VICTORY GARDETsTS 5 



PLANS FOR GARDENS 



It is unwise to recommend any one plan for all regions or for 

 all gardeners. Plans 1 to 3, however, present some simple basic 

 schemes for gardens of different sizes. With a little experience and 

 study of local requirements and possibilities, one can develop improve- 

 ments that will better adapt the garden to individual needs and 

 localities. 



HOW TO PREPARE AND FERTILIZE THE SOIL 



Where 'the soil is deep, it should be spaded or plowed to a depth of 

 8 to 10 inches. On thin soils be careful, however, to dig up very little 

 subsoil. Heavy soils should not be worked while wet. Well-rotted 

 leafmold, horse manure or cow manure, or other decayed organic 

 matter, if obtainable, should be worked into the soil in amounts up 

 to about a bushel per 25 sc^uare feet (about 20 tons per acre). The 

 spaded-up masses should be crushed and roughly leveled out as the 

 spading progresses. 



Unless commercial fertilizer is known to be unnecessary for the plot, 

 it should be applied along the row in a band about 3 to 4 inches wide 

 and about 2 inches from the line where the seeds will be sown or the 

 plants set. This can be done by scooping out a wide furrow about 2 

 inches deep with a good-sized common hoe and then distributing the 

 fertilizer uniformly along the furrow. 



Common mixtures like 5-10-5,^ or those of similar analysis, should 

 be applied at the rate of 1 pound per 30 feet of row (750 pounds per 

 acre) when the rows are 2 feet apart. (An ordinary 10-quart pail 

 holds 15 to 20 pounds of fertilizer.) If the rows are only a foot apart, 

 one-half pound per 30 feet is enough. No more than 1 pound per 

 30 feet should be applied in bands near the row, regardless of the 

 distance between rows, as otherwise the seedlings may be damaged. 

 The fertilizer should be mixed thoroughly with the soil and covered 

 about 2 inches deep. The furrow can be partly filled by opening up 

 the next row to plant the seed. The fertilizer must not come in con- 

 tact with the seed. The row for the seed should be opened just be- 

 fore planting. Broadcasting the fertilizer is far easier than applying 

 it in bands on one side and slightly below the seed, but it results in 

 less efficient use of the fertilizer. 



HOW TO PLANT 



Nearly all gardeners waste seed by sowing it too thickly. This also 

 wastes labor as the seedlings later must be thinned by hand to a spac- 

 ing that will allow proper development. Poor growth and poor- 

 quality vegetables are obtained if the seed is sowti too thick and the 



' 5 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphoric acid, and 5 percent potash. 



