

Consta nt succession o f frui t from ea rly i n

July until frost may be secured by planting
the follow i ng varieties : Sp a rk s E a r l i a na
’
,

the earlie st o f all bright red tomatoes ma ,

tur i ng i n some sections a s e a rly as the fi rst

week i n July from plants se t in the ground
,

the m i ddle of M ay It i s closely followed

.

in season by Chalk s Ea rly Jewel another

’
,

bright red sort of large si z e a nd somewhat

milder flavor When Chalk s is in full bear
.
’

ing the first of the late kinds of which Stone

, ,

i s the m a in representati ve will become fit ,

for u se By the time E a rl i a na i s exh austed

.
,
’
Chalk s should be in bearin g Chalk s a s
’
.

well a s Stone wi l l bear till frost O f the .

p ink or purple sorts June Pink is the e a r l i

,

est I t resembles in many respects E a r l i a na

.
,

amon g the bright red sorts In B eauty we .

have the best main crop and midseason pur

ple sort for all purposes It bears during a
.

long period and the fruits are of uniformly

goo d si ze s h ape a nd fine m i l d qual i ty For
, ,
.

10 2
 UP TO
-
DATE VEGETABLES
-

those w h o like rather l a rge s i ze d frui ts, Pon

-

derosa will fill all requi remen ts .

Tomatoes h ave few insect enemies Dur .

i n g the middl e of the season l a rge gre en

,

tomato wo rms are a pt to app ea r Th ey .

should b e carefully p icke d off a n d de

stroye d Should blight atta ck th e v i n es i t
.
,

m ay be well to spray with bord ea ux H ow .

ever the safest course is to d e stroy bl ight

,

stricken vines by removin g them fro m the

garden and burning th em In planning th e.

garden care S hould be take n th a t toma to es

,

will not occupy th e same piec e of g ro u nd

t wo seasons in succession Di sregard o f this
.

precauti on i s responsibl e for most o f the

bligh t .

TU RN IPS AN D RUTABAGAS
Extra early crops of turnips may b e se
cured by sowing seeds of early kinds i n the
S pring as soon a s the g round can b e put in
,

condition The main plantin gs h owever

.
, ,

are usually mad e at the end of July w i th a ,

view of storin g the roots for winte r use Sow .

the s eeds ve ry th i nly h alf an i n ch deep in

103
 TH E HOM E VEGETABLE GARDEN

rows 1 8 i nch es apart Thin out the see dli ngs

.

when th ey are a bout 4 inch es tall and culti ,

va te the rows freely and thoroughly The .

old way of broadca sting turnip s eed is not

recomm end e d a s p racticable for the home
garden since too m a ny of the roo ts will not
,

develop p roperly .

Rutabagas o r Swedish tu rnips are m uch

, ,

later than common turnips but have fl esh ,

of much firmer texture They a lso keep be t

.

ter Besides being g rown for home con

.

sumption both t urnips and rutabaga s f u r

,

ni sh excellent stock feed .

A mong the earliest varietie s o f turni p s ,

E xtra E a rly White M il a n and E xtr a E a rly

- -

Purple To p M ilan are th e most pop ul a r

-
.

Good main c rop varieties of turnips a re

Purple Top Strap L eaved and Purple Top
- - -

White Globe Excellent rutabagas are Yel

.

low Fleshed N eck l ess and E leph a nt which

-
,

latte r re a ches a goo d siz e Both turnips a nd.

rutab a ga s should be s tored i n f rost p roof -

cellars or buried in p i ts, to furni sh a supply

during the w in te r .

104