Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 
Vol. V St. Louis, Mo., April, 1917 No. 4 
THE SPRING VEGETABLE GARDEN 
The home vegetable garden is an important economic 
factor for the city family in these days of rapidly increas- 
ing cost of living. In fact, it is almost a necessity at the 
present time to utilize all available space in the production 
of foodstuffs. To the average person the undertaking of 
growing vegetables seems appalling, because of the over- 
estimated cost, the time necessary, and the intricacies of 
plant growth. However, the first cost of fitting the soil of 
an average back yard and buying of the seed will not exceed 
ten dollars, while in a good many cases it may be done for 
half the sum, and any one with sufficient ambition can per- 
form all the labor necessary after work hours. In addition 
to the economic factor involved, the real dietetic value of 
fresh vegetables, the benefits derived from healthful exer- 
cise in the open air, and the pleasure of seeing plants develop 
from day to day should influence many in starting a garden. 
In planning the garden the maximum of production on 
a minimum of space is essential, and the ground should be 
fully occupied from early spring until late fall. This means 
that rows of vegetables should be planted close together, that 
short-season crops should be planted between rows, and that 
as soon as one crop is harvested another should take its place. 
Transplanting should be practised to a large extent, to save 
space during early growth of the plant. Extremely rapid 
growth is made possible by enriching the soil and applying 
copious quantities of water. 
Since planting should be close and a large amount of 
edible pias obtained from each square foot of ground, 
it will be necessary to omit from a gardens of this kind some 
of the rank-growing vegetables which produce proportion- 
ally small returns for the amount of space occupied. Plants 
producing the greatest amount of edible matter in the short- 
est time should be given preference; that is, sweet corn 
melons, squash, and others of that type may be omitted, an 
the garden devoted to such crops as lettuce, radishes, beets, 
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