Why Some Beginners' Gardens Don't Succeed 



Absolute Necessity of Starting Properly — "Method" to Lighten Labor — Improving the Soil — "Laying Out" and Seeding 



THE average beginner at gardening 

 leads himself into failure, or at best 

 only to a partial success, because he 

 lacks the determination to start 

 properly with soil preparation. The founda- 

 tion of success lies in digging the ground just 

 as deeply as time and physical strength will 

 allow. This is urgent in new gardens. 



Committees in charge of community gardens 

 should heed this advice and see to proper prep- 

 aration, it will save many plots from being 

 abandoned in July and August when the crops 

 are ofttimes burned up from drought. 



GARDEN tillage is usually referred to 

 in "spits" or spade depths. One spit 

 is about 12 inches. Double digging is two 

 spades deep, at the same time transferring 

 the bottom spit to the top as you work. This 

 should be done for new gardens and for all 

 gardens where the subsoil is heavy and clayey. 



Getting the Plant Food in Right 



]V/f ANURES or fertilizers (except the very 

 ^-'■* soluble ones) should be added during the 

 digging. The customary way is to spread 

 these evenly on the ground, digging them 

 under as you work. Poor workers fail to 

 cover the manure properly, which results 

 later on in surface rooting of the crops. The 

 best method of procedure is first to rough 

 grade the ground and then spread the fertil- 

 izer. Now remove a trench about I foot wide 

 and the depth you intend digging (not less 

 than one spit). This excavated soil is wheeled 

 to the opposite end of the garden to fill the 

 void caused by the last trench. Now scrape 

 the manure from the next spit to be dug and 

 tramp it into the open trench, this assures 

 its absolute covering and puts it down 

 where it is likely to attract the roots out of 

 the way of summer droughts. 



Heavy soils that are largely clay and bake 

 can be improved by the addition of ashes, or 

 sand — even 20 per cent, if tomatoes or lettuce 

 are to be planted — as these crops require an 

 open, porous soil. 



Digging Beats Plowing 



PLOWING serves exactly the same purpose 

 as digging, but in garden practice is not so 

 thorough. In home gardens plowing is dis- 

 appointing as often the ground is only tilled 

 about 6 inches deep and the manure is only 

 half covered. 



The farmer harrows after plowing. This 

 smoothes and pulverizes the soil. We do the 

 same thing with our gardens by going over 

 the surface with a digging fork, breaking all 

 lumps and at the same time rough grading 

 which facilitates the raking which is the next 

 operation. Always rake toward the low side 

 of the garden, although very little soil should 

 be "carried" on the rake. This practice will 

 in time correct uneven grades. Use a wooden 

 rake and never work the ground when it is 

 wet. 



Drill Making Made Easy 



THE old hand is often much amused to 

 see beginners make drills. Invest in a 

 good garden line the length of your garden 

 plot, put it on a couple of good stakes, old 

 broom handles cut in two and sharpened are 

 excellent. Then you can stretch the line 

 taut. Using a line for a guide, "snap" it 

 before starting, to assure straightness. Then 

 start by placing one foot on the line, and 

 sliding it along the line as the drill is made. 

 A hoe, or a plant label, or the handle of a 



rake may be used to open the drill. Small 

 seeds of the lettuce type require very shallow 

 drills which are best made by using the point 

 of a sharpened stick or a plant label; such 

 seeds as onions and turnips are best sown in 

 drills made with the edge of a hoe, the cutting 

 edge being held against the line and the point 

 at the proper depth, the hoe is then pulled 

 toward you in short jerky motions; drills for 

 larger seeds such as beans are made in the 

 same manner but deeper; peas are sown in 

 wide drills made by holding the side of the 

 hoe against the line making the drill the 

 width of the hoe. A spade may also be used 

 for this purpose. Potato furrows are plowed 

 or dug out; or on a small scale a hoe may be 

 used in home gardens. Special drill-making 

 garden tools are useful and are most desirable 

 in gardens of any pretension. 



It is a mistake to make drills deeper than 

 necessary and then only partially filling 

 them. It causes washing and the drill will 

 ofttimes get partially filled while other garden 

 work is being attended to with the result 

 that the seedlings don't appear evenly. For 

 good results the seeds in a row should be 

 sown the proper depth below the surface, and 

 the drill when filled should be the level of the 

 adjoining earth. 



Laying out the Rows 



A MEASURING stick is indispensable in 

 laying out the plot. Start at one side 

 measuring from the boundary and placing a 

 label where the first drill is to be located. Then 

 measure on the other side, don't trust to your 

 eye. Place the line on this drill, then with the 

 measuring stick and the garden plan that has 

 been made out in advance, lay out the other 

 drills. Lay the package of seeds alongside 

 the label where they are to be located and 

 make all the drills for the day's work 

 before any seed is sown. It is a common 

 mistake of the unsystematic gardener to 

 make a drill, seed, cover, firm, etc., and 

 then move to the next drill. 



Sowing Seed is an Art 



ACTUAL experience is the greatest 

 teacher in seed sowing. Reading will 

 help, but the actual technique comes only 

 with practice. The even distribution of 

 a sufficient quantity of seed so that the row 

 is full and regular with no blank spaces is an 

 art. Thinning out is reduced to the minimum. 

 Use enough seed to assure a good stand, but 

 don't be wasteful. When seed is sown too 

 thickly the plants are thin and spindly. 



Large seeds, such as peas, are usually 

 sown broadcast in a wide drill or trench. 

 Take a handful, and, with a sweeping motion 

 similar to bowling, scatter the seed in the 

 drill. One handful will be sufficient for two 

 full steps. Beans are sown by dropping the 

 seeds from the hand at intervals of 3 to 4 

 inches; some gardeners sow in double drills 

 which is simply a double row in a wide drill. 

 Parsley, spinach, leek, swiss chard, onions, 

 cauliflower, lettuce, parsnips, radishes, turnips, 

 beets, carrots, cabbage, herbs, and similar 

 seeds are sown by holding the seed packet in 

 the closed hand and using the thumb and first 

 two fingers of the hand to control the amount 

 of seed dropped. Seed of this type can be 

 sown as fast as a person can walk in the 

 crouched position necessary when doing this 

 work. It is important that the hand be kept 

 close to the ground to prevent the wind 

 blowing any seeds into adjoining drills. 



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In hill-planting such seeds as lima 

 beans, corn, muskmelons, squash, pumpkins, 

 cucumbers, etc., about twice as many seeds 

 are dropped as the ultimate number of plants 

 to be left. In most cases three plants to a 

 hill is considered a crop, therefore six seeds 

 should be planted. With the finger make a 

 circle about 9 inches in diameter and the 

 necessary depth, sowing in this drill, and 

 when the plants have made their third leaf 

 they can be thinned out to the required 

 number. To prevent lima beans from decay- 

 ing during wet spells make the drill about 

 4 inches deep and place about 2 inches of 

 sand in the bottom. This by the way is 

 always good practice on wet, soggy soils. 

 Bush limas sown in drills can also be protected 

 in this way. Corn is also more conveniently 

 handled in home gardens when sown in drills, 

 thinning out from 8 to 12 inches apart accord- 

 ing to variety. 



Always label each row after sowing, mark 

 the date of sowing and later you can use the 

 label for other data. To cover the seeds 

 take a wooden rake back down and at an 

 angle of 45 degrees with the row and just 

 touching it. Large seeds such as corn, 

 beans, peas, etc., can be covered With 

 the feet, thus covering and firming at one 

 operation. The seeds covered with the rake 

 should be firmed by rolling with a light roller 

 or by tamping with the wooden rake, holding 

 it perfectly perpendicular. Do not use the 

 hoe, or other flat-faced tool for this purpose 

 as it packs the soil. Finish off the seed bed 

 by raking over with a wooden rake, leaving 

 the surface even and loose. 



Successions or "All at once"? 



T AYING a garden down" as some call it 

 -*— ' in spring, expecting the early inter- 

 mediate and late varieties of the various 

 vegetables to give, an uninterrupted supply 

 of produce until frost, won't work. Early 

 beets mature only a few days in advance of 

 later varieties; early peas come in barely 

 before others are ready. In order to have 

 vegetables at all times in prime condition, 

 frequent sowings are necessary of beets, 

 carrots, lettuce, broad-leaved spinach, corn, 

 beans, kohlrabi, peas, cucumbers, radishes, 

 endive, and turnip. 



Vegetables that may be had for one seeding 

 include: Lima beans, bush limas, brussels 

 sprouts, swiss chard, eggplant, peppers, 

 parsley, leek, onions, muskmelons, water- 

 melons, tomatoes, parsnip, squash, pumpkin, 

 okra, rutabaga, New Zealand spinach, kale, 

 Jerusalem artichoke, potatoes, shell beans, 

 cardoon, oyster plant, and globe artichokes. 



Cabbage, cauliflower, and celery are sown 

 in early spring for summer use and again in 

 summer for fall and winter use. Early and 

 late potatoes show more pronounced differ- 

 ences. The late potatoes are better keepers, 

 therefore plant only just enough early potatoes 

 to give the needed supply until the late 

 varieties mature, planting all at one time. 

 Each hill should yield almost a dozen tubers. 



Look Out for Aphis 



THE more hardy types of vegetable plants 

 such as lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, 

 etc., ofttimes set out during April, are liable 

 to be attacked by aphis or green fly. If the 

 plants have been grown too warm or too 

 crowded use a tobacco extract, or special 

 aphis remedy as a "dip" before planting — 

 spraying is difficult. 



