April, 1914 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



177 



to it." For their benefit, I herewith sub- 

 mit a plan which, if put to a test and 

 worked according to rules and suggestions, 

 will surely make them enthusiastic gar- 

 deners forever after. 



WHEN TO PLANT FOR SUCCESSION 



Taking up in alphabetical order the 

 vegetables, given on the plan, you will 

 notice that there are three distinct plant- 

 ings of beans provided for. Bush beans 

 are easily the best paying crop in the "toy 

 garden" and they are better liked by the 

 majority of people than any other vege- 

 table. Plantings made two weeks apart 

 from May ist until June 15th will provide 

 the table with an abundance of pods that 

 are "just right" from the middle of July 

 until frost. Bountiful and Stringless 

 Green Pod among the green podded sorts 

 and Burpee's New Kidney Wax and Hardy 

 Wax among the yellow podded sorts 

 are my choice of all the "best" beans in 

 cultivation to-day. 



Make your rows three to four inches 

 deep, placing them two feet apart. Drop 

 your seeds four inches apart in the row 

 and don't forget that "record" label. 

 Press each bean, eye down, firmly into the 

 soil, and cover row level. A week to ten 

 days from date of planting, your beans 

 must be above the ground or their vitality 

 is poor. Hoe them as soon as .they show 

 up and hill slightly after they become more 

 than eight inches tall. 



Of the four sorts mentioned, Bountiful 

 and New Kidney Wax will invariably be 

 ready for the first picking in fifty-five 

 days from the date of planting. String- 

 less and Hardy Wax furnish a succession 

 about a week later. Between the four 



Plant large seeds singly. It saves space and subsequent 

 labor of thinning 



sorts, you should never be in want of tender, 

 brittle, stringless beans of highest quality. 



Beets carry the second prize as an easily 

 grown vegetable yielding large returns in 

 a short time in limited space. You will 

 never know what "tender, melting beets" 

 means, until you grow them yourself and 

 pull them at the ideal stage of develop- 

 ment, about two hours before cooking. 

 That's a point for future discussion how- 

 ever — vegetables, in order to yield the 

 highest quality and most food value, should 

 not be picked until you are ready to cook 

 them. 



But the beets — plant a row each of 

 Crosby's Egyptian, Crimson Globe and 

 Detroit Dark Red on April 15th. Sow 

 seeds very thinly about one inch deep and 

 press the soil into firm contact with the 

 seeds, after covering, by walking over the 

 row. (This advice is for beets and Swiss 

 chard only and the reason for it you will 

 find set forth in The Garden Magazine for 

 April, 1913.) Again on May ist, use the 

 same three varieties; but for the next (and 

 final) sowing on July 15th, use Detroit 

 Dark Red. It will "stand" in prime con- 

 dition during the fall months longer than 

 either of the other two sorts. 



Carrots are a wholesome vegetable that 

 deserve more general cultivation. Per- 

 sonally, I prefer two rows of carrots to 

 two rows of onions, but you'll understand 

 that my plan is purely suggestive and sub- 

 ject to adjustment to your personal likes 

 and dislikes of specific vegetables. I al- 

 ways sow spinach seed in the same row 

 with carrots. The spinach will grow very 

 quickly and prove beneficial in "break- 

 ing" the soil for the delicate carrot seed- 

 lings. When the carrots begin to form 

 tops, the spinach is usually ready for use. 

 Chantenay and Danvers carrots are the 

 dependable standbys, while my choice 

 among the spinaches is Triumph. 



Celery, as a late crop, is a splendidly 

 paying proposition in even the smallest 

 garden. A 15-foot row will accommodate 

 thirty plants. Five dozen plants for the 

 two rows will cost you 60 cents. Since 

 every well-grown plant is worth at least 

 10 cents, you can figure out for yourself 

 that late celery is surely a dividend paying 

 crop. Plant one row with Golden Self 

 Blanching, the other row with Giant Pas- 

 cal. Use Golden Self Blanching first, 

 since it will not keep as well as the more 

 solid Giant Pascal. 



Endive is one of the finest salad plants 

 for fall use. The reason why most people 

 fail to raise good endive is because they 

 plant it too soon. The middle of July is 

 ample time to sow the seeds and if, in 

 transplanting the row, you have a sur- 

 plus of plants, you can put them in any 

 other row that may show bare space. 

 Set the plants at least six inches apart 

 and cultivate freely. Endive is one of 

 those plants that need more cultivation 

 than water. 



After the plants have become so large 

 that they measure from ten to twelve 

 inches across, gather up all the leaves and 



In small gardens tomatoes are best grown to stakes. 

 This gives more plants to a given area 



tie them either with raffia or soft rags. 

 This will bleach the inside beautifully. 

 Be sure to open up the plants after a rain 

 so as to give them a chance to dry, as 

 otherwise they will rot at the heart. 

 Green or Moss Curled is my choice of 

 varieties. 



Lettuce is one of those crops that nearly 

 everybody can grow up to a certain point. 

 If after that, the gardener fails to raise 

 attractive heads, it is because he (1) fails 

 to hoe enough; (2) fails to thin out the 

 plants at the proper time; or (3) has not 

 planted the right kind for the season dur- 

 ing which it is to mature. 



For the first planting of lettuce, which is 

 scheduled for April 15th, I would utilize 

 Early Curled Simpson. It should make 

 beautiful, large plants by the middle of 

 May. For a succession, I select Black 

 Seeded Simpson, since it will stand the 

 heat better, for the sowing you make early 

 in May will run into some hot weather in 

 June. 



About the middle of May I would plant 

 either All Seasons or Iceberg lettuce, or 

 both if I had plenty of room. Along in 

 July, sow either Big Boston or Black 

 Seeded Tennis Ball. Both these varieties 

 do splendidly during the cool fall months, 

 and should reward you with tightly folded 

 heads if you thin out the seedlings to 

 stand from ten to twelve inches apart in 

 the row. 



There is no special trick in sowing any 

 of the fine seeds mentioned in the last few 

 paragraphs. Of celery, I suggest that 

 you buy plants rather than attempt to 



