February, 191 8 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



21 



as expected, the reason for some of which 

 could be determined. Where possible 

 replantings were made until a satisfactory 

 stand was secured. 



An effort was made to get pretty nearly 

 all the ground fitted and planted before 

 the strawberries ripened. When the straw- 

 berries do come on it takes so much time 

 to pick them that little remains for other 

 work in the garden. 



A cold season (in the year of this record) 

 delayed the strawberries so that the first 

 were picked on June 4. They lasted three 

 weeks, and supplied a family of eight two 

 or three times a day, besides a good 

 many quarts for canning. On June 20, 

 the cherries were ripe but there was not 

 much demand for them while the straw- 

 berries lasted. 



There was about a bushel of sour 

 cherries, most of which were canned or 

 given away to neighbors. Red and purple 

 raspberries came right along, and a few 

 blackberries. 



The currant bushes yielded a full crop 

 but only a few were used on the table. 

 Most of them were canned or made into 

 jelly. 



Prior to about July 15, the garden 

 yielded enough early vegetables to supply 

 the table with two or three varieties each 

 day. After that time, there was not a day 

 when four or five different vegetables were 

 not available. 



In August an abundance of tomatoes, 

 summer squashes, eggplant, etc., replaced 

 earlier vegetables. 



All the apple trees blossomed for the first 

 time this year, and some produced fruit. 

 Some trees bore only half a dozen apples 

 while trees no larger carried several bushels. 



Sour Harvest apples were ripe July 15, 

 and sweet ones a few days later. Plums 

 were ripe August 1, and the last were 



picked the day the first peaches were ripe 

 August 12. 



The peaches from this garden overshadow 

 every other product; they lasted from 

 August 12, until September 16, when the 

 last were picked. Not a very long 

 season, but while they lasted no other 

 garden product seemed worth mentioning. 



Besides those used, canned, pickled, 

 preserved and given away, forty baskets 

 were sold. 



Grapes were also very good this year, 

 and were much in demand after the peaches 

 were gone. 



At the time of writing (October) there 

 still remain in this garden beets, parsnips, 

 carrots, salsify and winter squash sufficient 

 for a small family throughout the winter. 

 There will be tomatoes for some weeks 

 yet, summer squash, lima beans and 

 string beans for a few days. Lettuce for 

 the coldframe is growing and some mustard 

 for greens. 



There have been all the apples that 

 could be used since August 1, some were 

 sold and many given away. There must 

 have been five bushels of crabapples, which 

 were much in demand for jelly. 



It will be possible to gather for winter 

 several bushels of winter apples from the 

 trees where they are now ripening. 



A fairly accurate record has been kept 

 of what has been spent on the garden, the 

 allowance for labor being increased 25 per 

 cent, because it is estimated that the labor 

 of the owner is at least that much more 

 efficient than hired labor. 



The value of the garden products is 

 based on going prices in the market for 

 such products, and the quantities are 

 under-estimated rather than over-estimated. 



One item on the credit side has been 

 omitted because of the difficulty of putting 

 a fair valuation upon it. That item is the 



abundant health and vigor of the gardener 

 resulting from doing all this garden work 

 with his own hands. 



EXPENDED 



148 hours of labor at 25 cents 



per hour, plus 25 per cent, for 



greater efficiency .... $ 46 , 25 



Seeds and plants .... 3 . 50 



Manure 6.00 



Chemical fertilizers .... 1 . 00 



Repairs to spray pump . . 1. 10 



Spraying material .... 3.25 



Peach baskets 1 . 10 



Total cost 



RECEIVED 



$ 62.20 



Vegetables 



Rhubarb . . . 



Lettuce and radishes . 



Asparagus . . . 



Swiss chard and greens 

 Green peas .... 



String beans . 



Sweet corn. 



Summer cabbage . . . 



Summer squashes 



Winter squashes . 



Tomatoes .... 



Lima beans 



Eggplant .... 



Beets, carrots, parsnips 



Salsify .... 



Potatoes .... 



I> 2.50 



1 -5° 



•75 



.60 



1.80 



1 .00 



12 .00 



.00 

 .00 

 .00 

 .00 

 •5° 

 .00 



■50 

 4 -5° 



Total ....... 



Fruits 



Strawberries 



Currants 



Cherries 



Raspberries and blackberries 



Plums 



Crabapples 



Peaches . . . " . 



Grapes 



Apples 



Total 



$12.00 

 3.00 

 3 So 

 2 .00 

 1 .00 

 4.00 



65.00 

 6.00 



12 .00 



Total, vegetables and fruit 

 Total cost 



$ 40.4S 



Profit 



5108.50 



148.9S 

 62. 20 



* 86.75 



A Successful Summer- Home Garden — By Lincoln Cromwell, 



Connec- 

 ticut 



WE HAD three objects in view in 

 planting our vegetable garden. 

 First, the pleasure of seeing 

 the things grow and the 

 physical exercise we should have to put 

 into it; second, the wish to provide for 

 a boy of fifteen some regular occupation 

 for part of each day of his school vacation; 

 third, to have a supply of fresh vegetables. 

 For two years we had had a little vege- 

 table garden planted in a haphazard way 

 — a row of beans and a row of corn, a few 

 tomato plants and some peas. We took 

 so much more interest in it the second year 

 that we began to wonder why we could 

 not take the vegetable garden as seriously 

 as some of the contributors to The Garden 

 Magazine, and at the same time get as 

 much fun and satisfaction out of it as they 

 described. We got a copy of " Garden 



Awarded a $100 prize in our Garden Contest 



Profits," and in the autumn laid out the 

 little plot according to the diagram on 

 page 22. In the last week of September 

 it was covered with a large load of cow 

 manure, which cost $5, and to this we added 

 from our own stable, about a load of 

 horse manure, which cost nothing. All 



money account 



Dr. 



To Autumn plowing $ 1.50 



" Spring plowing 1 . 50 



" 4 lbs. red clover seed 1.00 



" 1 load cow manure 5.00 



" 1 load horse manure 



" 1 cultivator 2 . 50 



" 1 tape measure .50 



'Vegetable seeds 3-5° 



"25 tomato plants (potted) 2.50 



The boys (J receipts) 35 .12 



" net money profit 17.12 



$70.24 

 Cr. 

 By sales $70 . 24 



$70.24 



this was thoroughly plowed in, all the loose 

 stones taken off the surface, and the ground 

 thickly sown with red clover seed. The 

 clover made a slight growth before frost, 

 and it came up fairly well in May, when 

 the ground was again plowed and levelled 

 off for the vegetable planting. 



The tool equipment from the previous 

 years was a spade, a garden fork, a hoe, 

 and a rake. To this we added a 50-foot 

 tape measure (50c.) and a wheelhoe or 

 cultivator, costing $2.50. It was the best 

 kind of a purchase and the success of 

 the garden is largely due to that instru- 

 ment, which was faithfully run up and 

 down the rows, and the ground kept soft 

 all summer. 



The work was done by a boy of fifteen 

 and myself, with regular help from our 

 Hampton Institute boy. He was em- 



