ISO 



can be considered for this kind of gardening. And those I 

 have mentioned above are what I have myself tried with 

 success, though doubtless there are others, such as Brussels 

 sprouts, which may be lifted from the garden. 



DIG the roots of the chicories, beets, dandelions and Swiss 

 chard the later part of October, or early November 

 and the rhubarb and asparagus just before the ground freezes, 

 cutting off the tops of the former about an inch above the 

 crowns and in the case of the chicories (which have extra 

 long roots) trimming the bottoms to a uniform length 

 of about nine inches. We are now all ready for the 

 planting. 



I get far the best results by planting witloof chicory in a 

 deep dry-goods box — sticking them upright about an inch 

 apart into sand or even the regular garden loam — and then 

 filling in over their lops ten inches or a foot more of soil. The 

 leaves will grow up into this soil in the form of a compact bud, 

 perfectly blanched, crisp, fresh, and tender, and free from 

 all insect pests. It is served and eaten like lettuce and is to 

 my way of thinking the finest salad grown. 1 fill two boxes 

 in this way, placing one (which forces out in about five weeks) 

 in the furnace room, and the main supply out in the cooler 

 portion of the cellar in another box. This second box is 

 usually ready to commence cutting at the end of ten weeks 

 and will keep until the supply is exhausted. From witloof 

 chicory we make one cutting and then throw away the old 

 root. 



TH E other roots are planted in the furnace room upright 

 in a single bin made from old boards — and filled with 

 a foot of soil. Here I plant all the Swiss chard, beets 

 and coffee chicory roots that 1 intend forcing. You cut 

 off the leaves of these as they grow out without injuring 

 the crown and they will keep on coming although the first 

 crop is the best. 



The dandelions force in only one month's time, and it is 

 best to renew with extra roots kept in a cool place for the pur- 

 pose; but not having the extra roots the old ones may be kept 

 and will grow a medium sized second crop and even a third. 

 The rhubarb is in the same bin occupying twenty inches on 

 one end sufficient to supply a family of four with quite a few 



The Garden Magazine, November, 1919 



AND WHAT COMES OF IT ALL! 

 Greens and salads that are succulent, tender, and 

 luscious from January until outdoor gardening begins 



"messes." This being put in later (about the latter part of 

 November) arrives correspondingly later — about the latter 

 part of January. 



The beets, Swiss chard, and coffee chicory put in the first 

 of November with a cellar temperature between fifty and 

 sixty can be had from Christmas until spring; and the dan- 

 delions as often and as long as you have roots to renew the 

 planting. Keep the soil in both boxes and bed just moder- 

 ately damp as moisture is all that the roots require. And 

 one other thing has to be looked out for in the bed — green 

 aphis, which usually come along about the last end of the 

 cellar garden season and can be taken care of in the usual 

 methods that apply to vegetables so affected. 



TH E bed shown in the illustrations is 3 x 8 ft., and contains 

 the following roots in the order named from left to right 

 — Swiss chard 3 1 , beets 34, coffee chicory 60, dandelions 1 20, 

 rhubarb two big clumps. And from this bed we get four or 

 five messes of greens for four people; salads (with the 

 witloof chicory in the boxes, about 300 roots) any time we 

 desire them ; and five or six messes of rhubarb. 



Rhubarb and asparagus roots can be purchased from the 

 seed houses and nurserymen and set 

 out in the garden for about two years, 

 to become strong and thrifty. The 

 other things on the list are usually 

 available in the garden, excepting the 

 witloof perhaps, but roots of that can 

 be procured in the seedstores. 



THE ROOTS WHEN THEY ARE 



PLANTED 

 With their crowns just above the surface as 

 they grew out of doors. For the space in- 

 volved the cellar garden yields more abun- 

 dantly than any other, hence may be called 

 the mcst intensive of all 



