Thorough Cultivation Makes Gardening Pay 



Whether gardening is conducted for profit or merely 

 for exercise and pleasure, one needs to do the right thing 

 at the right time. It may be taken for granted that a 

 majority of those who take up the work desire both profit 

 and pleasure. 



A common source of failure is sourness of the soil, 

 which is found in places almost wholly shaded during the 

 months which intervene between the growing seasons 

 and which also lack a free circulation of air. Wood ashes 

 and slaked lime are good for this and also are a most ex- 

 cellent fertilizer. A peck of ashes well mixed with a 

 wagon load of soil is the gardener's rule, but for small 

 beds, spade the ground deeply and after breaking up the 

 lumps and raking thoroughly, scatter ashes or lime evenly 

 over the surface until it is as white as after a light snow- 

 fall ; then rake in well. This should be done before plant- 

 ing time, or as soon as the ground can be worked. It is 

 best to have the plowing done in the fall. 



Success in the vegetable garden depends largely upon 

 thorough and frequent tillage. The tillage should be- 

 gin as soon as the plants can be seen, and should be re- 

 peated at intervals of about one week throughout the sea- 

 son. Much labor will be saved by substituting a wheel 

 hoe for the hand hoe for stirring the soil close about the 

 plants, while they are small and by using a horse for culti- 

 vating between the rows wherever there is sufficient 

 space. If these methods are employed, the most irksome 

 features of vegetable gardening — the weeding and 

 odious hand tillage — will be eliminated. 



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