2i8 Make the most of your Gardens. 



MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR GARDENS. 



By W. D. Philbrick, Newton Centre, Mass. 



Very few kitchen gardens are made to produce more than half what 

 they might, if a httle more care were given to the cultivation, and two 

 crops taken each year from the same land. The market gardener, who 

 makes his living from the few acres which he manures heavily, is 

 obliged to plan and work skilfully, in order to make a profit from his 

 crops ; and some hints, taken from his practice, will be the subject of 

 these remarks. 



The vegetables used for double cropping are mostly the following : 

 Early peas, early string beans, early potatoes, lettuce, spinach, early 

 beets and radishes, onion sets, and early cabbage, followed on the same 

 land by marrow squashes, melons, cucumbers, Savoy cabbage, ruta 

 baga and white turnips, and tomatoes. 



The land for most of these crops needs to be well manured and 

 thoroughly tilled, and some care is needed to succeed in ripening both 

 crops ; but a little practice will enable any one to succeed, by following 

 the directions below. 



If the land is not very rich, in consequence of several years' good 

 tillage, it will not be worth while to try lettuce, spinach, or onion sets. 

 But little land, hereabouts, will raise a good ci"op of early cabbage ; 

 but peas, beans, and potatoes may be raised with certainty, and cleared 

 away in time to be followed by either marrow squash, Savoy cabbage, 

 cucumbers, turnips, or tomatoes on ordinary garden land, if moderately 

 light and early, and moderately well manured. 



When the second crop is to be marrow squash, strike out furrows 

 three feet apart, and manure in the drill ; plant the peas as early as 

 possible ; the potatoes had best be sprouted before planting. If the 

 land is very rich, spinach, lettuce, early beets, onion sets, and early 

 cabbage can be raised for first crops ; but whatever crop is planted for a 

 first crop, every fourth row should be left unplanted, in order to plant 

 the squashes afterwards. This will leave the squash rows twelve feet 



