SOIL 341 



who is able to market his produce a few days ahead^of his 

 neighbor usually receives a much higher price. Early 

 harvesting often enables the grower to prepare his land 

 in time for a succeeding crop. 



Location. -- The garden should constitute an attractive 

 feature of the home grounds. It should be placed as near 

 the dwelling as conditions will permit. Since vegetables 

 must be cared for at odd times and gathered at frequent 

 intervals, it should be convenient for these purposes. 



The location of a commercial garden is of no less im- 

 portance. It is very desirable to be near a good market 

 where the grower may keep in touch with the demand and 

 deliver his product quickly at a minimum expense. 



Soil. Sandy loams with porous subsoils are generally 

 considered the most valuable for garden purposes. Wet 

 land, unless it can be satisfactorily drained, should be 

 avoided, as good crops cannot be produced upon poorly 

 drained soil. As the market gardener fertilizes very heavily, 

 the physical composition of the soil is of greater importance 

 than the amount of plant food it contains. A few of the 

 vegetable crops require special soils, although most of 

 them may be grown upon all the good agricultural 

 lands. 



A coarse, sandy soil is commonly regarded as a " quick " 

 soil, as it dries out and warms up early in the spring. 

 Coarse sands, though they produce early maturity, require 

 a larger amount of vegetable matter in the fertilizer. 

 Medium sands though not early are more productive and 

 retentive of moisture. The silt and clay soils are often 

 preferred for late crops. The muck lands, since they re- 

 quire less addition of plant food, are the most profitable 

 in producing late-season crops. 



