June Action In the War Garden a. kruhm 



Preparing for an Advance Guard of the Late Season Crops — Where Luxury Is Actually an Economy Also 



JUNE deserves the name of the "ideal 

 month" for garden making. Cool 

 nights are a memory; and anything, 

 even the tenderest vegetables, will 

 thrive, yes, will hasten to make good growth in 

 order to attain maturity before the early 

 frosts which in northern sections are but ioo 

 days away. There are three well defined 

 lines of activity in our present campaign. 



i. By persistent cultivation and timely 

 watering urge to rapid maturity the extra 

 early sowings of hardy vegetables. 



2. Meet promptly the seasonal attacks of 

 bugs, blights, and fungous diseases which cause 

 the gardeners and farmers of this country to 

 lose about 700 million dollars' worth of crops 

 every year! Take the invaders seriously and 

 repel in full all assaults as soon as recognized. 



3. Establish reserve supplies of .hot 

 weather crops by making sowings of 

 only such types and classes as will en- 

 dure the hot weather which is sure to 

 come during July and August. 



Don't sow now any of the extra early 

 varieties of vegetables with which you 

 started your April garden, because none 

 of them are adapted for the midsummer 

 garden. This basic fact is often ignored. 

 For illustration, during April you sowed 

 Curled Simpson, May King, or Wayahead 

 lettuce, all of which do well enough 

 during the cool spring months, the last 

 two furnishing splendid heads this month 

 from seeds sown early in April. But to 

 sow seeds of those same varieties during 

 June would be a waste of time, of labor, 

 and of seeds, because the plants would 

 "bolt" over-night in July just about the 

 time they begin to develop fairly. 



On the other hand, there is hardly a 

 class of vegetables of which you may not 

 sow seeds during this month with the 

 perfect assurance of gathering crops be- 

 fore frost; it is only necessary to exercise 

 some care in the selection of types and 

 varieties suitable for the season during 

 which they are to mature. 



If by any chance your garden is only 

 to be begun in June, do not despair; nay, 

 rather rejoice that there is such splendid 

 opportunity to do so much — provided, of 

 course, that the soil is reasonably good 

 and mellow. Sowings can be made for 

 the new garden as follows: Beans, June 

 15, July 1, 15. Beets, June 10, 25, July 5, 

 15, 25. Cabbage, use plants from seed sown 

 about May 15. Carrot, June 10, 15, July 5, 15. 

 Corn, (early) June 15, 25, July 5, 15. Cucum- 

 ber, June 10, 25. Endive, June 10, 25. Kohl- 

 rabi, June 10, 25, July 5, 15. Lettuce, June 

 10, 15. Parsnip, June 10. Radish, June 15, 

 25. Salsify, June 5. Squash, June 5. Tur- 

 nip, June 25. Rutabaga, June 25. Tomatoes, 

 at once, using well started plants. 



It is well to remember that some vegetables 

 have absolutely no toleration for warm 

 weather and planting them is waste. Peas and 

 spinach will not thrive during July or August; 

 neither will cress, endive, mustard nor turnips. 

 As a broad rule, cool season crops should not 

 be sown in June, excepting where especially 

 heat resisting varieties are available or sub- 

 stitutes may be pressed into service. 



When it comes to substitutes, I have often 



ciate Swiss chard as the practical alternative 

 of spinach. Kohl-rabi has a flavor far su- 

 perior to that of the bitter midsummer turnips, 

 being tender and mild in flavor all the time. 

 There is no substitute for peas. But New 

 Zealand spinach makes far better "greens" 

 than either cress or mustard. 



Heat resisting sorts of cool season crops 

 are available among lettuces and radishes. 

 As a general rule, ail black-seeded varieties 

 of lettuce resist hot weather better than the 

 white-seeded kinds. All radishes requiring 

 60 days or more to reach good size are proof 

 against midsummer heat, but you'll find their 

 skin so thick you can peel it off" — and herein 

 lies the reason for their heat resistance! 



Vegetables that simply revel in summer 







mm * 



Indeed they also fight who stay at home and plant. Here is the national 

 opportunity of every home gardener 



heat are: beans, cucumbers, sweet corn, 

 eggplants, melons, okra, pepper, pumpkins, 

 squashes, and tomatoes. Among these the 

 following are least affected by drought: beans, 

 eggplants, okra, pepper and tomatoes. 



Those that need plenty of moisture to do well 

 are corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and 

 squashes. None of them, however, should have 

 the water applied to the vines or plants. This 

 often washes away the pollen needed to effect 

 proper fertilization of flowers before fruit 

 can "set." 



Cool season crops that are not particular 

 as to either heat or moisture and that thrive 

 well throughout the summer from seeds sown 

 in June are carrots, beets, parsnips, and salsify; 

 all splendid root crops for use during fall or 

 winter. 



Because the soil is apt to be dry to a depth 

 of several inches in sections enjoying little 

 wondered why home gardeners do not appre- rainfall during June, all seeds should be sown 



231 



deeper and care should be taken to press the 

 soil into firm contact with the seeds, when 

 covering them. Where watering is resorted 

 to, be sure to put the moisture under the seeds, 

 in the row, before sowing. It does no good 

 to sprinkle the top of ground, after sowing. 



This is the month to make each square 

 foot of ground in the garden yield extra divi- 

 dends by intensive utilization of space between 

 the rows and plants. For illustration, tomato 

 plants set out late in May or early this month 

 will not begin to "spread" until July. Even 

 then, spreading of vines should be prevented 

 by providing supports of some sort up to the 

 middle of July. Lettuce, radishes, and other 

 quickly maturing crops of heat resisting 

 varieties may be grown between tomatoes, 

 peppers, eggplants, etc. 



Fond of pickles? This is the month 

 to make extra sowings of cucumbers of the 

 Boston Pickling variety to put up for 

 winter use. The plants and fruits develop 

 very quickly at this season, especially if 

 occasionally liquid manure is applied to 

 the hills, to stimulate growth of vines. 

 By pinching out the centre of shoots, 

 cucumber vines can be restricted to sur- 

 prisingly limited space without seriously 

 limiting the number of fruits set. 



While we speak of "putting up" 

 things remember that everything matur- 

 ing early in the season is far superior 

 for canning than crops maturing later. 

 Now, I can just see a goodly number of 

 readers throw up their hands, exclaim- 

 ing: "But we want to enjoy these nice, 

 fresh vegetables right now." Alright! 

 Go ahead ! But don't waste a single thing, 

 because: the earliest vegetables are the 

 tenderest since they have all the advan- 

 tages of seasonable weather, plus newly 

 reinforced soil fertility to draw on. 

 The result is quick development and a 

 tender quality that cannot be duplicated 

 later in the season when slower growth, 

 greater heat and reduced fertility put 

 more fibre and less flavor into all the 

 vegetables. 



Beans maturing during August and 

 September require three hours of cook- 

 ing to prepare them for the table, while 

 the same quantity of the same variety 

 requires but two hours of cooking during 

 July. August heat and cool nights during 

 September simply equip the pods with 

 so much more fibre that has to be broken 

 down by cooking to make the pods palat- 

 able. 



Those who take seriously the matter of 

 canning vegetables for winter use should 

 study the adaptability of the different kinds 

 and varieties to the different makes of jars 

 available. Do you know, for instance, that a 

 quart can of the E-Z Seal kind will nicely hold 

 just six ears of Golden Bantam corn? A pint 

 can of the same make will hold two dozen 

 four-inch Chantenay carrots without a cubic 

 inch of wasted space. These are just examples 

 that have come under my own observation. 

 The point to watch is to get the sort of equip- 

 ment that will most economically serve the 

 needs of the individual, depending on the 

 likes or dislikes of the family for certain 

 vegetables. 



