LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS II7 



staminate plants are greatly increased and the 

 yields correspondingly raised. Seed may be readily 

 saved at home if so desired and plants grown for 

 transplanting purposes. If some attention is given 

 to the matter of selecting the seed, securing plants 

 by this method will prove very satisfactory. 



In cultivation, especially after the first season, it 

 is usually desirable to run over the entire patch 

 with the disk harrow in both directions just as soon 

 as the soil is dry enough in the spring. This has- 

 tens the drying of the surface and permits the soil 

 to warm up rapidly, starting the new shoots into 

 growth more quickly than they would otherwise 

 do. Cultivation with the usual cultivating tools 

 should be followed throughout the entire season or 

 as long as a horse can readily pass between the rows. 



The problem of keeping up the humus supply in 

 the soil is one of prime importance. Various 

 methods may be successfully followed. A common 

 practice is to cover the entire patch with a heavy 

 covering of well-rotted stable manure just after the 

 cutting season is over. The subsequent cultivation 

 works this material well into the soil with splendid 

 results. Some gardeners follow the plan of plow- 

 ing a deep furrow between the rows just after the 

 cutting season is over, throwing the dirt over the 

 crowns. This trench is filled with well-rotted 

 manure and the whole field leveled down by har- 

 rowing back and forth across the ridges. Heavy 

 layers of strawy manure should not be left on the 

 patch over winter, because it keeps the soil cold 

 and damp and prevents the early growth which is 

 always in greatest demand. Heavy applications 

 of commercial fertilizer should usually be employed 

 in connection with the stable manures. Nitrcren 



