HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING 



CULTIVATION 



WITHOUT timely and diligent cultivation a garden 

 will either be a partial or total failure. To yield 

 good crops, the plants must be given every possible chance 

 to develop quickly and make as strong and healthy a 

 growth as season and soil fertility permit. 



To attain this end cultivation is necessary not only 

 between and alongside of the rows, but also between the 

 plants in the row. Cultivation keeps down the weeds, 

 gives the air access into the soil, and conserves the mois- 

 ture, by formation of a dust mulch. 



Eliminating weeds puts every bit of fertility at the 

 disposal of the cultivated crop. By giving the air a chance 

 to circulate through the soil, the soil is kept alive and 

 sweet. The closing of cracks in drying soil preserves the 

 moisture underneath. Heavy clay soils need more cul- 

 tivation than soils of sandy nature. Any act that ac- 

 complishes any or all of above three important garden 

 needs is classed as cultivation, regardless of tools used. 



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