January, 19 19 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



173 



"SKELETON" CHART SHOWING EFFICIENT 



GROUPING OF VEGETABLES FOR 



GENERAL PURPOSE GARDEN 



3 



Early planted (hardy) 

 - vegetables that may 

 X be followed by other 

 things. 



Apr. i to 15 



Crops for fall and winter, 

 C and last succession 

 ** plantings. 



July 1 to 15 



First succession planting, 

 O and late-planted 



•^ (tender) crops. 



May io to 25 



f? Cover crops for winter. 

 Aug. 1 to Sept. 1 



Second succession plant- 

 ed ing, and crops for 

 " summer and fall. 



June 10 to 25 



Manured and trenched for 

 winter. 



_ Early planted vegetables 



2t to remain all season. 



Apr. 1 to is 



same ground occupied by Groups I and 3. 

 Except where the season is very long, it is seldom 

 possible to get a second planting on all of Group 

 3 in time to mature. It should be the gardener's 

 aim to get a second crop from as much of this space 

 as possible. But it is only a waste of time, 

 work and seed to put in second plantings which 

 do not have a reasonable certainty of maturing 

 before hard freezing weather. Where there is 

 any doubt in this respect, it is much better to use 

 the space for the purpose of Group 6. 



Group 6. — Cover Crops for Fertility 



Not only the quantity of crops you can get 

 from your garden, but the quality also depends 

 largely upon keeping the ground plentifully 

 supplied with humus. Every year at least part 

 of the garden — about a third if possible — should 

 be devoted to growing an abundance of some 

 green crop for plowing or spading under, to 

 furnish humus and fertility. In no other way, 

 can the garden so cheaply be kept in an excellent 

 condition. Approximately a third of the garden 

 can be put into cover crops each year by changing 

 the relative positions of the different groups of 

 the vegetables from year to year, and thus estab- 

 lishing a three year "rotation." The entire garden 

 can thus be kept in splendid condition with a 



great saving in manures and fertilizers. Where 

 space is a controlling factor however this can be 

 ignored and the necessary humus, etc., intro- 

 duced as direct dressings. 



Filling in the Skeleton 



/""\F COURSE, so far, we have not made a 

 ^^ "garden planting plan," — but that is just 

 what I have tried to avoid because it is not possi- 

 ble to make a standard garden plan. No two 

 gardens are of exactly the same size, and, if they 

 are, no two families have exactly the same needs 

 and tastes — but garden plans can be systematized. 

 And the general plan outlined so far, can be 

 carried in other steps without getting into too 

 much detail. It is possible to fit in to the skeleton 

 chart the different types of vegetables which 

 will give the best results. Then the individual 

 gardener can put in the different quantities and 

 varieties to suit his own needs and tastes. This 

 is what has been done in chart No. 2, which forms 

 the basis for a very efficient garden and yet 

 leaves the gardener free to work out the details. 

 After filling in the units — how much of each 

 vegetable do you want ? Here is where the wife 

 comes in — or should ! She will have some idea 

 as to how many times a week you will want 

 cabbage, or onions or sweet corn and how much 

 will be needed each time. 



Figuring Out the Amount of Each Vegetable Needed 



TO MAKE the matter clear, let us take a few 

 examples, say cabbage, tomatoes, and 

 lettuce. 



Let us suppose that you are fond enough of 

 cabbage to want it on an average of twice a 

 week,*' and that two heads of extra early cabbage 

 and one head of summer or fall cabbage a meal 

 will be a sufficient quantity. Then you would 

 Want about eight cuttings of early cabbage, or 

 sixteen heads At a foot and a half apart, 

 this would be twenty-four feet of row. Some 

 heads would not mature, but a few would be 

 big enough to do for a single meal in themselves 

 so that one row in a garden thirty-five f^et wide 

 would be working on a safe margin. 



Tomatoes are useful for so many purposes 

 that you probably would make use of them during 

 a season on an average of once a day — say two 

 quarts of fruit at a time. The- middle of July 

 to mid-September, or 60 days. At two quarts 

 to the foot of row, which is a good yield from well 

 cared for plants, you would want approximately 

 60 feet of row or two rows in a 25 to 35 ft. garden, 



UNIT CHART, WITH TYPES OF VEGETABLES 

 AND ORDER OF PLANTING SUGGESTED 



^ Pole beans / c „ j- t_ j l\ 



O t tatter radishes and spinach) 



1 omatoes r / 



Onion sets 



Peas, early 



Cabbage, early (plants) 



Cauliflower, early 

 (plants) 1 

 ^ Lettuce, early (plants) 

 X. Beets, early (plants) 



Lettuce, spring 



Turnips, early 



Kohl-rabi 



Beets, early 



Carrots, early 



Apr. I to 15 



Corn, extra early 

 Brussels sprouts 

 Cauliflower 

 Cabbage, winter 

 5 Beets, 



Lettuce, fall 

 Turnips 

 Radish, winter 



July I to l$ 



Lettuce, spring and main 



Turnips, early and main 



Beets, main crop 



Carrots, main crop 



Peas, main crop 



Beans, green pod 



Beans, wax 



Beans, dwarf lima 

 O Squash, summer 

 *^ Corn, early 



Melons 



Corn, medium 



Cucumbers 



Okra 



Egg plant 



Peppers 



Celery, early (plants) 



May 10 to 25 



Cover crops for green 

 manuring: 



n Rye, 



6 Vetch, 



Crimson clover, 

 etc. 



Aug. 1 to Sept. 1 



Lettuce, summer 

 Beets, fall and winter 

 Carrots, fall and winter 

 Corn, early 

 . Squash, winter 

 4 Corn, medium 



Celery, winter (plants) 

 Rutabagas, 

 Witloof chicory 

 Leeks 



June 10 to*2S 



Manure and trench for 



winter. 

 Parsley 



Sept. 1 to Oct. 15 



Parsnip 



Salsify 



O Onions 



~ Swiss chard (or New 

 Zealand spinach) 



Apr. I to 15. 



preferably an early and a late variety, one to one 

 and one half dozen plants of each. 



Lettuce, considering the season from the 

 middle of May to July, and from the middle of 

 August to October, is a total of 12 weeks. Most 

 varieties under average conditions will not yield 

 good quality heads during a period of more than 

 two weeks. To have a continuous supply, then, 

 one would need to set out plants early in the 



This vegetable garden of last year was planned on the unit basis idea of meeting the grower's actual needs 



