74 THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN 



crusty. Frequent, shallow tillage is infinitely better than crusty 

 soil followed by deep plowing. Spring tooth cultivators which are 

 adjustable are excellent for garden tillage. 



Cover Crops. — Much of the garden will not be occupied during 

 winter by money crops or other strictly garden crops. All vacant 

 spaces should be covered with a green growing crop sown as early 

 as the vegetables are taken off, or the cover crop may be sown 

 between the rows of tomatoes, corn, and similar crops, after til- 

 lage is over. If the cover crop is sown in August it will make a 

 green covering throughout the winter, and will produce an abund- 

 ance of green manure for the addition of humus the following 

 spring. Among the best crops for growth in the winter are dif- 

 ferent forms of winter grain, crimson clover and hairy vetch. 



Drainage. — Under-drainage is not as expensive as the beginner 

 is likely to think. If the soil tends to wash under-drainage will 

 tend to prevent it. If water stands on the soil under-drainage, of 

 course, will help to remedy the difficulty. 



One of the essentials of successful market gardening or truck 

 gardening is to have crops produced at the right season of weather 

 conditions. Drainage will help better than almost anything else 

 in overcoming climatic and weather difficulties. Soils that are well 

 under-drained will be warmed more quickly and are therefore 

 much better for gardening. 



Irrigation. — Watering garden crops at the right season is highly 

 important. In the average country home garden this may be 

 impossible. Rainfall must be depended upon. In such cases fre- 

 quent, shallow tillage is to be recommended. This will conserve 

 the moisture from one rain to the next. Some have called this 

 "horse-leg irrigation." Frequent use of the horse cultivator saves 

 much expense for artificial irrigation. 



The overhead system of irrigation is not as expensive as some 

 might suppose. Water pipes placed on rows of posts running 

 through the garden are provided with special nozzles along one 

 side of the pipes. These nozzles are three and one-half or four feet 

 apart. The lines of pipe are forty or fifty feet apart. Of course 

 these must be connected with a water supply pipe which may run 

 in the ground and rise to each of the lines of pipe. Special unions 

 are required to allow the rolling of the water lines so as to throw 

 the water as desired to either side (Fig. 50.) 



The water supply for irrigation may be from wells, creeks or 

 other sources. The water may be supplied through pipes either 



