190 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1916 



Radishes followed by Beets. 



Lettuce followed by Beets. 



Lettuce followed by Celery plants. 



Lettuce followed by Early Bush Beans. 



Bush Beans, Late Refugee. 



Bush Beans, Early. 



Dwarf Peas followed by Turnips. 



And since one of the biggest "stumbling 

 blocks" in the way of a real start is the 

 "tedious" job of making out a seed order, 

 here is what I would order for that garden: 



i qt. White Onion Sets. 



i oz. Round Red Radishes. 



i oz. Long White Radishes. 



i oz. Detroit Dark Red Beets. 



\ oz. Early Curled Lettuce. 



\ oz. Head Lettuce for summer. 



\ pt. Little Marvel Peas. 



5 pt. Bountiful Beans. 



5 pt. New Kidney Wax Beans. 



i pkt. Late Refugee Beans. 



i pkt. Turnips. 



The selection of varieties that will yield 

 biggest returns for the space they occupy 

 is of highest importance in connection 

 with gardens of this type. By all means, 

 get the latest and best sorts money can buy, 

 but don't forsake the dependable stan- 

 dards. Hold on to the sorts that have 

 proven satisfactory either in your own, 

 earlier gardens or in the experiences of 

 your neighbors. It pays to try a few of the 

 many novelties offered every year, but not 

 to the exclusion of the kinds on which you 

 know you can depend. 



The above classes of vegetables I have 



Be eh 



1 efface- A(ay Kmtj jolln wed 'byBcjihBnns 

 " B 3 Simpson " " " 



The varieties named above may, 

 of course, be regarded as types. In 

 due time, I would either secure two 

 dozen good tomato plants and four 

 dozen celery plants from a local 

 seedsman or dependable florist. Again, 

 there is the chance to raise these 

 plants yourself and make sure of 

 getting the variety you want, with 

 the help of a hotbed. But that is 

 another story to be told about next 

 month. 



When making out the above kind antm s 

 of a seed order, be sure to let 

 "quality" be your guide in the selection 

 of proper sorts. Tastes differ. Some plant- 

 ers "swear" by green-podded beans, others 

 will have none other than wax-podded sorts. 

 To solve all these problems will be the 

 subject of subsequent articles in an effort 

 to put gardening results of a definite nature 

 within the reach of all readers of The 

 Garden Magazine. 



Mighty "would be" judges on matters 

 pertaining to gardening have often raised 

 the question as to whether or not back 

 yard gardening can be made profitable on 

 a scale larger than that described above. 

 Considering the cost of the seeds, time 

 devoted, etc., etc., most of them make it 

 look as if it cannot be made to pay. I say 

 most emphatically that it can be made to 

 return handsome dividends on every in- 

 vestment in the form of material and labor 

 if we just employ the same efficiency 

 methods that we recognize in office, factory, 

 or shop. 



The sketch plan shows a garden which 

 any business man can manage nicely on io 

 hours of spare time a week and which will 

 provide all the vegetables a family of six 

 can eat between June ist and frost. 



And here is what you have a right to 

 expect from a garden of this kind if the 

 correct varieties are selected for your soil 

 and climate: 



Hcjih TSe ms Green Pod Tarhy 



Wax 



" Greer) Pod Pefujee late 



.IwpeJ Cnr-n Gold en Tjantarn 



Planted /foy 1.5' 



Golden fianfam 



Planted Torino" 



find it to be more economical to buy 

 ounces of small seeds, like lettuce, radish, 

 etc., because you get more for your 

 money, and the seeds are good for several 

 years. 



After the seeds arrive I promptly start 

 to "fuss" about them. Early in April I 

 secure my garden stakes — 12-inch wooden 

 labels — and begin to write the names of the 

 various varieties of vegetables upon them 

 for my first garden of the season. Gen- 

 erally, before one knows, spring is here, 

 the soil and weather combine in coaxing one 

 to dig, and the first thing you know the gar- 

 den of dreams is an ambition realized. 



ll&disbes <5pina.cb lettuce 



a.r>d Onion Sets early in the 



Jeason Jollor/ed. by Zdo 

 Tornatv Pldvts Utoa row i 



Staked ayd "Pruned 

 °hnted between row.; earlu m Jane, 



2doj, Ca.bha.ya All Head 



Early » 

 8 to d TOV 



Zrows Thomaslaxton Peas 



followed by 4do\en 

 Celery Plants 



ZrrtvYS Jitt/eAfarypJ Peas 



1 followed by Celery Plants 



FOR THE EARLY GARDEN 



10 doz. Beets 15 doz. Ears of Corn 



5 doz. Heads of Lettuce 4 bu Stringless Beans 



10 doz. Radishes 3 doz. Green Onions 



4 bu. Ripe Tomatoes 2 doz. Cabbages 



1 bu. Green Tomatoes 1 bu. Peas 



4 doz. Celery Stalks 



sketch for a business man having ten hours a week to 

 Size 30 x 40 



found to be the best paying crops in the 

 home garden. The most satisfactory home 

 gardens I have found to be those that were 

 built on a firm plan that was carried out. 

 And since planning is half the "fun," let 

 me describe here how I usually plan mine. 



HOW THE PLAN IS MADE 



In the first place, I collect my note books 

 of the last few years and study which 

 sorts proved • most dependable during a 

 number of seasons (In recent years, these 

 note books have taken the shape of bound 

 volumes of The Garden Magazine). 

 Then I get a few sheets of paper and draw 

 my new plan, always figuring how the 

 different crops mature in the different rows 

 so that I can provide a second and often a 

 third crop for succession. By the time I 

 get through drawing plans, I really have a 

 set of three: One shows the garden at the 

 start; the second as it is in June; and the 

 third shows the garden in July, when root 

 crops for winter use, celery, late lettuce, and 

 radishes for fall use are provided for. 



STUDYING THE CATALOGUES 



Then I get busy with the catalogues. I 

 generally order my seeds from several 

 sources which make more or less strong 

 claims for special strains of one or the other 

 of my favorite varieties. 



In most cases I find these claims to hold 

 good. When a man says he has an extra 

 early strain of bean, beet, or anything else, 

 it's generally so; because if it is not, that 

 man won't stay in business very long. I 



And there are few things in my 

 opinion which give a greater pleasure 

 to the true garden enthusiast than 

 a really early garden. It used to be 

 that everybody wanted to raise the 

 "biggest" things. Now it is the 

 "earliest" this, that, and the other 

 which counts, and I have actually 

 had neighbors tell me how they en- 

 vied me the earliest vegetables more 

 than any subsequent crops, be they 

 never so big. 



For the earliest garden you are per- 

 fectly safe with smooth peas, spinach, 

 onions from sets, radishes, lettuce, and 

 cabbage. All these vegetables will en- 

 dure light frosts, and seeds can be 

 sown as soon as the ground can be dug. 

 Beets, beans, wrinkled peas, and corn 

 may be planted any time after May 15 th 

 south of the 42d degree if you are willing 

 to take a chance with beans and corn. 

 Finally, after June ist, tomato plants may 

 be set out and it is perfectly safe to plant 

 a few hills of cucumbers and muskmelons. 

 But the latter two should find no room in a 

 garden smaller than 50 x 100 ft. and even 

 then the vines should be restricted by a 

 timely "pinching out" of centre shoots. 



Are you ready to have that garden? 

 Will you be drawing plans and writing for 

 catalogues this month so that you can 

 "fuss" with seeds and get that fever which 

 is responsible for all gardening successes? 

 You may be sure that you won't be alone. 

 I know of at least one person who will be 

 your company, and with this start goes the 

 promise to convince you, before many 

 months, of the ease with which real results 

 are scored if you will only work out the 

 simple principles and methods to be pre- 

 sented in connection with the various crops 

 in subsequent issues. 



[Editor's Note: Mr. Kruhm's succeeding articles 

 will tell the amateur what he ought to know about 

 the latest improvements in varieties of everyday 

 vegetables, pointing out the very best to grow ac- 

 cording to his actual needs. Every year proves the 

 merit of some of the more deserving standard sorts 

 to the detriment of others, and every year " new " 

 novelties compete for recognition. The "too-much- 

 alike " varieties form a serious problem, and it is 

 practically impossible for many home gardeners to 

 definitely learn what really best fills their require- 

 ments because of the small space at their disposal. 

 Next month's article will be devoted to " Rad- 

 ishes," and other subjects to follow are Lettuce in 

 March; Peas in April; Onions in May; Beans in 

 June; and Root Crops in July.] 



