A Bachelor Girl's Vegetable Garden— By Barbara Arden, 



New 



Jersey 



SHOWING THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE ORTHODOX BACK YARD PLOT — FRESH VEGETABLES FOR THREE 

 PEOPLE ALL SUMMER AND PLENTY OF CANNED PRODUCE FOR WINTER ON LESS THAN 700 SQUARE FEET 



I AM living in a cottage of most modest 

 dimensions, with a garden covering an 

 area of not even a thousand square feet, 

 and yet have experienced the delights of 

 farming. 



Three years ago, we (mother, sister, and 

 I) decided to make our home in the country, 

 and I at once became a wild enthusiast in 

 gardening. I forked, I spaded, I hoed, I 

 raked (oblivious of any Judge passing by), 

 I planted, and — I learned and profited. 



My first year's experiences were some- 

 what strange and amusing. At the sight 

 of aphis or louse pests, I writhed, earth 

 and cut worms made me shudder, and when 

 I found a long, wooly caterpillar in my 

 sleeve, I almost went into convulsions. 

 Once I made bold to ask some agricultural 

 persons how to protect cauliflower plants 

 and was curtly told to ''put paper collars 

 on them." I did. Although long since, I 

 can still hear the "ha, ha's," of my inform- 

 ants, when next they saw my plants with 

 dainty little Dutch collars of white sketch- 

 ing paper, carefully pinned tight around 

 each plant! 



But I have become a staunch follower 

 of The Garden Magazine and am rather 

 vain of last summer's fruition. I started 

 manipulations on the seventeenth of April 

 and planted in succession, spinach, onion 

 sets, lettuce, radishes, peas, beans, lima 

 beans, corn, potatoes, celery, parsley, and 

 chives. Oh, yes, I smilingly bade a 

 neighbor "good morning" one day and was 

 rewarded with a great clump of mint. 

 Xo, I did not know he was transplanting. 

 True to my femininity, I was only curious 

 and diplomatic. With another neighbor, 

 who owns chickens, I swapped bread 

 crumbs and stale bread from the table for 

 some rhubarb, English vegetable marrow, 

 and a gooseberry bush — thus heaping 

 nineteen varieties of vegetables in my 

 garden. I planted beans at eight different 

 times; peas three times; corn four times; 

 spinach, Swiss chard, lima beans, onion 

 sets, twice; lettuce and radishes, three 

 times. It necessitated scheming and 

 manoeuvring to get in all I wanted, but I 

 utilized every inch of ground. I planted 

 in rows eight feet long, in between rows, 

 and again in between these. As soon as a 

 plant had outlived its usefulness, out it 

 came, and in went something else. 



My garden plan varied each month. 

 For instance, Section I started with six 

 rows of peas, and four rows of onion sets. 

 In between the peas were planted three 

 rows of the first planting of radishes, and 

 three rows of the second planting of spinach. 

 Between the first two rows of onions, one 

 row of the second planting of radishes: 

 between the next rows, one row of the 

 second planting of spinach and one row 

 of the second planting of corn. When the 



peas, radishes, spinach and onions had 

 matured, two rows of the second planting, 

 and two rows of the fourth planting of 

 corn occupied that section. Two rows of 

 celery were planted back of the fourth 

 planting of corn. On the ridge separating 

 the celery, I transplanted lettuce. Be- 

 tween the second row of celery and the 

 rows of corn, I sowed the eighth and fifth 

 planting of beans. 



In Section II, were planted one row of 

 onion sets and five rows of the second 

 planting of peas. When the peas and 

 onions were rooted out, there stood the 

 potatoes which had been planted be- 

 tween the rows, and then the seventh plant- 

 ing of beans went in between the potatoes. 



I commenced harvesting during the 

 week of May 21st, and from then through 

 the season there was not a day when I 

 could not harvest something. We w T ere 

 never fond of beans until we had them 



from our own garden. I never saw such 

 beans — (and certainly never ate any 

 like them before), five and six inches long, 

 tender and meaty. The peas, far from 

 enough to satisfy our individual inward 

 longing, were delicious. Another year, 

 I shall plant peas eight times at least. 

 The corn, Golden Bantam, is I verily be- 

 lieve "the sweetest corn on earth." "You 

 can't buy corn like that," commented a 

 neighbor who was presented with some. 

 I was told I planted my stalks too near 

 each other and to each row. True, but 

 nevertheless from the two rows of the fourth 

 planting, I got thirty- two ears. Another 

 neighbor who was given a small basketful 

 of potatoes, said, "I did not know 7 you 

 could grow potatoes here, in so small a gar- 

 den. I shall have to plant some next year." 

 The tomato plants vied with each other. 

 I trained them to one stalk and the result 

 was pounds and pounds of smooth, solid, 











NO. 

 ROWS 



NO. 







KIND 



VARIETY 



QUANTITY 



COST 



8 FT. 



PLANT- 



YIELD 



COM1TENTS 











INGS 















LONG 









Beans 



1 Bountiful Bush ^ 

 1 Refugee 1 



4 Pts. 



68c 



51 



Eight 



159 qts. 



This variety's good enough 



Beans 



Henderson's Bush Lima 



I pt. 



20c 



12 



Two 



17 qts. 



Pole limas in the future 



Cabbage 



Early 



12 plants 



IOC 



3 



One 



12 heads 



They do get so buggy 



Celery 



Golden Self Blanching 



25 plants 



15c 



3 



One 



20 heads 



Shall try again on a tarm 



Chives 





1 clump 



IOC 





One 





Used ten times in salads, etc. 



Com 



Golden Bantam 



1 pt. 



20C 



20 



Four 



213 ears 



" I'm satisfied" 



Lettuce 



Big Boston 



1 pkt. 



IOC 



9 



Three 



19 baskets* 





Mint 















\ Used nine times for sauces. 















) Supply never exhausted 



Onion 



Potato White sets 



3 Pts. 



40c 



10 



Two 



361 onions 



Like the potato sets so much 



Parsley 



Moss Curled 







2 



One 



17 bunches 



Supply is never exhausted 



Peas 



Nott's Excelsior 



1 pt. 



25c 



15 



Three 



9 qts. 



I know a more satisfactory 



Peppers 



Sweet, Bull Nose 



1 doz. 



IOC 



1 



One 



36 



Till frost 



Potatoes 



Green Mountain 



1 qt. 



IOC 



■j 



One 



10 qts. 



My first trial. 



Radishes 



Scarlet Globe 



2 pkts. 



IOC 



6 



Three 



35 bunches 



\ In fine shape for next season. 



Rhubarb 



Linnsus 



2 plants 











- None picked owing to trans- 

 / planting. 



Spinach 



Long Season 



1 oz. 



IOC 



- 



Two 



4 basketst 





Swiss chard 





1 oz. 



IOC 



11 



Two 



17 basketst 



Picked till frost 



Tomatoes 



Acme, Ponderosa, Dwarf 



32 plants 



50c 



10 



One 



I 1 5 2 lbs. red \ 

 \ 35 lbs. green / 



Till frost. 



These baskets were large grape baskets 





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Only 687 square feet, yet the garden gave all the vegi 

 95 



>eded by a family of three 



