BOOK OF THE HOME GARDEN 



food at the same time. But we will talk now about 

 vegetables being ripe for food. 



I have already told you how to pick radishes. 

 But never mind, it won't hurt us to think about it 

 again. First move a little dirt away from around 

 the root of the radish plant with your finger; if it 

 is a round radish like Scarlet Globe and you feel a 

 bulb about the size of a marble, it is ripe. Take all 

 the leaves of this one plant between your fingers, 

 and pull gently sideways until it comes out. If it 

 is a long radish like icicle, try to get the top of the 

 root as well as the leaves between your fingers, 

 then pull. If it comes hard, give a gentle twist. 

 Radishes should be firm and crisp, not soft and 

 punky. If they are punky or spongy in the center, 

 you know that they are past ripe, or have grown 

 too slowly (radishes should grow quickly), or the 

 variety is not a good one for your soil and climate. 



Lettuce, like radishes, must grow quickly and 

 needs cool nights to be very fine. You surely 

 know by this time that much cultivation helps 

 things grow quickly. There are two types of let- 

 tuce: One forms hard heads with the leaves curled 

 tightly around each other and is known as "head let- 

 tuce" ; the other has loose leaves, which do not form 

 a hard head, and is known as "loose leaf lettuce." 



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