Salads and Garnishes in the Amateur's Garden 



A. McMeans, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph. 



OF all the plants employed as foods 

 none are better adapted to the 

 confin.'-d limits of the town or 

 city back yard, than salad crops. They 

 are of easy culture, simple preparation 

 for the table, and of valuable dietary 

 qualities. 



Salads may be divided into three 

 (lasses: Piquant or warm, neutral and 

 bitter. The mustards and cresses are 

 typical of the first group. Endive and 

 hicory belong to the third. Lettuce 

 properly belongs to the third group, but 

 when well grown and not too old, it 

 may be included in the neutral. In fact, 

 the better the members of the bitter 

 I group are grown, the more delicate the 

 bitter flavor, and the better will they 

 i)e appreciated. 



Salads will do well in any rich, fibrous 

 loam, or good garden soil. For the early 

 i spring crop, choose the sunniest, driest 

 place, because the quicker the growth, 

 the more delicate the flavor. For late 

 irops, partially shaded and moist spots 

 liould be selected, so that growth may 

 be retarded, and moisture insured nat- 

 urally. As soon as the ground is dry 

 enough to break easily when dug, the 

 bed may be prepared. Spread a good 

 Dating of manure upon the surface, and 

 ix thoroughly with the soil when dig- 

 ing, breaking the clods well ; rake the 

 rface finely, and the garden is ready 

 ir planting. 



LETTUCE 



For lettuce, make the drills three- 



arters of an inch deep and fifteen 



ches apart. Sow the seeds at the rate 



twenty-five to the foot, and cover 



e-half inch deep, pressing down the 



il firmly on the seeds with the flat side 



the hoe or rake. Allow five or six 



t of row for each person. 



-When the plants are about two 



eeks old, thin to two inches apart. 



hen these commence to crowd, every 



|ternate plant should be removed for 



le. When they crowd again, repeat 



operation. 



In order to obtain a supply during the 



'hole season, plantings should be made 



nery two or three weeks. The later 



owings should be protected from the 



^un by a cloth or lattice shade. 



MUSTARD 



Mustard is sown rather thickly in 

 il rills three quarters of an inch deep, 

 md about six inches apart. When 



il)out three inches in height, which 

 -liould be in about four weeks from 

 sowing, it should be thinned out one- 

 half, and used for salad, the remainder 

 being left to grow twice the height, for 

 greens. No thinning of Ihe plants is 

 necessary. Allow about tliree feet of 



row for each person. Sowings should 

 be made at intervals of ten days until 

 the approach of warm weatTier. Do not 

 eat the plants after the flower buds ap- 

 pear, as they are then strongly flavored. 



GARDEN CRESS 



Garden cress may be treated like mus- 

 tard. A good way of growing it for 

 winter use, is to plant it in small boxes, 

 filled nearly full with soil, and placed 

 in a sunny window. 



Water cress has been found to suc- 

 ceed upon very moist garden soil. To 

 obtain it in perfection, it should be 

 grown in running spring water. All 

 that is necessary is to set a few slips 

 of the stems along the wet margins of 

 a brook. 



ENDIVE 



Endive can be sown the same as let- 

 tuce, but is generally grown to supply 



treatment as carrots. In the fall the 

 roots are dug. They are then planted 

 in earth in a dark cool place in the cel- 

 lar. In about a month's time, finely 

 blanched crisp leaves are thrown out 

 from the crowns, and, when cut, new 

 leaves form. Should your cellar not be 

 dark, the crowns can be covered loosely 

 with some light litter, to the depth of a 

 foot or so. The crown of leaves form- 

 ing under the litter will resemble small 

 heads of lettuce. 



Successive plantings can be made, if 

 some of the roots are stored in the 

 same manner as carrots. By so doing, 

 a supply of fresh and delicious salad may 

 be had all winter. Witloof is the best 

 variety to use. 



PARSLEY 



Parsley is the best known and most 

 frequently used garnish. The leaves are 











All kind* of Vegetables 



the fall and early winter demand. For 

 this purpose the .seed is sown in June 

 or July, in small beds, the plants trans- 

 planted while small to shaded cold 

 frames, and set out in the garden the 

 latter part of August. Hoe frequently to 

 keep down weeds and loosen the sur- 

 face. 



When the plant.s are about a foot in 

 diameter, their leaves are gathered up, 

 and tied loosely to blanch. In two or 

 .three weeks they will be a beautiful 

 white, and should be used at once, as 

 they soon decay. For this reason the 

 number of plants tied at any one time 

 should be in proportion to the expected 

 demand. 



CHICORY 



The tender, blanched leaves of chicory 

 make excellent salads. The unblanched 

 leaves are sometimes used for greens. 

 The seed is sown in the open ground 

 in May or June, and given the same 



127 



Growing on a City Lot. 



used also for salads and flavoring. 

 Thirty or forty plants should furnish al- 

 most any family. The seed is very slow 

 in germinating, and may be sown in a 

 small box, and transplanted out in the 

 garden when about an inch high. The 

 Moss Curled will give the best satisfac- 

 tion. 



A few plants can be taken up in the 

 fall, and planted in an eight-inch flower 

 pot, or small box, and placed in a sunny 

 window. The yield will astonish the 

 amateur. When picking for use, al- 

 ways take the outside stems, leaving the 

 central leaves of the crown to grow and 

 furnish future pickings. 



Attractive garnishes can also be made 

 with lettuce, cress, endive and young 

 mustard. The young leaves of fennel, 

 dill and carrots are also useful, and the 

 various colors of nasturtium flowers are 

 very striking. 



