February, 1 9 1 S 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



19 



Beans along the waJc 

 edged it neatly and gave 

 a good winter supply of 

 dried beans 



varieties. That ancient "wise saw" naturally 

 popped into the mind — "the early bird 

 catches the worm!" They yielded about 

 three bushels. My first real experiment at 

 "the intensive" turned out to be the most 

 fascinating and practical scheme in the 

 whole garden. 



A little strip of old sod and weeds at 

 the head of the garden, with a southern 

 exposure, in which two years before some 

 dwarf fruit trees were set, had been 

 ploughed in the fall of 1916. It looked pretty 

 rough with stone and coarse grass roots, but 

 in two hours it resembled a florist's seed bed 

 liberally enriched with horse manure and a 

 gallon or more of the magic humus about 

 which I had been read- 

 ing during the winter. 

 It was now well into 

 April with its capricious 

 days of sun and show- 

 ers. Here were first set 

 out, and along the fer- 

 tile edges of the aspara- 

 gus bed (ideal ground 

 for early table relishes), 

 one hundred plants of 

 Big Boston and Mar- 

 ket Gardener's lettuce 

 (which sold in May and 

 June at five cents ahead 

 after personal needs 

 and gifts); then three 

 rows of onion seed 



(yellow Prizetaker, White Pearl, and Large 

 Red Wethers field) 18 inches apart to admit of 

 constant weeding and cultivation with the 

 little hand wheel-plough. Although sown 

 thickly, there was no thinning out. When 

 gathered the first week in August the yield 

 was one bushel from 225 feet, a peck of 

 which are as large as winter onions, while 

 nearly half a bushel had already been dis- 

 posed of as "Spring onions." This remaining 

 bushel is worth as sets fully $5.00 if last 

 season J s prices can be taken as an index. In 

 this same plot were radishes, peppers and egg- 

 plant, all of which contributed their "bit" to 

 the Liberty Bond. After the onions were 

 harvested, the plot was 

 spaded — the humus 

 was still there — and 

 put in late radishes, two 

 rows of kale for win- 

 ter and spring con- 

 sumption, and a bed of 

 lettuce seed for plants 

 for a winter crop in the 

 hotbed. 



Apropos of "dug 

 outs," this hotbed was 

 built of concrete, with 

 the double sunlight 

 sash as a covering. It 

 measures 6 x 19, has 

 two partition walls with 

 a uniform thickness of 

 three inches. It cost 

 less than £15.00. It 

 has these advantages: 

 Cheaper than lumber, 

 proof against frost and 

 vermin, holds heat and 

 moisture longer than 

 wood and lasts a life- 

 time. This little" green- 

 house in the ground" is 

 an important factor and 

 keeps my household in 

 crisp lettuce, spring 



Thanksgiving to late in May. Moreover, it 

 produces sundry plants for the garden along 

 with 500 Pansy plants which are raised from 

 seed sown August 5th to 10th. Experience 

 with the Pansy shows that they will maintain 

 their bloom all summer and in greater beauty, 

 if the flowers are pinched off just as they 

 begin to wither. Like Sweet Peas and 

 Nasturtiums they seem to rejoice in being 

 plucked. 



ASA bushel and more of seed potatoes 

 -*■■*- were saved from my crop of 1916 by 

 sprouting the winter supply three times, the 

 outlay on the garden's main crop was very 

 small. They were Irish Cobblers and the 

 tubers were cut with two eyes, dropped 10 

 inches apart with the eyes down, allowing 

 about z\ feet between the rows. There 

 were 14 rows of 72 feet each and they aver- 

 aged one bushel to the row. About 75 

 pounds of humus, which cost about one 

 dollar was all the fertilizer used. My exper- 

 ience with several varieties favors the Cobbler 

 for a home garden — in quality, size and 

 keeping powers they hold their own, although 

 they do not yield so abundantly as others. 

 Generally satisfactory results have also been 

 had in this garden with Green Mountain, 

 and Burbank. There were practically no 

 potato bugs. The best artillery to combat 

 insects are (1) mixture of paris green and 

 lime in either powdered or liquid form (2) 

 Pyrox and (3) Hellebore. For egg plant, 

 cucumbers, cabbage, and cauliflower which 

 are seldom immune, number 2 has been 

 found a simple and effective remedy es- 

 pecially for egg plant which is very susceptible 

 to the ravages of little enemies. 



In the autumn of 1916 a miniature Sweet 

 Pea garden was prepared after the most 

 approved methods. In the spring it was 

 converted into a cucumber patch of 25 hills, 

 White Spine. It is an open spot on a slight 

 incline facing north and fringed with fruit 

 trees which shaded the vines and prolonged 

 their life. They yielded generously from the 

 latter part of July until the middle of Septem- 

 ber and sold at ten cents for three all summer. 



'* 







This war garden onion crop used at 

 home during winter contributed its bit 

 to make Sam's conservation scheme 



A feature both as 

 an interesting and 

 profitable crop was 

 the winter onion 

 patch — 500 feet 

 in yellows, reds and 

 silver skins,,the sets 

 having been raised 

 by the writer from 

 select seed. They 

 were put out from 

 time to time during 

 April two inches 

 apart allowing two 

 feet between 

 the rows for 

 cultivation 

 and weeding 

 every ten 

 days. The 

 yield was 4! 

 b u s h el s . 

 The profit on 

 this item is 

 practically 

 clear. Few 



crops are more interesting if assiduous atten- 

 tion is given it, than the onion. When 

 growing, it is almost as attractive to the 

 eye as a florist's Carnation growth in mid- 

 summer, when he is calculating on the 

 beauty and value of each bloom. In the same 

 way the prosaic gardener is building castles 

 on the size and perfection of the bulb which 

 is so essential to the cook at all seasons. 



As the tomato crop is always given im- 

 portance in Maryland, much interest was 

 shown during 1917 in its culture by amateurs 

 in and around Baltimore. In spite of the 

 vicissitudes of the season, which at times 

 wrought havoc, my crop of 125 plants yielded 

 admirably and proved profitable. 



The sugar corn crop — Stowell's Evergreen, 

 Country Gentleman, and Golden Bantam — 

 about 900 feet in all, was planted two weeks 

 apart in the order named. This proved quite 

 a little "money maker," selling on an average 

 at 25 cents a dozen. It only cost two loads 

 of manure, but "some" work. It pays, 

 though, if you will keep 

 down the suckers, culti- 

 vate often and "right" 

 the stalk after each 

 storm. 



/"\LD gardeners tell 

 ^^ me that the great 

 mistake beginners make 

 is that they start the 

 season with enthusiasm, 

 but too often let the 

 vegetables take care of 

 themselves at the criti- 

 cal period of their 

 growth. Work to spell 

 "industry" must be 

 maintained from the 

 ides of March to the 

 advent of Jack Frost. 

 Cardinal rules com- 

 prise: stirring the soil 

 whenever baked — no 

 matter how often it 

 may be necessary; fight 

 the weeds until the 

 vegetable is "made;" 

 water when dry, even 

 though the weather 

 the PIG'S PART in THE garden ' man says "Probably 



This pig is a very important garden adjunct. It serves a double purpose in these days of intensive production, by showers this afternoon 



- converting into sound fat and food material that would otherwise goto waste; and incidentally it is the best possible 

 Onions and parsley trom machine for rooting among stable refuse and quickly making it available as high grade garden fertilizer 



or to-night." 



