32 THREE ACRES AND LIBERTY 



By constantly stirring the top soil after your plants appear, 

 the necessity of watering can be largely avoided except in 

 very dry weather. An occasional soaking of the soil is better 

 than frequent sprinkling. Water your garden either very 

 early in the morning or after sundown. It is better not to 

 water when the sun is shining hot. 



The planting scheme can be altered to suit your individual 

 taste. For instance, peas and cabbage are included because 

 almost everybody likes to have them fresh from their garden ; 

 but they occupy more space in proportion to their value than 

 beets and carrots. Therefore a small garden could be made 

 more profitable by omitting them altogether, or cutting 

 them down in amount and increasing the amount of carrots, 

 beets, and turnips planted ; or any of the vegetables men- 

 tioned which may not be in favor with the family can be 

 left out. 



The kind of season we have would change the date of 

 planting. In raising vegetables, as in everything else, one 

 should use one's common (or garden variety of) sense. A 

 good rule is to wait until the ground has warmed up a bit. 

 Never try to work in soil wet enough to be sticky, or muddy ; 

 wait until it dries enough to crumble readily. 



Gardening is not a rule of thumb business. Each gardener 

 must bring his plants up in his own way in the light of his 

 own experience and in accordance with the conditions of his 

 own garden. A garden lover who has a bit of land will 

 speedily learn if his eyes and his mind, as well as his hands, 

 are always busy, no matter how meager his knowledge at 

 the beginning. 



There is plenty of land if you can only get it. 



Says Carl Vrooman, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, 

 in regard to the food problem : 



