Special Needs 137 



Okra: — Although the okra makes a very strong 

 plant — and incidentally is one of the most orna- 

 mental of all garden vegetables — the seed is quickly 

 rotted by wet or cold. Sow not earlier than May 

 25th, in warm soil, planting thinly in drills, about 

 one and a half inches deep, and thinning to a foot 

 or so ; cultivate as with corn in drills. All pods not 

 used for soup or stems during summer may be dried 

 and used in winter. 



Peas: — With care in making successive sowings, 

 peas may be had during a long season. The earliest, 

 smooth varieties are planted in drills twelve to 

 eighteen inches apart, early in April. These are, 

 however, of very inferior quality compared to the 

 wrinkled sorts, which may now be had practically 

 as early as the others. With the market gardener, 

 the difference of a few days in the maturing of the 

 crop is of a great deal more importance than the 

 quality, but for the home garden the opposite is 

 true. 



Another method of planting the dwarf-growing 

 kinds is to make beds of four rows, six to eight 

 inches apart, with a two-foot alley between beds. 

 The tall-growing sorts must be supported by brush 

 or in other ways ; and are put about four feet apart 

 in double rows, six inches apart. The early varieties 

 if sown in August will usually mature a good fall 

 crop. The early plantings should be made in light, 



