232 Gardening 



(5) The short-period crops, such as leaf lettuce, 

 spinach, peppergrass, and mustard. 



BULB PLANTS GROWN FROM SEED 



Seed onions and leeks are the two bulb-like garden 

 vegetables of this general class. In seed onions the 

 leafy growth is rapid during the cool weather of spring, 

 but with the arrival of hot weather the tops of the 

 leaves die, the growth stops, and the fleshy bases of 

 the leaves form a bulb which " rests " for a time ; in this 

 condition it is called " dry." In the leek the bulb por- 

 tion does not become much enlarged, but the lower por- 

 tion of the leaves forms a column of fleshy and edible 

 tissue. The leek grows rather slowly during the hot 

 summer, but makes a rapid development during the cool 

 season of autumn. 



Leeks. The leek is a biennial plant. The crop is 

 best grown from seed sown early in the spring in outdoor 

 seed beds. The plants should be transplanted to the 

 garden when 6 or 7 inches tall, being placed 4 inches 

 apart in rows spaced at 12 inches. When transplanting, 

 set the plants deeply almost to the young center 

 leaves so that the column of leaves will blanch in the 

 soil. If set lower than this, especially in heavy clay 

 soils, the heart may fail to develop further. 



When the crop is grown from seed planted in the row, 

 a little soil should be raked up around the leaves from 

 time to time as they develop. In the northern sections 

 plants may be covered with straw and left in the field for 

 use during winter, or they may be dug and stored in earth 



