300 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



readily available. The leading American authority on the subject 

 is William Falconer, and a Farmers' Bulletin written by him and 

 furnished free on application to the Secretary of Agriculture at 

 Washington will give the inquirer a good outline of arrangement 

 and methods. 



MUSTARD. Sinapis sp. 



Mustard is a grievous weed in California, especially on rich 

 soils with moisture. It is also sometimes very profitable as grown 

 for a seed crop. The young plant is sought in the fields as a salad 

 and improved varieties are cultivated to some extent. Both the 

 white and the large cabbage-leaved Chinese kind are grown. The 

 culture is most easy and simple, the treatment being the same as 

 that of lettuce. 



NASTURTIUM . Tropceolum. 



Nasturtiums are largely grown as ornamental pants, but the 

 desirability of the flowers for the garnishing of salads and the use 

 of the flower buds and green seed for picking and as a substitute 

 for capers gives the plants space in the vegetable garden. They 

 will thrive almost without care or watering in a corner of the gar- 

 den, though better growth will show their appreciation of better 

 treatment. They volunteer freely in California from self-sown 

 seed and continue growth all through the frost-free season. They 

 can be trained on fence or trellis or allowed free range as prostrate 

 plants if space permits ; or dwarf varieties may be chosen, as they 

 bloom and fruit freely with less extension. They require little more 

 from the grower than the covering of the seed in soil moist enough 

 for germination. 



OKRA OR GUMBO. Hibiscus esculent us. 



This popular vegetable of the south is not largely grown in 

 California but can usually be had from market gardeners. It re- 

 quires generous moisture supply to thrive and does not take at all 

 kindly to dry heat. Plants may be started in the winter in the ways 

 described for the tomato, and the planting out and treatment is like 

 that of egg plants; or seed may be sown for later crop in the open 

 ground in drills, the plants being subsequently thinned to about a 

 foot apart. The plants should be well cultivated and kept well sup- 

 plied with water. The Long Green and the White Velvet are the 

 varieties chiefly grown. 



