HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING 



IRRIGATION 



A/TORE than 90 per cent, of every green vegetable is 

 L**- water. How to supply the plants with all the 

 moisture they need to mature the crop deserves some 

 thought. The amount of moisture required by different 

 vegetables vanes greatly. As a general rule, plants of 

 which we eat the juicy foliage, like spinach, cabbage, etc., 

 require more moisture than plants of which we eat the fruit. 

 Yet elegant lettuce may be grown through comparatively 

 dry seasons where thorough cultivation is practised. 



It may thus be seen that no hard-and-fast rules can 

 be laid down. Plants which are children of tropical 

 climates (egg plants, peppers, tomatoes, etc.) can get along 

 without moisture (other than that gathered from the air) 

 for surprisingly long periods. Whenever watering is re- 

 sorted to, however, regardless of what kind of plants you 

 irrigate, put the water where it belongs to the roots. 

 One thorough soaking of the soil is more beneficial than a 

 dozen "sprinklings." 



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