PART THREE 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 
Factors in locating the home garden. There are 
several important factors in locating the home garden. 
Convenience to the house is one of them. A southern 
or southeastern slope will give the best results with 
early vegetables. It should not be too steep, however, 
for the crops may then suffer from the drought and 
the heat of summer, and the land be liable to wash. 
It is desirable to have lower ground below the garden 
in order to allow for air and water drainage. If the 
ground is not well drained naturally, it should, of 
course, be tile-drained. In a level country it would 
be well to provide some protection in the way of trees 
or buildings on the northern side. These, however, 
should not be too close to the garden. The kind of 
soil is important. With most vegetables, sandy loam 
will give the best results. One should not despair, 
however, if he does not have the ideal soil, for most 
of the common vegetables adapt themselves to a wide 
range of soils. Where the slope of the site or the type 
of soil varies appreciably, one should plant the crops 
accordingly. For instance, sweet potatoes should be 
planted on the higher and drier places, and they do 
best in clay loams; watermelons like a sand ridge; 
eucumbers and celery prefer the low, damp ground. 
The mechanical preparation of the garden soil. The 
ideal garden soil preparation is to manure and plow 
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