WARM SEASON CROPS 45 



weather, if the seed is planted in the open ground even as early 

 as it is possible to work the soil. Such crops are early cabbage, 

 early cauliflower and head lettuce. The only way that these 

 crops can be grown with any assurance of success in central 

 latitudes is to start the plants under glass and have them 

 ready for transplanting as early as the weather will permit. 

 This will be about the time the second planting of radishes and 

 peas is made. 



Another crop having temperature requirements similar to 

 those of cabbage and cauliflower is celery; but this crop requires 

 so long a season that it is impossible to grow it under field condi- 

 tions as a spring planted crop except in northern localities, where 

 the summers are relatively cool. Together with late cabbage 

 and cauliflower, it can be grown as a summer planted crop designed 

 to make its principal growth during the cool, moist weather of 

 autumn. The success of these three vegetables as autumn crops 

 in central latitudes depends primarily upon the temperature and 

 the moisture supply during July, August, and September. Cool, 

 wet seasons favor their development. In hot, dry years they 

 may fail utterly. As commercial crops, they reach their highest 

 development only in relatively cool chmates. 



(3) The third group of cool season crops consists of relatively 

 long season crops, demanding cool, moist weather during the 

 earlier stages of their development, but capable of enduring con- 

 siderable heat and even drought after becoming fully established. 

 This group includes beets, carrots, chard, kale, leeks, onions, 

 parsley, parsnips, early potatoes, salsify, upland cress and New 

 Zealand spinach. It also includes the perennial crops, asparagus 

 and rhubarb. All of these crops should be planted relatively 

 early, though extremely early planting is more important with 

 some than others and is especially imperative in the case of onions. 

 In actual practice, all the vegetables in this group, together with 

 those of group 1, may be planted as soon as the ground can be 

 worked in the spring. If, however, the early planting is followed 

 by unusually cold, wet weather, replanting of the beets, carrots, 

 chard, and parsnips may become necessary, for these crops do not 

 germinate readily at as low temperatures as onions or kale, nor 

 will the seedlings survive so severe a frost. 



Warm Season Crops. — The warm season crops fall naturally 

 into two groups: (1) The first group includes those with a suffi- 

 ciently short period of growth to enable them to perfect their 



