VEGETABLES 353 



HOW TO GROW VEGETABLES* 



fF. A. WAUGH) 



1. Boot Crops and Tubers Beet, Carrot, Parsnip, Potato, etc. 



To grow root crops, loose and deep soil, free from clods, 

 is required. The land must also be perfectly drained, not 

 only to remove superfluous moisture, but to provide a deep 

 and friable soil. Subsoiling is useful in hard lands. A 

 large admixture of sand is generally desirable, provided 

 the soil is not apt to overheat in sunny weather. 



To keep roots fresh in the cellar, pack them in barrels, 

 boxes or bins of sand which is just naturally moist, allow- 

 ing each root to come wholly or partly in contact with the 

 sand. The best material in which to pack them is sphag- 

 num moss, the same which nurserymen use in packing 

 trees for shipment, and which may be obtained in bogs 

 in many parts of the country. In either sand or sphag- 

 num, the roots will not shrivel; but if the cellar is warm, 

 they may start to grow. Roots can also be buried after the 

 manner of potatoes. 



BEETS are best grown in drills three and a-half feet apart. 

 The seeds, if fresh, are sown rather sparsely very early in 

 the season, and covered with an inch of mellow soil. The 

 young plants will endure light frost. When the plants be- 

 gin to grow they should be thinned to six or eight inches in 

 the row. The young plants which are removed may be 

 used for greens. For winter beets, sow in July or August 

 in the same manner, and after the first heavy frost take up 

 the roots, cut off the tops, sort, and store in a root cellar 

 or pit. For first crop, select short or globular varieties, 

 such as Extra Early Egyptian, Early Eclipse or Bastian's 



*Mushrooms, being grown indoors, do not come under the purview of 

 this book. Consult Falconer's book on " Mxishrooms." 



For succinct advice on the treatment of insects and fungi, consult 

 the last edition of Horticulturist's Rule- Book, 



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