ro62 Rural School Leaflet 



them sprout and then raking the garden. Every weed killed before 

 planting the garden means less trouble afterward. Work faithfully in 

 order to obtain a good seed bed — one that is fine, firm, moist, warm, 

 and free from weeds. 



It is impossible to give exact dates for planting the seeds. The time 

 will vary with the kind of seed, with the season, and also with the location. 

 There is considerable difference in temperature between southern and 

 northern New York, for example. Long Island and St. Lawrence County. 

 You will have to develop judgment about time of planting. Those seeds 

 that may be hurt by frost should not be planted vmtil all danger is past. 



Sow the seeds according to the plan you have made, measure distances 

 carefully, and make the rows straight and even. It is always well to use 

 a garden line as a guide. Be careful not to sow the seed so thickly that 

 you fan to cover the space allotted. Tiny seeds slip between the fingers 

 easily and are gone before you reaUze it. Guard against this. Sow the 

 seed as evenly as possible, and cover it to the required depth, firming 

 the soil well. The best garden is not all sown in one day and then left 

 for a couple of weeks until plants and weeds have sprouted. Each vege- 

 table is studied and sown at the best time for its development. Often, 

 however, it is not practicable to do this, and then certain seeds can be 

 grouped as indicated on our plan. Boys and girls who have opportunity 

 to visit their gardens daily will find much success and pleasure in treating 

 each vegetable by itself and studying its peculiar needs. 



Care of the garden should be constant and thorough. Not a day should 

 go by that does not find you in the garden for a time doing those things 

 that need to be done. " A stitch in time saves m'ne," and often a few 

 hours or a day will make all the difference between success and failure. 



One of the most important matters is that of thinning.. It hardly seems 

 right at the time to thin a row of fine little beet or turnip plants b}- pulling 

 out most of them, leaving only the strongest plants six inches apart. Later 

 on, however, you will realize that the plants that were left have grown 

 better and more rapidly because they have had room, and they will be 

 tender in quality and fine in flavor because they were not stunted. 



There are often vacant places in the garden that can be used by setting 

 in a lettuce or a cabbage plant. Do not leave such places unfilled. Trans- 

 planting is not a difficult process although many persons are not success- 

 ful because they are not careful. Good gardeners are able to transplant 

 almost any plant. It should be done late in the afternoon, and, if possible, 

 while the soil is moist after a rain. The plants should be well soaked 

 before they are dug up, so that plenty of soil wiU cling to their roots. 

 Dig a hole in the proper place, larger and slightly deeper than the roots 

 of the plant, and set the plant in the hole. Cover the roots with soil, 



