246 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



October, 1913. 



Fall Work in The Vegetable Garden 



By P. D. Powe, 



DURING the present year there has 

 been a large number of new men 

 started into the market garden 

 business who have little or no experience 

 in this line of work. To them the fol- 

 lowing may be of use: 



Roots should be pulled or plowed 

 out on a dry day, when the soil is dry 

 enough to shake off. The leaves should 

 be removed with a knife or twisted off 

 just alwve the crown. When cured, the 

 tops make a fine feed for the winter 

 months. Where there is no silo, the 

 following has been found to answer 



well: 



A broad, flat trench, eight to ten 

 inches deep, should be dug in a well- 

 drained spot. In this the fresh leaves 

 are placed eight inches deep, heavily 

 strewn with salt and then thoroughly 

 rolled down. (You can't pack too hard.) 

 Then a fresh layer of leaves, salted and 

 packed as before,- is added, and when 

 you have all your leaves used up finish 

 the heap with a coat of straw three in- 

 ches deep. The soil removed from the 

 trench is packed over all to keep out 

 water and air. This coat should be 

 about three inches deep. In eight weeks 

 the ensilage will be thoroughly cured, 

 and should be used before you start on 

 your roots. 



STOKING THE ROOTS 



The roots themselves should now be 

 tended. While a good roothouse is 

 very desirable, it is by no means a ne- 

 cessity. Mangels, turnips, parsnips, 

 and carrots may be stored in heaps in 

 the field. A layer of clean straw is 

 spread upon the ground two inches deep 

 and four to six feet in diameter. Upon 

 this build a pyramid to a point so that 

 no more roots can be placed on top. 

 The pile is then covered with three 

 inches of clean straw and drawn to a 

 chimney at the peak to let off the gas. 

 Then cover the whole with three inches 

 of dirt. When winter really sets in, 

 increase this to six inches. 



Potatoes should be harvested either 

 with forks or with a potato digger. 

 Allow them to dry for a couple of hours 

 before gathering. This ensures cleaner 

 potatoes and often prevents rot. Store 

 in a dark pit or cellar at a temperature 

 of thirty-four to thirty-six degrees Fah- 

 renheit. Potatoes lose about fifteen per 

 cent, of their weight during winter. 



Cabbage may be very easily handled 

 during winter by storing in pits. Take 

 a well-drained piece of land, place the 

 cabbage together with the outside 

 leaves left on. Stand them head- down 

 as close together as possible. Cover 

 with eight to ten inches soil, well work- 

 ed in around the plants. After a first 

 hard freeze, cover the whole with straw 

 or old cornstalks. 



Cainsville, Ont. 



In storing celery, place each plant, 

 with a ball of earth adhering to the 

 roots, in a box, roots down, as close 

 as possible. Cover with straw and place 

 in a cool cellar. Another method is to 

 make rows, three to six plants wide, on 

 a rise of ground and as long as requir- 

 ed. Bank up to the tops of the leaves 

 with six inches of straw, and on top of 

 the straw place three inches of dirt. 



THE ONION HARVEST 



Onions should lie harvested as soon 

 as the tops die down. Pull them and 

 allow them to lie in the row for a week 

 under ordinary conditions. A dry time 

 should be chosen so that the onions 

 may be well dried. If it rains upon 

 the onions, turn the lot as soon as 

 possible. When they are thoroughly 

 dried remove part of the roots and tops 

 . from the bulbs. Sort out all stiff necks 

 and soft onions from the others. Place 

 the good onions in open slat crates so 

 that air may pass through, and store in 

 a cool shed or loft. Keep them from 



light and just above freezing point. 

 When wanted for market, remove the 

 roots and balance of top. 



PREPARINO FOn MAEKET 



Great care must be exercised in se- 

 lecting for market only the smooth, re- 

 gularly shaped specimens, which should 

 be graded to size. Colour should also 

 be considered, as an attractive appear- 

 ance means much. 



To have roots of good condition, they 

 must be grown quickly, thereby ensur- 

 ing them free from all woodiness or 

 coarse texture. They must be carefully 

 washed, cleaned, and trimmed, while 

 boxes, baskets and bags should be clean 

 and present a neat, natty appearance. 

 The small, misshapen roots should be 

 fed to the cattle, as they detract from 

 the value of the goods when marketed. 



Many farmers do not know of the 

 money to be made, with little work, 

 from growing mangels. These readily 

 find a market in town and city. One 

 man, a neighbor of mine, made $20 in 

 one day selling them in bushel lots, at 

 twenty-five cents a bushel. Can you 

 make money more quickly? 



Storing Vegetables for Winter Use 



Henry Gibson, 



ALTHOUGH the growing season is 

 over, the vegetable garden de- 

 mands some final attention. Where 

 crops are still in the ground and weeds 

 have been allowed to gain the upper 

 hands, cut off whole with a scythe and 

 burn them, thus making it easier to get 

 at the crops and also preventing the 

 weeds from seeding. 



It is a great mistake to allow the 

 vegetables not used to rot on the 

 ground. They will pay handsomely for 

 lifting and storing. A good dry frost- 

 proof cellar from which all artificial heat 

 is excluded is an ideal place in which 

 to store them. When such a place is 

 not at one's disposal a substitute may 

 he had by partitioning off part of the 

 cellar and providing for ample ventila- 

 tion from the outside. Or a cold north 

 room in the house where the window can 

 be kept open most of the time will do 

 very well. In the latter case, boxes or 

 barrels, fitted with spaghnum, are very 

 suitable, as the spaghnum is light and 

 clean. For storing in the cellar, clean, 

 dry sand is generally used for storing 

 most root crops which would shrivel if 

 left exposed to dry air. 



In storing fruits and vegetables, 

 always see to it that they are clean and 

 sound — the smallest spot or bruise is a 

 danger centre. Keep the temperature 

 as even as possible and give air on all 

 possible occasions. Keep an eye open 

 for rats and mice. 



Beans still in a green state can be 

 picked and preserved in modern glass 

 jars. Those in a dry state and those 



Staatsburg 



partly dry may be stored, vines and all, 

 under cover, and later picked and 

 shelled. 



Beets, carrots, turnips, and parsnips 

 may be stored in sand or moss. Cut off 

 the tops within an inch or two of the 

 root. Only sufficient parsnips for im- 

 mediate needs should be lifted, as they 

 keep quite well in the ground during 

 winter. 



Cabbage and cauliflower may be hung 

 up by the heels in the cellar. If large 

 quantities of cabbage are to be saved, a 

 trench »in the garden should be dug and 

 the cabbage placed in it. Cover with 

 some clean straw and then soil to the 

 depth of ten to twelve inches. 



PACK CELEET WITH EOOTS ON 



Celery can be packed in narrow boxes 

 on two or three inches of wet sand. 

 Leave the roots and earth on ; pack up- 

 right and close together. A slight 

 freezing will not hurt it. 



Cucumbers, melons, and eggplants 

 cannot be kept over winter, but if they 

 are cut just before frost, and stored in 

 a dry cold cellar, they will keep good 

 for some time. 



Potatoes and onions may be stored 

 without any covering in a cool, dark 

 cellar. Potatoes are best in a bin of 

 convenient size or they may be placed 

 in a corner of the cellar, and kept in 

 place with boards. Be sure that the 

 onions are perfectly dry before putting 

 them into their final storing place. Per- 

 haps the best receptacles for storing 

 these are slatted barrels or boxes, giving 

 free access to air. 



