HOW I GREW MY GARDEN. 



393 



How I Grew My Garden. 



CARL POTTHOFF, JORDAN, SCOTT COUNTY. 



(Prize Winner in Boys' and Girls' Garden and Canning Club Contest.) 

 My garden was a little less than one-tenth of an acre in size. 

 I had it plowed with my father's garden; then I prepared the 

 seed-bed with a hoe and rake. I planted tomatoes, popcorn, 

 carrots, radishes, beets, cucumbers and cabbage. The reason 

 for this variety was that we needed them for home use. 



I had a little trouble 

 with striped insects eating 

 my young cucumber plants, 

 so I bought some insect 

 powder and practically ex- 

 terminated them. I had my 

 garden clean for the greater 

 part of the year, but later 

 some weeds grew in vari- 

 ous parts of it, although I 

 managed to keep them 

 away fairly well. 



The thing I most dis- 

 liked was getting custom- 

 ers who would buy my 

 vegetables. I sold some, 

 however, the receipts 

 amounted to $3.50 from my 

 garden and about $10 from 

 my father's garden. I re- 

 ceived a good commission 

 on what I sold for my 

 father. There are two gardeners here who sell vegetables daily 

 every summer, so I found it hard to get rid of some things. I 

 found that radishes, sweet corn, peas and carrots sold best. 

 Tomatoes, of which I had a lot, sold badly, 50 cents a bushel 

 for a while, but later I could not sell them at all, so I canned 

 them. 



The meetings of the Canning Club were held every week, 

 and we canned outside. At first we canned in a home-made can- 

 ner, but later in a new "hot-water bath" canner. I canned 83 

 quarts, both in tins and in glass jars. Tomatoes, apples, carrots 

 and beets were the vegetables canned most, though many other 



Carl Potthoff, Jordan, champion Minnesota 

 garden and canning boy in 1916. 



