THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 177 



ment evenly, and will be in just the right shape to put into the frames 

 for your hotbeds. Fork out the old soil to a depth of from four to six 

 inches; put in the manure, tramping it down firmly to a depth of 

 eighteen inches or so. The amount of manure required will depend 

 upon the climate and upon how early in the Spring the bed is made. 

 If soil that is not frozen is available, it will be well to put an inch 

 or so of fresh soil on top of the old in which to sow the seeds. Any soil 

 which has been removed should be put back on top of the manure and 

 thoroughly fined and raked level. Then put on the sashes and let 

 the frames stand until a thermometer hung inside recedes to a tem- 

 perature of 70 deg. to 80 deg., when it will be ready for the first sowing 

 of seed. 



Digging, Manuring and Preparing the Soil 



With the soil adequately enriched and thoroughly prepared, 

 success is half won before you begin. Insufiicient preparation, no mat- 

 ter how good your seeds may be, will remain a drag and a handicap 

 throughout the entire season. The soil is the sole source of nourish- 

 ment for the tremendous development plants will have to make through 

 the comparatively few weeks of the growing season. All their food 

 is absorbed in the form of a weak solution. We have already spoken of 

 the necessity for thorough drainage. The soil must also be well pul- 

 verized. It pays, therefore, to take time to prepare, just as thoroughly 

 as you possibly can, your garden soil, no matter how impatient you 

 may be to get at the more interesting tasks of seed sowing and planting. 



If your garden plot is sufficiently large for a horse or team to 

 turn in plowing will be much cheaper and on the whole much more 

 satisfactory. Unless your soil is very light and sandy, it will pay to 

 plow as deeply as possible without digging up the subsoil. If pos- 

 sible, plow or spade up in late Fall, leaving the soil in ridges, 

 harrowing in Spring. If not able to do this, then plow early in the 

 Spring. If the garden has to be dug by spade, you will have to 

 watch carefully to see that the job is done thoroughly. It is hard, 

 slow work and nothing is to be gained by trying to skimp it. The 

 garden that is dug shallow, left lumpy or merely fine on the surface, 

 cannot give good results. Dig at least ten to twelve inches deep. 

 Manure should be spread evenly over the ground before spading. It 

 is usually best to throw the first row or furrow of soil out entirely, 

 and then put the manure from the next strip on the bottom of the 

 furrow dug out, proceeding in this manner across the piece. 



When planting or sowing is to be done the whole plot should be 

 raked over. It may be that only a small part of it will be wanted for 



