224 



The Garden Magazine, January, 1929 



Melons in my experience can't be hurried. Wait until all 

 danger of frost is over, and plant in the open ground — about 

 the middle of May, or even later. 1 have tried starting melon 

 seeds indoors, only to have the later ones, planted outside, 

 get ahead in the end. 



The seeds once up, cultivate, and keep on cultivating 

 to loosen up the ground, and to get that much-talked-of 

 dust mulch and so defy dry weather — by all means use one 

 of the wheel hoes for the work! There are only a few don'ts 

 in cultivating — don't cultivate beans, strawberries, as- 

 paragus when the ground is damp, as this encourages rust. 

 Don't dig too close to the roots of corn or other big vegetables. 

 Use a wheel hoe and cut garden work in half — but don't 

 neglect to get out, by hand if necessary, the few weeds the 

 wheel hoe leaves. 



SOME THINGS LEARNED BY EXPERIENCE 



As to harvesting the results of your labor, remember that 

 nearly all vegetables are. most delicious when young and 

 in that delicate tender age will give the housekeeper greater 

 opportunity to show results. There is a mistaken common 

 tendency to let things get too big and old. This applies 

 particularly to peas, corn, beans, and beets. It is better to 

 make several plantings and so have a succession 

 of young vegetables than to have to eat old — 

 or even middle-aged ones. 



A hint given me by an old farmer, and which I 

 have used successfully for three years, has given 

 me the earliest peas in the neighborhood. Make 

 a furrow about 6 inches deep, as early as the 

 ground can be worked, and scatter a loose layer 

 of well-rotted manure in it. Drop the peas — I 

 sow rather thickly — right on the manure, and 

 cover with earth, firming it down with the feet. 

 This sounds fatal, but works beautifully. Follow 

 this method for the first two plantings; and for 

 later ones dig the trench deeper, put in themanure, 

 and cover it with earth before sowing the peas 

 —and you will have the earliest and best peas in 

 the neighborhood. I never use the smooth-seeded, 

 "first early" peas. 



" Few and often," gives plenty of young, tender, 

 stringless beans. Fifty feet of row at one planting 

 will supply a good-sized family and not degenerate 

 into a crop of strings before they can be used. If 

 you don't mind a little extra trouble, plant a row 

 or so extra early — say April ist — and cover the 

 rows with strips of cheesecloth. 



The pole varieties are most satisfactory of the 

 limas, the bush kinds bear earlier. Have the 

 ground level about the poles at first and hill up as 

 the vines grow, thus insuring deep roots which can 

 withstand dry weather. It pays, if you have 

 plenty, to save the pods containing the greatest 

 number of beans for seed for next year. Of course 

 they must ripen on the vines. 



I use Golden Bantam Corn for both early and 

 late crops, planting the first in rows 2 feet apart 

 with seeds 6 inches apart in the row. The later 

 I plant in hills i feet apart each way, working a 

 forkful of manure into each hill first. 



Muskmelon is my "pet" crop, and I have had great suc- 

 cess with it. Early in May, have the ground dug deep and 

 some manure worked in. Make low hills, 4 feet apart, and 

 dig an extra forkful of manure into each hill. Between the 

 middle of May and the first of June, according to the weather, 

 plant 10 seeds in each hill, and keep the ground watered 

 until the seeds are up. Then thin out to 3 plants to a hill. 

 To have the greatest success, use "boosters" — miniature 

 frames they are indeed — one over each hill. These keep off 

 the greatest enemy of the young vines, the striped beetle — 

 and incidentally, serve several other purposes, keeping 

 off the cold at night and conserving moisture to some extent. 

 When the vines are about a foot long, nip off the ends, and 

 when they blossom, give each plant, occasionally, a dipperful 

 of water in which nitrate of soda has been dissolved — about 

 3 tablespoons to a pail of water. 



Do not try to set out tomato plants or peppers too early, 

 but wait until all danger of frost is over, and then around 

 each plant put a paper collar, 2 inches wide, pressing it 1 

 inch into the ground, to foil the cutworms. Nip off the 

 little shoots that start out from the lower leaves of the to- 

 matoes and keep the branches thinned, thus increasing the 

 size of the fruit.. 



ACTUAL PLANTING RECORD OF ONE HOME GARDEN 



VEGETABLE 



VARIETY 



DATE 



QUANTITY 



CROP 



Asparagus 



Palmetto, Colossal 



April 1, or fall 



50 roots 



Ready in 2 yrs. 



Beans, Lima 



Burpee's Imp. Bush 



April 20-May 10 



1 package 



June-August 





" Giant Podded 



May 15 



1 pt. (for 20 poles) 



August-frost 



Beans, String 



Bountiful 



April 15 



i pt.— 50 ft.~l 



July-frost 





Hodson Wax 



May 1 



i " —25 *' | 







Bountiful 



June 1 



i " —50 " > 







Bountiful 



June 15 



i " —50 " ( 







Wax 



July 15 



i " —50 " J 





Beets 



Eclipse 



April 15 



1 pkt — 50 ft. 



June 





Crimson Globe 



May 1 



i " —25 " 



July 





Detroit Dark Red 



June 1 



i " —25 " 



August 





Eclipse 



June 15 



1 " —50 " 



September-frost 



Cabbage 



Early Jersey 



May 15 



12 plants 



August-spring 





Late Dutch 



June 15 



24 



" " 



Cauliflower 



Dwarf Erfurt 



May 15 



24 



August-frost 



Carrot 



Half-long Danvers 



April 1 ) 

 April 15 V 

 May 1 ) 



1 pkt.— 75 ft. 



June-frost 

 June and after 



Corn 



Golden Bantam 



April 24 



1 pkt.— 100 ft. 



July or August to 





Stowell's Evergreen 



May 10 



1 pt. — 50 hills 



frost 





Golden Rod 



June 1 



I " —10 " 



" 





Golden Rod 



June 15 



i " —10 " 



•* 





Golden Bantam 



July 1 I 

 July 10 f 



i " —25 " 



*' 





Golden Bantam 



i "—25 " 



'* 



Cucumber 



Cool and Crisp 



May 1 



\ pkt. — 5 hills 



July-frost 





Cool and Crisp 



May 15 



i " —5 " 



" 





White Spine 



June 15 



\ " —5 " 



" 



Eggplant 



Black Beauty 



Set plants in May 



12 plants 



August 



Lettuce 



Wayahead 



March 30 



h pkt.— 25 ft. 



May to frost 





Boston 



April 15 



i " —25 " 



*' 





Cos 



May 1 



| " —25 " 



*' 





Big Boston 



May 15 



i " —25 " 



" 





Cos 



June 1 



I " —25 " 



" 



Muskmelon 



Ford hook 



May 9 



I pkt.-. 



Late July to Oct. 





Netted Gem 



May 9 



i " 1 



*• 





Emerald Gem 



May 9 



1 " > 25 hills 



** 





L. I. Beauty 



May 20 according 

 tc weather 



i-' 1 



.. 



Onion 



Prizetaker 



April 4 

 April 24 

 April 15 



1 pt. sets to 50 ft. 



From July 



Parsley 



Triple Curled 



{ pkt.— 25 ft. 



From June 



Parsnip 



Hollow Crown 



April 15 



>■ pkt.— 50 ft. 



After frost 



Peas 



Thos. Laxton (round) 



April 1 



1 qt. —50ft. 



June-frost 





Gradus 



April 1 



1 " —50 *■ 







Telephone 



April 15 



1 " —50 " 







Quite Content 



May 1 



1 " —50 " 







Gradus 



May 15 



1 " —50 *' 







Thos. Laxton 



June 1 



1 " —50 " 







Thos. Laxton 



July 1 



1 " —50 " 





Radish 



Cooper's Sparkler 



April 1 , and every 











2 weeks 



i pkt.— 25 ft. each 



May-September 



Spinach 



Boddington's Improved 



March 31 



i oz. —100 ft. 



May-frost 





Boddington's Improved 



April 15 



i '■ —100 " 



" 





New Zealand 



May 1 



i " —100 " 



" 





Viroflay 



August 15 



i " —100 " 



" 



Squash 



Vegetable Marrow 



May 15 



\ pkt.— 6 hills 



From July 





Hubbard 



May 15 



i " — 6 " 



From Sept. 



Tomato 



Earliana 



May 101 



24 plants 



August-frost 





Beefsteak 



May 10 V 



24 " 



" 





Golden Morn 



May 10) 



24 " 



" 



Turnip 



Early Milan 



April 



i pkt.— 25 ft. 



From June 



