Book of Gardens 



93 



BOt to be used in the same manner as it would 

 be in raking grass. 



In the latter case, the object is to rake up 

 everything there is on the surface of the 

 ground; in the garden, to rake up as little as 

 possible. In preparing the garden, the rake 

 is used primaril}' for leveling the surface, and 

 only incidentally for gathering up such pieces 

 of manure, small stones, plant stems and other 

 useless rubbish as may be on the very surface 

 of the ground. The rake, then, should be used 

 \vith a backward-and-forward motion to level 

 down all ridges and fill up hollows, and lightl}' 

 remove any loose trash from the surface, leav- 

 ing a perfectly level, fine, moist strip of ground 

 ready to receive the seed. 



The next step is to mark off the first row. 

 Don't just go ahead and guess at it. It will 

 probably not take over ten minutes at the most 

 to get it perfectly straight and parallel with 

 or at right angles to the edge of your garden 

 or the side of the house or the sidewalk — 

 whichever is the most natural line to go by in 

 laying out y'our garden. That first row will 

 determine the general appearance of the entire 

 garden; make it straight and true. 



If you have a right angle to make, here is 

 a simple method of determining whether you 

 have it exact or not. Measure off 6' from the 

 corner along one line, and 8' from the comer 

 along the other. If it is a true right angle, the 

 diagonal betw-een the t\vo points should measure 

 exactly 10'. If it does not, you can adjust one 

 side or the other until the angle in question is 

 a true one. 



The actual getting of the seed into the soil 

 is the next thing to be done. There are four 

 distinct kinds of planting: in drills, in rows, 

 in hills, and transplanting or setting out plants 

 which have been started from seed sown in- 

 doors or in the hotbed. 



"Drills" are plants grown in a continuous 

 row so close together that no effort is made to 

 have them at regular distances, or to cultivate 

 between the individual plants. Radishes, 

 spinach and many other things familiar to 

 everyone are grown by this method. "Rows" 

 signify that the plants are set at regular dis- 

 tances apart, but so close together that cultiva- 

 tion is done only in one direction, except for 

 the use of the hand hoe or rake. Cabbages, 

 peppers and potatoes are familiar examples 

 of vegetables grown in rows. By "hills" is 

 meant the setting of the vegetables so far apart 

 in both directions that cultivation is given both 

 ways, and each group of plants or "hill" is 

 treated as an individual unit. Familiar ex- 

 amples of vegetables grown in this way are 

 melons, sweet corn and pole beans. 



Most of the vegetables planted in drills are 

 root crops and do not need very much space 

 betw^een the rows. If the soil is poor, a hand- 

 ful of ground bone along the bottom of each 

 20' of drill is advisable. 



A thorough manuring and fertilizing of the 

 whole area planted is worth while before sow- 

 ing vegetables in rows, with a little extra where 

 each plant is to be. Hills are usually enriched 

 as units. The soil in them should be especially 

 prepared for a space of 18" to 24" across and 

 6" or more deep. 



All this preliminary W'ork with the soil has 

 a definite bearing on the size, quality and 

 general development of the vegetable crop. As 

 to the dates and depths of planting, the quan- 

 tities of seed for given spaces, and other specific 

 details about the various things ordinarily 

 grown in the home garden, a tabulation will be 

 found in the vegetable guide on another page 

 of this book. 



Onion sets are planted 

 drills. Put them about 

 apart in the row 



A wide drill, as for 

 peas, is made with the 

 hoe blade held fiat 



Sow small seed direct 



from the hand, held 



close to the drill 



Covei the wide drill 

 fiom both sides, push- 

 ing in the soil with 

 the feet 



Cover the first plant- 

 ing of peas about 1" 

 deep, in a wide drill 



The back of a wooden 

 rake is excellent for 

 covering shallow drills 



Then turn the rake as 

 shown at the right, to 

 firm down the soil 



Use a wooden rake for 

 the final smoothing 

 of soil before sowing 



"^^ \J^ 



(Below) Use a board to stand 



on, so as not to make traiks in 



the soil 



A 



