1895. 



GARDENING. 



249 



The Vegetable Garden. 



TflE VEOETflBLE OflRDEN. 



The spring is late, the nights cold, the 

 weather dry, and the land is dry. I'eas, 

 spinach, beets, turnips, carrots and some 

 other hardy things sown this spring 

 are up. We have lieen usin^ outdoor 

 spinach and l;alc (hi th sown last CdDfor 

 sonic time, and outdoor rhubarb for a 

 week, and cut our first asparagus yester- 

 daj', April 25. And there are lots of dan- 

 delion yet. Potatoes, cabbage, cauli- 

 flower, Jerusalem artichokes, horse radish, 

 sets onionsand wintcrsown (in thcgrccn- 

 house) onions have been transplanted, 

 and doing well. We are cutting a second 

 crop of lettuces from the hoibcds, and 

 planted several kinds out of doors. I'roni 

 a running spring near by we have been 

 gathering water cresses since a fortnight. 



In warm light rich land we sowed this 

 wecksiiap beans, sweet corn, Henderson's 

 dwarf Lima and some pole Limas, but 

 this especially in the case of the last 

 nauRd IS quite a risk. If we escape frost 

 we are so much ahead; if we arc caught 

 we sow again in the same hills or rows. 



Look over the notes written for last 

 issue (.■\pril 15, page 233), much of what 

 was written then is applicable still. 



Snap Beans. — After they get stringy 

 there is no pleasure in eating them, there- 

 fore if we want fresh brittle pods we 

 should put in a fresh sowing every two 

 weeks irom now till the end of August. 

 Sow two kinds, say Valentine and Refu- 

 gee, or a Wax bean, at a time to make 

 the succession better. 



LiMAS.— Have the poles 314 by 3VL' feet 

 apart, or if you have many together 4 by 

 4- feet is better. Set the poles deep and 

 firm. Dig around them to make the soil 

 loose and mellow, then firm it slightly 

 with the footor hand, and sovy the beans, 

 about fiveto a hill, on edgeand cyedown, 

 and no more than an inch below ground. 

 Having the seed on edge rather than flat 

 on their sides is a precaution against rot- 

 ting, especially early in the season. 



Beets.— Thin those that are up to 3 or 

 4- inches apart in the row to cause them 

 to bulb quickly. Sow once a month for a 

 succession. 



Brussels Sprouts.— If you haven't 

 done so already sow some half dwarf out 

 of doors at once. They need alongersea- 

 son than does winter cabbage. 



Cabbage. — Plant out whatever j-ou 

 have ready. Eighteen inches apart gives 

 them room enough, for some are sure to 

 die out with root maggots or other dis- 

 ease. For late summer and fall use sow 

 some seed of Succession or other good 

 kind. We don't sow for winter cabbage 

 till after the 25th of this month, but in 

 cooler parts sow a little earlier. 



Carrots. — Thin out the seedlings to an 

 inch or two apart. Make two or three 

 sowings during tha summer. 



Cauliflower.— Treat as for cabbage. 



Celery. — Do as advised in last issue. 



Chervil — ?ow» a little in a corner to 

 cut for flavoring. 



Corn.— As soon as danger from frost is 

 past sow some corn. But really on ac- 

 count of the com worm we get verj' little 

 pleasure of our earliest com; it alwaj's is 

 attacked. The later sowings are tolera- 

 bly free from the pest. 



Cucumbers, Melons and Squashes — 

 As soon as frost is past sow these in hills 

 out of doors. As the cut worms cat off 

 so many of the early ones wc also sow in 

 pots in a frame, and when these are big 



and strong enough to resist the grubs we 

 plant them out. 



Ego Plant and Peppers wc like to 

 keep snug and warm in frames till the 

 weather warms up pretty well, say 

 towards the end of May. 



Onions. — If not already done sow .is 

 soon as possible. Our seed rows are 15 

 inches apart, just enough to let us work 

 easily among them. 



Parsley. — If not sown, get it into the 

 ground at once, ior it is slow to germi- 

 nate. Old plants run to seed, so are of no 

 use for summer work. But we get a nice 

 picking from them in spring before this 

 year's sowings are big enough to pluck 

 from. 



Parsnips, Salsify and Scorzonera.— 

 In deeply unfastened ground the roots 

 have a chance to get straight down with- 

 out much hindrance, hence are apt to be 

 better than in shallow land. Sow them 

 this month in rows 2 feet apart. 



Spinach.- Sow a row here and there 

 between peas, or other crops; as it is u]) 

 and off so soon there is little need in occu- 

 pying a- separate piece of ground by it. 



Tomatoes. — Get them gradually, but 

 properly hardened off before planting 

 them out. We plant them about the mid- 

 dle of the month. 



Turnips.— Thin those already up, and 

 once a fortnight sow a row to insure to 

 you young tender roots. 



and examine his own grown second crop 

 .sets. They were an even handsome lot 

 of potatoes as one could see, but as he 

 told us not very good to eat, they were 

 too immature. A run around among 

 these market gardeners is one of the 

 treats wc have in store for you if you 

 visit us this year. 



SECOND CROP POTATOES. 



I note what you say about second crop 

 potatoes, page 217, and our leading seeds- 

 man, Mr. LUIathorne, has also called my 

 attention to it. You saj' they are imma- 

 ture and not good to eat. That may be 

 true as regards those grown in the north. 

 But in the south they mature perfectly 

 and are delicious eating. Here in South- 

 em Tennessee our second crop potatoes 

 mature about the middle of October, and 

 from then till Christmas they are dug 

 thoroughly matured, and if you ever ate 

 anything really excellent it is our second 

 crop. But one can hardly afford to eat 

 them, they are needed for planting. They 

 are generally dug in late fall and banked 

 out in the open field till January, when 

 they are planted again for the spring 

 crop. But I leave mine in the field all 

 winter, digging them as required for use, 

 and prefer this to pitting them. And let 

 me tell you there is a wide field here for 

 northern people to come and raise second 

 crop Irish potatoes alone. 



Memphis, Tenn. James Stewart. 



All very true. You plant in January 

 (as you know we spent nearly two j'cars 

 at gardening in the south), we plant in 

 March, April or May, according to how 

 far north you come; at Dosoris it is the 

 second or third week in April. That note, 

 therefore, was not meant for the south. 

 Second crop southern grown potatoes are 

 sold in the north for seed, not for eating, 

 no matter how good to eat they may be. 

 Northern grown second crop, as stated 

 in that note (page 217), are immature 

 and not good to eat, but excellent for 

 seed. In fact raising them here is a mat- 

 ter requiring judgment and experience. 

 But it is done. Some months ago in 

 company with Mr. L. V. Hallock of 

 Queens and Mr. Kider of the Jamaica 

 Bank, we visited Mr. AbramVan Sicklin's 

 place. He is one of the oldest, largest, 

 most successful and money-making mar- 

 ket gardeners on Long Island, but silent 

 as a sphinx as regards his met hods of cul- 

 tivation. But we found him espccialh- 

 buoyant on the subject of jiotatoes, and 

 he brought us down into his cellar to see 



SECOND CROP FOTflTOES. 



Second crop potatoes such as are grown 

 in the south for seed, are raised from the 

 early crop of the same season. In digging 

 the first crop the potatoes to be used for 

 planting the second one are spread out in 

 the light for a few days to get greened. 

 They are then spread in anj' convenient 

 place and covered with pine straw, which 

 is kept moist Previous to this covering 

 it is best to chip off a small piece of the 

 end of potato, as they sprout more 

 readily with the skin merely broken. The 

 ])otatoes under the straw will sprout 

 from the first of August on, and we plant 

 the sprouted ones up to the middle of 

 August. These grow until killed down by 

 frost, usually the latter part of No vembir. 

 Being out of the ground so short a time 

 these make the best of seed for early 

 planting, as they grow with the strong 

 growth of the terminal bud. W. F. M. 



Raleigh, N. C. 



POTATOES. 



W. M., Bar Harbor, Maine, asks: 1. Is 

 there such a thing as Lady Finger 

 ])otatoes, and if there is where can they 

 be obtained. 



2. What is the best baking potato? 



1. Yes, there is a potato called Lady 

 Finger. It is occasionally grown as a 

 fancy variety, but never, so far as we 

 know, as a main crop. Some people like 

 it and others regard it as worthless. Try 

 Mr. Myron F. Pierson, Seneca Castle, 

 Ontario Co., N. Y. 



2. Mr. Silas L. Albertson, who has had 

 great experience with potatoes tells us 

 "except the Lady Finger the best potato 

 for baking is the HomeComfort, a variety 

 grown in Steuben Co., this state (N. Y.)." 

 Speaking with our esteemed friend Mr. 

 E. S. Carman, of the Rural Neiv Yorker 

 the other day he mentioned Rural Blush as 

 being the best potato for baking. By the 

 way, the day before (April 19), Mr. Car- 

 man planted seventy varieties of potatoes 

 in his experiment grounds at River Edge, 

 N.J. 



Dr. T. H. Hoskins of Vermont, says he 

 finds the Polai-is to be the best potato for 

 baking. 



LETTUCES-OKRfl. 



On the 10th of April, in southern New 

 York, I planted three varieties of lettuce 

 and four of radishes in the open air. I 

 have, of late, become specially pleased 

 with lettuce of the Cos type, and I have 

 been very successful with it, I think it 

 within bounds to say that 95 per cent of 

 all that I transplanted made perfect 

 heads. It is not five minutes work to slip 

 a little rubber band around a hundred of 

 these plants, when nearly full grown, and 

 in a week or ten days j'ou find them beau- 

 tifully blanched, tender and delicate. 

 Last season I had Paris White and 

 Trianon— this season I shall try the same 

 .and a new type, dwarfed, sent out by 

 Burpee. Of the head lettuce of the ordi- 

 nary kind, I find nothing better than the 

 Deacon. It makes very solid heads, 

 which are easily blanched, and it remains 

 a long time in the hot summer weather 

 without going to seed. [All quite true. 



