CHAPTER V. 

 GARDEN IRRIGATION. 



It has already been intimated that the irrigated garden should 

 be the aim of all who desire to attain the fullest satisfaction in 

 vegetable growing. 



What Can Be Done Without Irrigation? But while it is true 

 that the California gardener must have irrigation to do his best and 

 to give him a solid year of rotations and successions in his garden, 

 due emphasis must be laid upon the fact that in suitable locations 

 the unirrigated garden in California is a greater treasure than at 

 the East. This fact is due to the character of our winter climate, 

 which, as has already been shown in a previous chapter, is actually 

 a growing season for all but the vegetables which will endure no 

 frost. By using to their fullest capacity our six rainy months, by 

 early cultivation and planting, which will be fully explained later, 

 midwinter and spring vegetables can be produced in great variety; 

 and by proper cultivation for the retention of moisture, tender vege- 

 tables planted as early in the spring as frost-freedom can be assured, 

 will find in a good soil which has received adequate rainfall, moist- 

 ure enough stored to carry them to perfection in midsummer and 

 autumn, although not a drop of rain may fall from the sowing of 

 the seed to the gathering of the crop. For this reason owners of 

 fairly deep and retentive soil in regions of ample rainfall can attain 

 splendid results without irrigation, if they will only be alert for 

 prompt work and persistent in summer cultivation. 



What can be done in California with the unirrigated garden 

 depends upon conditions existing in each locality. Character and 

 depth of soil, amount of rainfall, degree of heat and percentage of 

 relative humidity in the air, the lay of the land all these are deter- 

 mining factors, in addition to the dates of frost occurrence which 

 fix the opening and closing of the season for tender plants in the 

 open ground. The significance of variations in these factors, and 

 the regions where they usually occur in widest extremes, have been 

 suggested in previous chapters and the ways to shape garden prac- 

 tice to these local variations will naturally be discussed as we come 

 to describe successful methods with the different vegetables. There- 

 fore let no man conclude that he cannot grow vegetables until he 

 completes his arrangement for irrigation unless he is sure that his 

 winter rainfall is too uncertain to grow even a crop of wheat, for 

 a rainfall that will carry the wheat plant to maturity will also pro- 

 duce quite a variety of garden vegetables with proper practice in 

 early sowing and frequent cultivation. 



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