SALAD PLANTS THAT ENDURE HEAT 157 



cultivated in some private gardens and by some commercial 

 growers, particularly in the East. The seed is sown in early 

 spring in rows one to two feet apart, and the plants are thinned 

 to six inches to a foot apart in the row. Sometimes the tops are 

 mowed off with a scythe in June and sent to market if other greens 

 are scarce. This is thought to improve rather than to injure the 

 plants, as well as increasing the cash receipts. The dandelions 

 are then usually allowed to grow all summer without any further 

 harvesting of the crop that season. They will endure a large 

 amount of heat and drought, and develop large roots with strong 

 crowns before winter sets in. Sometimes a crop of greens is cut 

 late in the fall, but this is rather unusual. The ordinary method 

 is to allow the plants to remain in the ground over winter. Very 



Fig. 97. — Parsley- plants in six-inch pots: One method of producing 

 the home supply for winter use. 



early in the spring the strong roots, with their abundant store of 

 food material secured the season before, send up a great mass of foli- 

 age which is available for greens long before any spring-planted 

 garden crop is large enough for use. The extreme hardiness of the 

 dandelion, enabling the roots to pass severe winters without injury, 

 makes it a desirable plant for early spring greens in northern 

 localities, where fall-planted spinach and kale will not survive. 

 As soon as the crop is harvested, the land should be plowed to" kill 

 out the roots and prevent any stray plants from going to seed. 



SALAD PLANTS THAT ENDURE HEAT 



Parsley is used primarily for garnishing, and surpasses all 

 other plants for that purpose. It is also used for flavoring salads 

 and sometimes for flavoring soups. It will endure extreme heat 



