January, 1913 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



235 



June 20th. Pole lima beans, cucumbers and melons with popcorn. Squash July 22nd. From sams position. The popcorn has developed so much that 

 plants are used as bug traps it hides the row of pole limas 



vent a crust from forming and to conserve 

 every possible particle of moisture. This 

 course stood us in good stead later in the 

 season when the drouth set in, and it was 

 the means of saving some vegetables from 

 being complete failures. 



By May ioth, the ground had become 

 thoroughly warmed through, so I planted 

 132 hills of King of the Garden lima beans, 

 three feet apart each way, and next to 

 them a row of White Spine cucumbers and 

 Rocky Ford muskmelon, 24 hills of each, 

 between which Golden Queen popcorn was 

 later planted. A few squash seeds were 

 planted to provide trap plants for bugs 

 and beetles. Two rows of Edmands early 

 beets and one half row of Prize Head lettuce 

 were sowed. Twenty-four hills of squash 

 were also planted — 12 hills of Mammoth 

 White Bush and 12 hills Yellow Summer 

 Crookneck. The planting and cultivation 

 of vegetables already up took up practically 

 the entire day. 



Spinach, kale, radish and green onions 

 were now large enough to use and we had 

 them on our own table daily. There was 

 some surplus and this we began taking 

 to the village whenever we had to make 

 a trip there. May 15th, we pulled a few 

 stalks of rhubarb and cut enough asparagus 

 for a "mess." By the 20th, both were 

 plentiful, and part of the first planting 

 of lettuce and the second radish were ready 

 to use. We also had been using parsley 

 for a week. We now began making 

 regular trips to the village, two a week at 

 first but soon changed to three, and by the 

 middle of June we had made Tuesday, 

 Thursday, and Saturday regular delivery 

 days. During the past three years I have 

 sold some vegetables, along with my 

 poultry products, to private customers, 

 and as I always sold only the best vege- 

 tables prepared attractively I have gained 

 something of a reputation for quality. 

 Therefore, it was not difficult for me to 

 work up a regular trade this season. Mil- 



ford is only a ten minute drive from my 

 place. As I had no time to spare for 

 "peddling" I began on my first trip to 

 ask my customers to call me up whenever 

 they needed any vegetables, and if con- 

 venient to notify me a day ahead. In this 

 way I soon had enough regular customers 

 to take all of my produce except in mid- 

 season when I sometimes had to dispose of 

 the small surplus to one of the grocers. 

 My regular customers numbered about 

 90, including a number of summer residents 

 from Cincinnati who had cottages along the 

 Miami River. 



May 15. The second planting of Val- 

 entine beans and Early Scarlet Horn 

 carrots were made. Three days later 

 Kentucky Wonder beans and a second 

 planting of Wardwells Kidney Wax beans 

 were made, and some cabbage plants cut 

 by cutworms were replaced with large 

 stocky plants. Eggplant (12 Black Beauty) 

 and pepper (15 Ruby King) were set out 

 May 25th. May 28th, poles were set to 

 lima beans. Two rows of Kendals Early 

 Giant sugar corn was planted on May 19. 

 The following day 42 Ponderosa tomato 

 plants were set out and on May 22nd, 

 Grand Rapids lettuce was sowed between 

 the lima bean hills. 



Although the weather continued un- 

 seasonably hot, most of the vegetables 

 stood it well, but some few looked as if 

 they would succumb, particularly the 

 melons and cucumbers. The first planting 

 of peas grew splendidly and by the last 

 week in May the vines were hanging full 

 of pods; but owing to the extreme heat 

 the pods began to dry when only partly 

 filled out. We began gathering the peas 

 June 4th, and in a little more than a week 

 the last were picked. As the vines were 

 withering many pods had to be picked 

 when not more than half filled. This 

 shortened the yield materially. As peas 

 were scarce we had no trouble in selling ours 

 at a fine price. The hot weather con- 



tinued in June and for awhile it looked bad 

 for the garden. Showers on June 3d, 

 5th and 6th, gave only temporary relief. 

 We continued to cultivate frequently to 

 hold what moisture there was, never allow- 

 ing a crust to form. 



As soon as the early plantings of kale, 

 spinach, radish, lettuce and peas were 

 cleared off we stirred the ground, using 

 a plow attachment on the wheel hoe, and 

 planted succession crops. Not all of the 

 kale, radish, etc., grew to marketable size; 

 we figured that the ground was more value- 

 able for the succeeding crops and so cleared 

 off some of the first while small. The 

 lettuce, kale and spinach were not wasted, 

 however, as it made excellent green feed 

 for the poultry. Sufficient radishes were 

 constantly coming on from sowings made 

 with beets and carrots, and between hills 

 of tomatoes, etc. In addition to being 

 injured by the hot weather the muskmelon 

 and cucumber vines were attacked by the 

 striped beetle and it was only by the free 

 use of arsenate of lead that they were 

 saved. We found the arsenate of lead and 

 bordeaux mixture combination an efficient 

 insecticide and fungicide and used it on 

 all vegetables requiring spraying. It was 

 applied several times to the cabbage and 

 cauliflower to control the green worm. 



June 8th, I pulled the first beets and 

 soon they were plentiful but they were in 

 such demand that I often had more orders 

 than I could fill. I also had more orders 

 for peas than I could fill and later the same 

 was true of lima beans. Carrots and 

 Valentine beans were added to the list the 

 week of June 17th, and the following week 

 we began picking the wax beans. String- 

 less Green Pod beans were picked the last 

 week in June and we also gathered three 

 squashes and several heads of cabbage. 

 June 30th, we set out some tomato plants 

 for extra late, and planted some peas, with 

 little hope, however, that they would 

 amount to anything. 



