212 Gardening 



tables to the table in winter when other fresh foods 

 are scarce. 



A good soil needed for root crops. As a rule, the 

 root crops are " light feeders." This is because the root 

 system is not extensive. The main root grows down 

 rather deeply but becomes thick and fleshy, while the 

 smaller, fibrous, feeding rootlets are not so numerous 

 and so widely spreading as in many other crops. 



Root crops, therefore, thrive best in a mellow soil in 

 which the roots can go deep. A rich and well- watered 

 loam or a sandy soil that contains considerable humus 

 and well-rotted manure is best for them. On heavy and 

 compact soils the roots of these crops are often small, 

 ill-shaped, knotty, and more or less branched. They 

 often fail on " raw " or previously uncultivated soils, 

 but with good tillage and the addition of humus and 

 manure such soils become suited to all the root crops. 



Root crops maturing during periods of hot, dry weather 

 are likely to be woody and of poor flavor. This can be 

 prevented in large degree by supplying an abundance of 

 water. 



Thinning root crops. The beginner often fails to thin 

 root crops sufficiently. The tops of these plants as a rule 

 are small compared to the underground parts, and they 

 are likely to be left so thick that the plants do not have 

 room to mature properly. 



In thinning these crops it is best to allow a distance 

 between plants twice the diameter of a mature root. 

 Thus radishes, which are i inch in diameter when mature, 

 should stand 2 inches apart, and turnips, which are 3 

 inches in diameter, should stand 6 inches apart. If there 



