February, 19 14 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



13 



necessity of "thinning out" afterwards. 

 Then, there is that peculiar tendency in 

 human nature to look at most seeds with 

 more or less distrust. "If five cents buys 

 nearly 800 radish seeds, one cent's worth 

 more in a row matters little, and will make 

 sure of a stand." So argues the average 

 backyard gardener, and that extra cent's 

 worth of seed in a 1 5 -foot row either neces- 



Three handy tools. On the left, a surface cultiva- 

 tor; on the right, an angle transplanting trowel 



sitates half an hour of tedious "thinning" 

 or it will injure the quality of the crop of 

 the whole row. 



This is not intended as an argument for 

 sowing seeds thinly. It is of small use in- 

 deed. I, myself, do not like to take chances 

 of getting only one third or one half of a 

 "stand" as the case may be. But I do 

 plead for the half hour of "thinning out." 

 Take the trowel in the right hand, part 

 the "jungle" of seedlings with the left 

 and take out the superfluous ones that 

 crowd the sturdy ones. There are always in 

 every row of all kinds of vegetable seedlings 

 some that show from the start that they are 

 more advanced than their companions. Bear 

 this in mind when thinning and wherever 

 possible, save the bigger seedlings. 



The proper distance to transplant seed- 

 lings varies somewhat with the different 

 kind of vegetables, but this general rule 

 may be laid down (we will be more specific 

 later when dealing with each crop) : Thin 

 out seedlings to stand as far apart in the row 

 as the space required by the finished plant. 

 Take for instance such root crops as beets, 

 carrots, radishes, etc. Beets, when ready 

 for the table, measure from 2! to 4 inches 

 in diameter; therefore thin out beet seed- 

 lings to stand 3 to 4 inches apart in the 

 row. Carrots require only 2 inches of 

 space between the roots. Radishes should 



have from 2 to 6 inches according to variety, 

 and other things in proportion. 



KEEPING RECORDS 



One maxim I would like to impress upon 

 the mind of every backyard gardener: 

 Don't trust your memory! Impressions in 

 the garden come so fast in the course of a 

 season, that most of them become a faint 

 memory in a short time. 



In the first place, after receiving your 

 supply of seeds (which you should have in the 

 house by the middle of February), get some 

 kind of record book and enter every var- 

 iety you propose to plant. Give each one 

 at least three lines and, if keeping records 

 interests you, use only the left hand pages 

 for variety names, leaving the right hand 

 page for additional notes, which can then be 

 made quite comprehensive. 



Before beginning to enter the variety 

 names, get the different classes of vege- 

 tables together; sort out the beans, the beets, 

 radishes, etc. After that, divide your 

 beans, according to descriptions, into wax- 

 podded and green-podded sorts. Then 

 start to enter ; and treat your whole assort- 

 ment of vegetables in like fashion. 



Below the variety names, rule narrow 

 columns for records of dates, leaving the 

 space on the right hand page for any addi- 

 tional notes of observation. With beans, 

 for instance, I have used this kind of ruling: 



Sean 7?efcpee Wax 





Ttents 

 ■B/oom 



Tods 

 <5et 



First 

 Ticking 



T/d/np 



Two or three years of record keeping and 

 observation will teach any backyard gar- 

 dener, who is sufficiently interested, what 



This narrow bladed hoe, with the two teeth on the 

 reverse, is invaluable among young seedlings 



may be accomplished by systematic work. 

 Soon you will know how many days it 

 takes from date of sowing to table 

 size for some of those "ten day" varieties. 

 You learn to appreciate the value of some 

 truly pedigreed vegetables such as Bounti- 

 ful beans, Eclipse beets, Thomas Laxton 

 peas, etc., — vegetables that are far more 

 dependable than some human beings. The 



The art of transplanting. Always remove the weaker seedlings. Those that remain will mature all the sooner 



