Rural School Leaflet 1079 



FRUITS FOR THE HOME GARDEN 

 H. B. Knapp 



There is nothing that adds more to the beauty of a country home or 

 affords more real satisfaction and enjoyment to its possessor, than does 

 a well-kept garden with its fruit, flowers, and vegetables. 



Aside from the pleasure that the garden affords, it may be made a 

 constant source of income by supplying fruits and vegetables for the 

 table almost the year round. It is not too much to say that the garden 

 can be made the most profitable area on the farm. 



The vegetables that are most desirable for the home garden are known 

 to all, but the selection of the proper fruit varieties for home use has been 

 given little attention. We should first, however, decide on a suitable 

 location for our garden. 



While the various fruits differ somewhat in their soil adaptations, they 

 are cosmopolitan enough to succeed on the same soil type, provided it is 

 rich, well-drained, and retentive of moisture. Probably the most accept- 

 able type would be a light, friable clay loam, perhaps grading into a 

 gravelly loam, which is so favorable for the peach. The garden should 

 be so located that air currents pass readily to and fro across the field, or, 

 as it is stated, the air drainage must be good. This is in order to lessen 

 the liability to the development of fungous diseases, and also to avoid 

 as far as possible the danger of frosts at blossoming time. 



In choosing the different kinds and varieties of fruits, we wish first of 

 all to choose them so that we may have a continuous supply of fruit in 

 its season, from the time when the strawberry ripens in June until the 

 apples are gathered for the winter. In order to do this we must plant a 

 greater number of varieties than we would for a commercial purpose. 



Quality holds a high place in the choice of varieties for home use, for 

 we all prefer to have the finest and best for ourselves. We cannot, how- 

 ever, sacrifice the characters of great vigor and hardiness even to quality. 

 The varieties must be disease-, drought-, and cold-resistant, for they will 

 seldom be grown under ideal conditions. They should be pruned and 

 cultivated, if possible, for few of them will be sprayed or nurtured as are 

 many of our commercial varieties. 



Considerable care should be taken in choosing the varieties themselves. 

 In most cases it is better to consult with men who are growing the fruits 

 successfully in your locality and under your conditions, than to depend 

 on publications. 



The care of the garden may be greatly facilitated if a little thought is 

 given to the planting plans with an eye to future developments. The 

 garden should be so chosen that the rows can be long — the fewer bouts 

 and turns, the better. The rows should be far enough apart so as to 



