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GARDENING 



YOUNGFOLKS 



CONDUCTED BY ELLEN EDDY SHAW 



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Garden Exhibits 



THE exhibits of children's garden products are 

 usually far from effective. This is due either 

 to one of two things: first, poor arrangement; and 

 second, the wilted condition of the products. And 

 so greater care should be taken to make the display 

 itself more effective, easier to judge, and to have 

 products in better condition. 



So often the material is placed perfectly level 

 upon the tables or benches. It is easy to arrange 

 for a series of temporary shelves on 

 the benches, using the front of the 

 table as the first level. Then, by 

 means of two blocks or boxes and a 

 board, make the next display, a shelf 

 rising about eight inches from the 

 table level. Back of this first shelf 

 arrange a second rising eight inches 

 above the first shelf. Thus, with al- 

 most no expense, there will be ob- 

 tained on one narrow table three 

 levels for display. At a glance the 

 judges can see the entire exhibit if it 

 is well placed and spaced. 



Put the largest vegetables and the 

 tallest flowers in the background, and 

 thus leave the front or table level for 

 the smallest and least conspicuous 

 material. Do not huddle products 

 together; let each exhibit stand out 

 as a unit with spaces between it and 

 its neighbours. It is better to have 

 all the vegetables together in one place and all the 

 flowers in another. If then there be a third class 

 of exhibits, school exhibits, place these by them- 

 selves. If one section of a show is given up to the 

 children's work, put the individual vegetable and 

 flower exhibits around the room; then run a table 

 through the centre of the space and upon this table 

 arrange the school exhibits. 



Cover the benches and tables with dull green 

 paper, wrapping paper or burlap. Crepe paper 

 is the poorest material to use for this purpose be- 

 cause when wet it looks so wretchedly. Whatever 

 signs are needed should be clearly printed on heavy 

 white paper. If it is possible have exhibitor's tick- 

 ets printed; then these tickets may be placed by the 

 individual exhibits. 



Neatness, uniformity, and proper labeling go far 

 toward making an exhibit attractive. Ask those 

 entering the flower contests to bring containers for 

 their flowers; such receptacles as plain bottles like 

 olive bottles, easy to obtain, may be used to advan- 

 tage. A conglomeration of receptacles detracts 

 from the general appearance of the show. The 

 centre of interest is the flower itself and whatever 

 detracts from that should be eliminated 



Such a prize as this would 

 appeal to most children. The 

 shield is of wood, with the 

 inserted panel of metal 



The pasteboard picnic plate may be used for the 

 vegetables where plates are needed. These are in- 

 expensive. Certain vegetables, when laid upon the 

 tables, stain the bench coverings and so the exhibit 

 as a whole, soon looks quite untidy. The paste- 

 board plates prevent this. 



We cannot expect the children to present their 

 products in the best of condition unless we give them 

 some directions. If flowers are entered pick your 

 specimens the night before they are to be submitted. 

 Pick long stems, perfect blooms with green leaves. 

 Avoid choosing those flowers upon the 

 stems of which are imperfect leaves. 

 Place the stems in water and keep in a 

 cool place. Wrap the specimens in 

 damp and then dry newspapers when 

 ready to carry to the exhibition hall. 

 If the entry calls for seven specimen 

 zinnias, do not carry in eight zinnias. 

 Follow the entry conditions absolute- 

 ly. If a potted plant is to be entered 

 (like lobelia, for example), pot it up 

 some days before the time of exhibit 

 and keep it in a shaded place in the 

 garden. Thus the plant becomes used 

 to its new quarters before the great 

 day and looks fine and fresh when 

 needed. If potted up the day of ex- 

 hibit, the plant always presents a 

 drooping appearance. 



Vegetables should be cleaned before 

 entering. Vegetables covered with 

 soil should never be accepted. Cut 

 off the tops of beets, carrots, radishes and any others 

 which show wilt quickly. Wilted radish leaves add 

 nothing to the effect of the exhibit as a whole, but 

 rather detract. Lettuce heads should be well 

 sprinkled with fresh water so they keep a 

 fresh, crisp look. The fine appearance 

 of a vegetable exhibit ought to present 

 a temptation to the public. Instead of 

 this the general droop of the foliage and 

 the clinging soil often makes the public 

 feel like running away. Some attempt at 

 decoration and attractive setting adds 

 greatly to the general effect; asparagus 

 vine, smilax, bitter sweet, ampelopsis 

 might all be used to trail along the 

 benches. 



was not like the other beds. In my three other 

 plots were growing tomatoes, carrots, radishes, 

 turnips, corn, onions, string beans, and lettuce. 

 From the tomatoes I received eleven pounds of 

 green ones. 



I received a few carrots which were of medium 

 size. I planted three crops of radishes and re- 

 ceived for my labor about one dollar's worth. In 

 my three plots were eleven stalks of corn which pro- 

 duced nineteen good ears. Very few onions came 

 up. My string beans flourished and from twenty- 

 seven plants I got two quarts of beans. From the 

 lettuce I received nineteen heads. So you can see 

 it paid me to work that half day for six weeks; and 

 besides the vegetables, I received the honor of hav- 

 ing the best plot in the garden. 



New York City. Isaac Ratjch. 



MY PLOT at the Rockefeller Garden was 5 feet by 

 10 feet. May 9th I planted lettuce, beans, beets 

 and radishes. June 9th, I picked my first radishes, 

 123! Then I planted zinnias and had great bunches 

 of them during the fall. The sixteenth of June was 

 the first picking of lettuce; there was about one peck 

 of this. But later in July the lettuce headed and 

 from my plot I took twenty-six heads. 



There were two crops of beans and I had two 

 quarts each time. The first picking of beets was on 

 July 9, the last on August 29. I had forty-one 

 beets. I planted sweet alyssum as a border in my 

 garden and that blossomed profusely. 



New York City. Minnie McKenna. 



I WAS given a piece of land ten feet by twenty feet. 

 When father had his garden plowed, he had my 

 garden plowed also. 



I then raked off the piece of land which was to be 



Roger 

 This won 



Reports of Garden Results 



THE Children's Home Garden, Jer- 

 sey City Heights, covers a piece of 

 land 70 feet by 90 feet and forty children work in 

 the area. The harvesting covers a period of time 

 from May 4th to September 2nd, so that the report 

 here given does not represent the entire yield: 



William Park School garden exhibit. Providence 

 the first prize in our national contest 



R. I. 



Beans, lima 



21 qts. 



Lettuce 



i6pks. 



Beans, strin 



g . . I3pks. 



New Zealand spinach 6 qts. 



Beets 



. . 987 " 



Onions 



. . 283 " 



Cabbage 



. - 13 " 



Peas 



2 " 



Carrots . 



. . 1783 " 



Peppers 



. . 91 " 



Corn. 



. . 370 " 



Radishes 



1242 



Cucumbers 



18 " 



Squash 



38 " 



Eggplants 



■ • 9 " 



Tomatoes 



• • 1293 " 



Kohlrabi 



84 " 







The prize-winning home garden of a Toronto boy. Note 

 the pleasing general effect of this small backyard garden 



There was plenty of parsley also. 



The flowers raised in the flower section were as 

 follows: geraniums, baby's breath, ageratum, cos- 

 mos, zinnias, portulacca, asters, sweet alyssum, nas- 

 turtiums and salvia. 



Jersey City. Anna Molten, Supervisor. 



PERHAPS you would be interested to know how 

 a city boy raised vegetables in the city to re- 

 duce the cost of living for his parents. 



I spent one entire morning of the six weeks of 

 school vacation in planting, cultivating, and water- 

 ing my four garden plots. In one of my plots I 

 raised tomatoes. I did not plant the seeds but was 

 given young tomato plants to transplant. This 

 plot was known as an observation bed because it 



56 



my garden to make the soil as fine as possible. Next 

 thing I did was to make this land into a large bed, 

 to separate it from the other soil. After I had fin- 

 ished I bought my seeds. I asked for two packages 

 of lettuce, two packages of radish and one package 

 of cucumbers. I had some bean seed which I kept 

 from last year. I received a small package of sweet 

 corn from the Agricultural College, and father gave 

 me a few cabbage plants. These seeds which I 

 have mentioned are all that I planted in my garden. 



My corn proved to be Golden Bantam. I gath- 

 ered enough for a day's dinner. This corn had a 

 very good flavor. 



About this time my beans and other vegetables 

 were ready to eat, excepting my cabbage, which 

 was the only vegetable that did not turn out well. 

 We had quanities of beans. I did not have many 

 cucumbers, but what we did have were very good. 

 I did not expect to have many out of the few seeds 

 that I planted. 



One row of lettuce was head lettuce but the other 

 was not; it was just the plain leaf lettuce, but was 

 very good. After the radishes came out I planted 

 fall beet seeds. In about a week they came peeping 

 out of the soil. I got about a peck from what I 

 have planted. 



Massachusetts. Henrietta Worthington. 



