140' CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



turity as makes each plant most desirable for food pur- 

 poses. The slack gardener is apt to allow his vegetables 

 to become stale or over-ripe in the rows, and in that way 

 miss their best estate. 



Sixth : Gather promptly and dispose of each, either by 

 eating or selling, when it reaches this condition and 

 quickly clear away the remains of the growth for stock 

 feed or for the compost heap. Do not allow the plants to 

 stand for the purpose of gathering seed from the culls 

 which are rejected at picking. Select the earliest and 

 best specimens for seed if any seed is to be saved. It is, 

 however, only in exceptional cases that the farm gardener 

 should save his own seed. It is better to buy up-to-date 

 varieties from those who make a business of selection and 

 improvement of garden varieties. Keep the garden al- 

 ways clean and ready for something else. It is a mistake 

 to let the garden lie neglected until the time for a spring 

 revolution and upheaval, like that which Eastern gard- 

 eners are forced to content themselves with. Of course, 

 the error of stirring the soil when too wet must be care- 

 fully guarded against, but there is much beside digging 

 involved in gardening. 



Seventh : Irrigate, if necessary, and work the soil as 

 soon as it works aright. Do not lose moisture by allowing 

 the surface to become hard. No matter whether the 

 ground is to be used for an immediate succession or 

 whether it is to lie for some time, break up the surface 

 and make it fit to receive water or retain water, as the 

 case may be. 



These timely and important acts will not appear in our 

 calendar for the reasons first stated. They are always in 

 order in California, and if a man has to be told more than 

 once to do them, there are serious doubts of his ever hav- 

 ing been called to be a vegetable grower. 



CALIFORNIA GARDEN CALENDAR. 



As appears in the chapter on climate, the timeliness of 

 certain operations in California is not regarded by geo- 



