232 Gardening 
(5) The short-period crops, such as leaf lettuce, 
spinach, peppergrass, and mustard. 
BULB PLANTS GROWN FROM SEED 
Seed onions and leeks are the two bulb-like garden 
vegetables of this general class. In seed onions the 
leafy growth is rapid during the cool weather of spring, 
but with the arrival of hot weather the tops of the 
leaves die, the growth stops, and the fleshy bases of 
the leaves form a bulb which “ rests ” for a time; in this 
condition it is called “ dry.”’ In the leek the bulb por- 
tion does not become much enlarged, but the lower por- 
tion of the leaves forms a column of fleshy and edible 
tissue. The leek grows rather slowly during the hot 
summer, but makes a rapid development during the cool 
season of autumn. 
Leeks. The leek is a biennial plant. The crop is 
best grown from seed sown early in the spring in outdoor 
seed beds. The plants should be transplanted to the 
garden when 6 or 7 inches tall, being placed 4 inches 
apart in rows spaced at 12 inches. When transplanting, 
set the plants deeply — almost to the young center 
leaves — so that the column of leaves will blanch in the 
soil. If set lower than this, especially in heavy clay 
soils, the heart may fail to develop further. 
When the crop is grown from seed planted in the row, 
a little soil should be raked up around the leaves from 
time to time as they develop. In the northern sections 
plants may be covered with straw and left in the field for 
use during winter, or they may be dug and stored in earth 
