THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



253 



Seeds for late cabbages should be sown out of doors in 

 rich, fine soil from the first to the middle of June. Sow 

 in rows six inches apart and thin to two inches in the 

 row. Keep the soil in good tilth. 



Soil. The soil should be plowed or spaded to a depth 

 of at least six inches. Well-decayed manure laid in 

 the bottom of the furrow when plowing in the spring 

 will encourage the 

 roots to reach down 

 for nourishment. If 

 enough manure can- 

 not be obtained, a 

 mixed commercial 

 fertilizer that con- 

 tains nitrogen, phos- 

 phoric acid, and 

 potash may be har- 

 rowed in after plow- 

 ing (see p. 199). The 



size of the cabbages may be increased by giving the 

 land subsequent dressings of nitrate of soda, at the rate 

 of about four hundred pounds per acre, applied in three 

 equal dressings the first at transplanting, the others 

 at intervals of a month or less. The soil may be kept 

 moist around the plants by a mulch of fresh manure, 

 which will also supply fertilization. 



Transplanting. The plants should be from three to five 

 inches high before transplanting. Those hardened by set- 

 ting the boxes out of doors for a short time each day when 



FIG. 141. Cabbage Seedlings ready for trans- 

 planting to Other Pots or to Boxes 



