May, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



167 



Intensive Gardening 



Tkot. Delworth, WcstoD, Oot, 



In a well-kept vegetable garden in the 

 month of July every square foot should 

 be occupied with some growing crop. 

 Above all things, avoid waste corners 

 and bare patches. They nearly always 

 mean weeds and a crop of weeds for next 

 season. While it may be easier to weed 

 a garden when there is no crop growing 

 on it, in practice it generally goes weedy 

 because the work does not appear so 

 urgent and returns for the labor are not 

 so apparent. 



Agailn, land in the condition of tilth 

 that a vegetable garden should be, is 

 too valuable to be allowed to stand idle 

 at this part of the season. As fast as 

 crops of early potatoes, peas, spinach, 

 radish, lettuce, Dutch sets, strawberries 

 and so forth are removed, fill up the 

 space again. 



Quick heading varieties of cabbage, 

 like all head or early summer, or cauli- 

 flower of the snowball or erfurt type will 

 generally give a profitable crop if 

 planted as late as July 15th or i6th. 

 Pickling cucumbers or winter radish, 

 where you have a market for them, may 

 be sown any time this month or even 

 later. 



Butter beans or the green-podded Val 

 entine or Refugee, if sown this month 

 will often give a large crop ■ of better 

 quality than the early spring sowings. 

 The writer harvested an excellent crop 

 of Refugees last year that were sown on 

 land from which a crop of strawberries 

 had just been taken. The last picking of 

 berries was made on the 15th, when the 

 plants were ploughed under and the land 

 thoroughly disked and harrowed and the 

 seed sown on July 17th. 



well stirred. Best results are generally 

 on the side of natural soil moisture con- 

 served by good cultivation. 



While celery growing is not beset with 

 difficulties to the experienced grower first 

 attempts in this direction are usually fail- 

 ures. There seem to be facts in connec- 

 tion with celery growing, which though 

 apparent to the experienced grower, can- 

 not be readily communicated to the no- 

 vice. They can be learned only by ex- 

 perience. It is well therefore to be con- 

 tent with small beginnings. Success will 

 come with perseverance. There is no 

 crop that will better repay the gardener 

 for careful treatment than a good crop of 

 celery. 



Diseases o{ Celery 



F. W. Hack, Norwood Grove, Man. 



Main diseases of celery are blight, 

 heart rot and rust. They are caused, in 

 some cases by inherited tendencies, as 

 in the case of poor seed, or they are 

 brought on by weakness of the plants 

 caused by a severe check or climatic con- 

 ditions. The best preventive of disease 

 is to keep the plants growing vigorously 

 from the start and thorough and consist- 

 ent cultivation. It is the plants that have 

 had their vitality impaired by overcrowd- 

 ing, careless handling, or neglect of cul- 

 tivation that are most damaged by dis- 

 ease. By using proper methods the loss 

 in this way will not be great. 



The natural rainfall is usually sufficient 

 for a crop of celery. While the celery 

 plant requires plenty of moisture it is 

 very easily injured by excessive water- 

 ing. Any sour, water-logged condition 

 of the soil will prove fatal to a good crop. 

 When it is necessary to supply water a 

 rood soaking should be given and as soon 

 after as possible the surface should be 



A 140 Acre Market Garden 



The market gardening establishment 

 of Smart Bros., Collingwood, Ont. , com- 

 prizes over 140 acres. For the most 

 part it is devoted to general garden truck. 

 Strawberries, blackberries, and other 

 small bush fruit are grown extensively. 

 Large areas are devoted to carrots, beets, 

 onions, and cabbage. The crops were 

 all looking well, and the whole place was 

 in a fine state of cultivation when visited 

 recently by an editorial representative of 

 The Canadian Horticulturist. 



The record of Smart Bros, in building 

 up their business is somewhat remark- 

 able. They were formerly bakers. 



Th* Interior of One of Smart Bro». Greenhoaiei 



The iUuBtration shows lettuce being grown on rather a large scale. This greenhouse is on a 

 140 acre market garden, one of the largest in Canada. 



Seasonable Hints 



The cold weather in the latter part of 

 May and first few days of June has em- 

 phasized the fact that it is good practice 

 to harden off plants before setting out in 

 the open ground. Thousands of tomato 

 plants are showing a bleached appear- 

 ance of stem and the chances of a profit- 

 able crop from them are very much les- 

 sened in consequence. 



In many cases the damage would have 

 been much less had the plants been prop- 

 erly acclimated before setting out. It 

 does not pay to set out tender plants 

 from the greenhouse direct to the open 

 field so early. A few days in a cold frame 

 will toughen them to withstand the cold 

 winds we so often get at that season. 



This applies to almost all other plants. 

 Onions, beets, lettuce and similar crops 

 are usually transplanted to the open 

 ground at that time of year. — Thos Del- 

 worth, Weston, Ont. 



When cutting asparagus for market, 

 use a short bladed sharp knife, cutting 

 just under ground. Never allow the 

 heads of the stalks to open or become 

 seedy-looking. 



Owing to the confinement of inside 

 work, their health was not of the best. 

 They decided to make a venture at out- 

 side work, and they took up market 

 gardening. They started in a small 

 way owing to lack of experience and 

 lack of capital. The business grew. 

 They kept adding to it year by year, 

 putting on new lines as they acquired 

 the experience and capital. 



This year Smart Bros, are going In 

 for flowers, having experimented a little 

 with this line last year. The green- 

 houses on the place afford an indication 

 of the growth of the business. As the 

 business was extended, the old houses 

 were added to and new ones built. This 

 summer. Smart Bros, anticipate building 

 an additional greenhouse, equal to their 

 best, an illustration of which appears 

 herewith. Now that the truck is all 

 outside, the space in the greenhouse is 

 given over to cucumbers. 



The cucumber vines are trained on 

 wires, and were just beginning to bear 

 at the time of inspection. The most 

 recent addition to the business is that of 

 a sauer-kraut plant, the machinery for 

 which Smart Bros, have on the ground 

 ready to set up for the work next fall. 



