106 GARDEN FARMING 



The general outline of the town garden will be determined by 

 the shape of the lot, but if the garden is on a farm the tract should 

 be long and narrow and all the vegetables planted in rows so as to 

 permit cultivation by horse power. Such a system will not secure 

 the maximum yield per acre, but it will secure the greatest yield 

 with the least hand labor. 



Preparation of the home garden. The preparation of the garden 

 should be thorough, and so planned as to permit the use of at least 

 a part of the area early in the season. If the soil is light and sandy 

 or loamy, the part intended for early spring use should be plowed in 

 the autumn and left rough ; but if the soil is inclined to be heavy 

 and does not dry out quickly in the spring, that part necessary for 

 the first early crops should be thrown up in ridges or lists. The 

 tops of the ridges will dry out early in the spring, and if they are 

 split and thrown both ways into the trenches, a seed bed can be 

 secured earlier than by flat culture. 



The seed bed for the garden should be deep, rich, and well pre- 

 pared. It is a good practice to run a disk harrow over the garden 

 area before plowing. This makes the bottom of the furrow-slice 

 loose and friable, and the newly exposed earth when well tilled after 

 plowing gives a seed bed that has been worked to the full depth 

 of the plowing. 



Application of fertilizers. The garden area must be abundantly 

 supplied with available plant food. Stable manure should be the 

 chief fertilizer, but some early crops, like lettuce, radishes, and early 

 cabbage, will be benefited by the use of nitrate of soda at the rate 

 of 200 pounds to the acre in addition to a liberal dressing of well- 

 rotted stable manure. From 20 to 30 two-horse loads of manure 

 to the acre are not too much, and for potatoes a dressing of potash 

 of 600 pounds per acre should be used in addition. 



Selecting seed. As has already been suggested the entire seed 

 supply should be secured early in the season, as soon as the 

 scheme of the garden has been determined. The seed should be 

 of the best quality obtainable and always of well-known standard 

 sorts. The sorts chosen should allow the greatest range of season 

 possible. When early, medium, and late sorts are available the 

 best of each should be selected, and succession planting should be 

 made in addition. 



