774 Rural School Leaflet 



6. Vegetables that should be twelve inches apart: Bean, cabbage, cauli- 

 flower, eggplant, endive, kohl-rabi, pepper. 



7. Vegetables that may be sown thickly: Carrot, leek, onion, pea, radish. 



8. Vegetables that should be three to four feet apart each way: Bean (pole), 

 corn, cucumber, kale, melon, squash. 



THE GARDEN MULCH 

 C. E. HUNN 



In many school gardens as well as in many home gardens, the lack 

 of a good supply of water often results in a partial failure of the crop 

 or demands hard work in carrying water. This lack of water may be 

 overcome by the use of some kind of mulch. The mulch serves several 

 purposes: conserving moisture in the soil by preventing evaporation; 

 keeping the surface of the soil loose; protecting the plant roots from 

 injury by frost; and to a certain extent with some materials adding 

 plant food to the soil. The first two considerations are perhaps the 

 most important in the school garden, and even where water may be 

 used in quantity it is often better to mulch the ground around the plants 

 than to use water too freely. 



Constant watering will cause heavy soil to become sodden and sour, 

 whereas by the use of two or three inches of mulch the soil will remain 

 loose and sweet. Mulch is also valuable on light, sandy soil where evap- 

 oration is rapid. Plants demand moisture around the roots, but do not 

 thrive with their roots standing in water; and where a mulch is used 

 there is a constant supply of moisture rising through the soil which will 

 be held near the surface by the mulch. 



The material that can be used as a mulch may be anything supplying 

 shade and lying close to the ground: short grass, straw, hay, coarse manure, 

 leaves, and old boards. Stirring the surface of the soil with a hoe or a 

 rake will produce a "dust mulch" that will be of benefit. (Seepage 219.) 



