KITCHEN-GARDEN 



KITCHEN -GARDEN 



1739 



in the main part of the meal. Paragraph after para- 

 graph miglit be written m praise of the endless array of 

 delicacies which are offtred by the skilful housewife 

 who is in league with the skilful gardener. 



Vegetable food is procured in two ways, — by pur- 

 chase and by culture. The former method is not 

 available to many who dwell in the open country. To 

 the townsmen it is open to very serious objection. The 

 cost is usually high, often exorbitant and prohibitive. 

 The varieties are more often selected for resistance to 

 the rigors of shipment and sale than for excellence of 

 table quality. For example, the leading commeicial 

 sort of celery is far surpassed by others, and the most 

 widely grown winter cabbage — the best keeper of all — 

 lacks tenderness and flavor. The market watermelon of 

 long e.xperience in freight cars sadly lacks in quality. 

 Even though a product be good when it leaves the farm, 

 the delays in handling to which it is subjected rob it of 

 its freshness and its delicacy of flavor. Lettuce cannot 

 be made to retain its garden crispness, and the sweet- 

 ness of sugar corn speedily departs. Moreover, market- 

 bought vegetables are often in thoroughly unclean 

 condition. 



The second source of supply is the kitchen-garden. 

 By this means are the shortcomings of the urban vege- 

 table supply avoided by many townsmen, and a notable 

 contribution to the farm income is afforded. An experi- 

 ment continued for five years at the Illinois Experiment 

 Station showed an average return of $105 from a half- 

 acre garden. The average cost was $30. Under inten- 

 sive culture on small areas, each square foot of ground 

 may be brought to yield, for example, lettuce to the 

 value of 10 or 12 cents, followed by tomatoes worth 

 6 to 12 cents. These figures are offered merely to sug- 

 gest possibilities and not to form a basis for calculating 

 the value of back-yard gold mines. Perhaps the 

 gold mine is there, but many factors must be considered 

 in figuring its profits. It is safe to say that in the hands 

 of a skilful gardener a city back yard may mean as 

 much to the family budget as a 5 per cent increase in 

 an ordinary "middle class" salary, and a suburban 

 garden offers far greater possibilities. In the door- 

 yards and vacant lots of our cities lie locked up one of 

 the great economic resources of the state. The value 

 of products of the kitchen-gardens in New York alone 

 already runs into the millions of dollars and should be 

 many times doubled. So much for the material gain. 

 No less to be prized are the dividends which are paid 

 in the joys of a variously laden table and in the satis- 

 faction and pleasure of production. The city dweller 

 can find no better means of recreation and exercise. 

 A garden is an ideal hobby. 



It is impossible to tell in detail how to make a garden. 

 It is possible only to offer certain generalities and sug- 

 gestions which may be helpful to one who is learning 

 how to cope with a given set of conditions. Circum- 

 stances vary so widely that almost any statement may 

 be wrong in some cases, and rule-making is always 

 unsafe. Experience is the best teacher, and one who 

 loves plants and the soil and who is willing to see and 

 to think and to do the best that one knows may be 

 confident of increasing success from year to year. 



Location. 



It often happens that no choice is offered as to the 

 location of the vegetable-garden, but when this is not 

 the ca.se, an outline of desirable points may be of ser- 

 vice. \Miilp one whose domain is measured in feet and 

 inches rather than in rods is forced to utilize the plot 

 which is at hand, the garden factor should certainly 

 be considered in choosing a place for a home. 



On the farm the garden should be near the buildings, 

 for convenience in working. The distant garden is 

 almost invariably neglected, while the nearby plot 

 offers useful employment for odds and ends of the time 

 of farm-hands which might otherwise be wasted. For 



example, the cultivation of a corn-field is finished an 

 hour before noon. It is too late to go to a distant field, 

 and the horse is turned into the home half-acre not to 

 browse but to loosen the crusted soil. The garden should 

 be near the home for convenience in gathering the 

 products. If possible, a Uberal water-supply should be 

 available. 



A gentle slope is desirable to insure good drainage. 

 Exposure to the southeast affords the maximum advan- 

 tage from the sun's rays and consequent maximum 

 earliness of maturity. Protection from severe winds 

 may be gained by placing the garden near farm build- 

 ings, wood-lot or hiU. At the same time, the roots of 

 trees, greedy for moisture, should be avoided. 



Three points are to be borne in mind in the choice of 

 soil. The most important is its physical character, 

 for this is least readily modified. Heavy clay soils are 

 plastic, sticky, and unworkable when wet and are 

 lumpy when dry. They are retentive though not readily 

 receptive of moisture and of plant-food. They are cold 

 and late in the spring. Very light sandy soils are loose 

 and friable and are workable even when wet. They are 

 readilj- receptive though not retentive of water and 

 nutrients, and are warm and early. The ideal is a 

 well-drained sandy loam of moderate fineness. 



The second point is that plant-food should be abun- 

 dant and available. Dark, loose, friable soils are usu- 

 ally, though not always, as in the prairie states, of rela- 

 tively high fertility, while light-colored soils usually 

 lack humus and will require heavy additions of various 

 amendments. 



Thirdly, soil that is free of weed-seeds and of disease 

 is to be preferred, and land that has been well culti- 

 vated is more likely to offer favorable bacterial rela- 

 tions. 



Scnl management. 



A good garden cannot be expected on badly drained 

 soil. Artificial drainage is often of great advantage 

 even on soils that are not swampy. It makes for better 

 physical character and earlier crops. If no outlet is 

 available, a pit filled with stone or old brick may be 

 used. 



City lots frequently offer soils that are very unfavor- 

 able for gardening operations. It is seldom that the 

 case is hopeless, even though excavated material, brick- 

 bats and tin-cans abound. In some cases it is profitable 

 to haul in good soil bodily, although this material ia 

 expensive. Coarse soil should be removed, and improve- 

 ment brought about, if the soil is heavy, by the use of 

 such materials as ashes, sand, other soil, manure, and 

 lime. A stiff clay which is being broken in for garden 

 purposes should be spaded or plowed in the fall and 

 left in clods, in order that the frost of winter may have 

 its full effect in rendering it workable. A sterile sand 

 may be rendered productive by the liberal use of ma- 

 nure and by applications of lime. 



In any garden, the main reliance for maintenance 

 of soil fertility should be on stable manure. In this 

 material are added nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash, 

 the only chemical elements which are often lacking, 

 together with large quantities of humus. Manure 

 that has rotted for some months is better than new 

 manure, especially if it is to be worked into the soil 

 in the spring. However, a heavj' coat of fresh material 

 may be plowed under or spaded under each fall. It 

 will be fairly well decayed and ready to aid the plants 

 by spring. 



In Europe, the process of trenching is frequently 

 practised in intensive gardening. The plot is divided 

 lengthwise, and a trench 2 or .3 feet wide and 1 to 2J^2 

 feet deep is dug across the end of one of these parts, 

 throwing the soil outside the area to be trenched. In 

 the bottom of this ditch is placed a heavy layer of 

 fresh manure. The .soil from the next adjoining block 

 in the same division is turned over upon this, and a 



