HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



MARKET GARDENING NOTES 



Prof. H. F. Tompson (jives Timely 

 Advice 



Seeding time for the market gardener 

 is here. The evidence gained from the 

 seed test will indicate how thick to seed 

 and whether the vigor is up to standard. 

 Accurate work in seeding may have much 

 to do in saving labor — a mo.'^t important 

 factor in 1923. 



Straight rows look well. More im- 

 portant, straight rows can be more easily 

 kept free from weeds. It is almost im- 

 possible to wheelhoe as close to a crooked 

 row as to a straight one. This fact 

 makes it very important to seed straight 

 rows to save labor. 



Practice is important in making- 

 straight rows. Some systems, however, 

 will help. If one has difficulty, measure 

 an even distance from the corners of the 

 piece and set stakes marked so that they 

 are easily seen from either end. Run 

 the seed drill over the first row without 

 seeding. To make the row straight start 

 at one stake, keep the eye on the stake 

 at the far end and walk straight to it. 

 Pay no attention to the drill. Keep at- 

 tention on the goal. If the first row 

 is crooked, come back over it and make 

 it straight. Then it is ready to seed. 

 With the row marker set, a proper start 

 is made. For the beginner, it is im- 

 portant to straighten up every, ten or 

 twenty rows. Straight rows pay. 

 Depth of Sowing Seed 



The depth of sowing seed must be regu- 

 lated according to the season, soil, and 

 seed. In the spring it is best to plant 

 shallow. The same kind of seed is best 

 planted deeper from late spring on, be- 

 cause the moisture in the surface soil 

 is less and the frequent drying out often 

 prevents proper germination. 



The heavier the soil the greater the 

 importance of regulating the depth of 

 seeding with special care. It is often 

 difficult to get a stand of certain kinds 

 of plants in heavy soil because of the 

 mechancial difficulty young plants have in 

 breaking through the surface. On the 

 other hand, very loose sandy soil offeis 

 little resistance to seedlings but drys out 

 quickly and requires deeper planting to 

 provide the necessary moisture. 



Seed may have much vigor or little. 

 Accordingly it needs varying treatment. 

 Certain kinds, as peas, may be planted 

 deeply, while dandelions need to be shal- 

 low. Judgment is important as well as 

 familiarity with the crop and its charac- 

 ter. 



The slow germinating seeds are often 

 a very difficult problem where soils are 

 filled with seeds. For instance, aspara- 

 gus seedlings rarely cut above ground 

 in less than 14 to 16 days. For several 

 days after they are up, they are difficult 

 to see. Meanwhile, weeds grow fast and 

 frequently cause serious losses unless 



means are taken to mark the rows. 

 Radish seed is good to sow with aspara- 

 gus .seed to mark the row. If sown thinly 

 enough, the radish crop may be allowed 

 to mature without injury to the aspara- 

 gus. 



Lettuce seed makes a good "marker" 

 with dandelions. Turnip seed can be 

 used with celery. 



-Judgment and study need to be used 

 in every case to properly combine the 

 seed and regulate the seed drill. 



Acid Phosphate added to land where 

 manure alone has been the chief fertiliz- 

 ing agent, almost always results in earlier 

 and better crops. 



Plan to be at Le.xington at the Market 

 Garden Field Station on August 8th. 

 Many varieties and strains of the most 

 important vegetables will tell their true 

 story of character. 



Will Immigrants Help Labor Situation? 



Horace W. Tinkham of Rhode Island 

 talked to the Boston Market Gardeners 

 Association at their last regular winter 

 meeting on March 24. His topic was the 

 "Labor Situation for Market Gardeners 

 for 1923, and What They Can do Aboyt 

 It." One statement he made will deserve 

 consideration. It refers particularly to 

 immigrant labor about which many men 

 have been thinking. Study it a bit. 



"Will immigi-ation have much effect on 

 our business if the bars are let down? 

 Many of us are old enough to remember 

 when the average immigrant headed for ; 

 our farms as .soon as he landed, in order 

 to more quickly learn the ways of this 

 country by actual close contact, and also 

 because he himself came directly from the 

 farms of Europe. Most of us know that 

 the labor coming in during the last 

 twenty years has not been raised on the ! 

 farms in Europe and has distinctly not 

 headed for the farms here, but quite the 

 contrary. The immigrant who prefers 

 to herd in the city colony because he can 

 do so with less of a jar to his old country ' 

 ideals and customs has been of very little 

 use to us on the farms, and I am glad 

 of it. I hope he will continue to be of ' 

 no use to us, as then our country will 

 have one reservoir of American ideals 

 left to draw from ; or will have if that 

 reservoir is not destroyed from lack of a 

 living wage." 



It Pays to Advertise [ 



Competition of organized vegetable 

 growers throughout sections of the coun- 

 try which supply products to Boston is 

 showing Massachusetts vegetable growers 

 the only way to protect their own in- 

 terests. Recent conference with one of 

 the leading wholesalers of Boston con- 

 firms the impression that local products 

 ungraded, of various types, are the least 

 acceptable purchase on the market, and 

 that the desirable method is to buy goods 

 which were sold in sufficient volume of 

 a definite grade to warrant modern busi- 



: ness methods in their disposal. Mr. 

 Tinkham made the point in his talk that 

 when Ma.ssachusetts growers have or- 

 ganized and standarized, high freight 

 rates will work for them and not against 

 them, and that Boston will be the finest 

 marketing place of the country for our 

 local growers, and that local growers will 

 be getting the best of trade. Boston 



I wants superior goods and will have them 

 if she has to go two thousand miles for 

 them. The sentiment is, however, for 

 the local produce men to deal ♦with the 

 local farmer if he can get equal service. 



To Lime or Not to Lime 



Have you noted that vegetable crops 

 respond to liming in different ways? 

 I Vegetables most responsive to liming are: 

 Asparagus Lettuce 



Beets Muskmclon 



Cauliflower Onions 



Celery Parsnips 



Eggplant Salsify 



Leeks Spinach 



Those which .seem less sensitive to acid 

 soil but still pay a profit for liming are: 

 Cabbage Horse-radish 



Carrots Peas 



Swiss Chard Peppers 



Cucumbers Pumpkins 



Kale Tomatoes 



We have some which don't seem to care 

 whether the soil is acid or not. These 

 are : 



Brus.sels sprouts Dandelion 



Beans Endive 



Corn Kohl-rabi 



Rhubarb 

 On the other hand are crops which 

 seem to even do their best in acid soils as: 

 Cress Radish 



Parsley Squash 



Potato Turnip 



It is interesting to know that the fol- 

 lowing .small fruits will not grow well 

 in limed soils: 



Strawberries 

 Blueberries 

 Cranberries 

 Have you ever spoiled your strawberry 

 bed by liming? 



I'onlinuod from page 1, column 2 

 Their experience should be valuable to 

 other tobacco growers who have no desire 

 to keep dairy cows if they can or rather 

 will demonstrate that the practice is 

 profitable. County Agent B. G. South- 

 wick of Hartford County makes the fol- 

 lowing statement regarding conditions in 

 Connecticut which applies equally well 

 to this county: — 



"Only a limited number of our tobacco 

 farms offer the right basic conditions for 

 feeding steers. We think these condi- 

 tions are: available land suitable for 

 falsing silage corn and hay (clover or 

 alfalfa), ne.xt a supply of bedding, and 

 last the necessary ambition on the owner's 

 pai-t to study the bu.sine.ss in order to 

 learn how." 



