io6o Rural School Leaflet 



planting of peas will be out in time for a second planting of snap beans, 

 and the second planting of peas may be followed by late beets. The 

 first planting of snap beans will probably be completely used, and the 

 vines can be pulled in time for a sowing of late turnips. The early cabbage 

 will be out of the way in time for a sowing of late lettuce, radishes, and 

 spinach, about the middle of August. The tomatoes, the com, and the 

 vine vegetables will, of course, remain. 



If the garden is a success, we should have a good variety of vegetables 

 to store for winter use : parsnips, onions, carrots, cabbage, dry snap beans, 

 beets, and turnips. 



The plan is now complete, and by measuring with our scale we can 

 determine how many feet of row and how many hills of each vegetable 

 there will be. By looking at the offers of the seedsmen on pages 1073 and 

 1074, we can determine how many packets of seed we shall need and what 

 they will cost. It is always wise to buy a little more seed than will be 

 needed. The seed order should be made out and sent at once. 



The garden plan, which we have given in order that you may see how 

 to prepare yotir own plan, will serve merely as a guide. Each boy and 

 girl who is going to have a garden should sit down and work out his or her 

 plan in the same way, whether the garden is to be large or small. The 

 garden of thirty by fifty feet is a good size for an active boy or girl twelve 

 years of age and upwards. If you are younger than twelve years, perhaps 

 it would not be wise to undertake such a large garden. For a smaller 

 plot of ground, fewer vegetables had better be grown. Even a boy or 

 girl eight or nine years old can take care of a strip of ground ten by fifteen 

 feet and grow a crop of radishes and lettuce, or cabbage, tomatoes, sweet 

 corn, or any one or two of the vegetables that the family will enjoy. 



Now let us suppose that your garden plan is complete and that you 

 have sent for the seeds that will be needed. For plants that should be 

 started indoors, you can prepare the boxes, or " flats," before the seeds 

 come. Early cabbage and tomato plants and a few plants of parsley are all 

 that it is necessary to start in this way, but, if you choose, you may also 

 start cucumber, squash, or lettuce. Find or make shallow boxes, three or 

 four inches deep and a foot or more square, and bore holes in the bottom 

 for drainage. Next the bottom, place a laj^er of coarse spongy material, 

 such as moss, sawdust, or coarse manure. On top of this, place very fine 

 rich soil, and take pains to have this soil right. You can make a screen 

 out of some wire netting to use in sifting the soil. As the soil is put into 

 the box, pack it down firmly. When the box is full to within a half inch 

 of the top, it is ready for the seed. Use one box for each kind of seed. Do 

 not sow the seed until about six weeks before it is time to set plants out- 

 doors. At one side of the box make a straight furrow in the soil and sow 



