CHAPTER XII 



PEAS AND BEANS 



EVERY grower of vegetables should make a point of 

 raising as large a crop of peas and beans as his ground will 

 allow, for not only are these leguminosae a much-prized 

 article of diet, but they enrich the ground with nitro- 

 genous matter of no little worth. It is true they take 

 much nourishment of another kind from the soil, but all 

 they remove may be accounted for by manuring heavily 

 with both naturals and artificials, e.g., cow or horse 

 manure, well dug in before sowing, and superphosphate 

 and steamed bone flour, forked in at intervals when the 

 plants are growing, especially when the flowers and pods 

 are forming. 



As we must manure heavily for peas and beans, and as 

 fresh material may be used if it is dug in deeply, it is a 

 good plan to dress a portion of last year's carrot, parsnip 

 or beetroot bed which has now become deficient of 

 manure and to use it for this crop. In this way we 

 prepare for the peas and beans and also revive the soil 

 of the old carrot bed which has become spent. 



In cases where the fences around a garden are con- 

 sidered the most favourable positions for growing crops 

 of climbing leguminosse, it will be evident that to plant 

 them in the same ground year after year must lead to 

 poor results. To overcome this, always grow the peas 

 and beans along the fences but interchange the top layer 



