314 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



July, 1917 



Endive. Any kind, 65-75 Jays. 



Kal± Dwarf Scotch, 75 days. 



Kohlrabi, White Vienna, 60 days. 



Lettuce. Black Seeded Simpson, 50 days; Wayahead, 55 days; 

 All Season, 60 (lavs; Iceberg and New York, 60-65 days. 



Peas. Little Marvel, 60 days; Thomas Laxton, 70-75 days. 



Radishes. Icicle, 30-35 days; Chartiers and White Lady 

 Finger, 40-45 days; California Mammoth Winter, 70 days. 



Spinach. Victoria, 45-50 days; Long Season or Triumph, 55-60 

 days. 



Turnips. Purple Top and White Milan, 45-50 days; Purple 

 Top Strap Leaf, 65-75 days. Rutabaga, American Purple Top, 

 75-80 days; Monarch or Elephant, S5-90 days. 



"Taking Stock" of the Early Garden 



V\7"HEREeconomyin space is a factor it pays 



* * at this time to look over each row 

 critically, asking yourself (i) Has it 

 yielded the bulk of the crop? (2) What 

 is it likely to yield from now on? Put 

 aside all sentimental reasons in an- 

 swering these questions. // returns from 

 now on are apt to be scant, or, if only a poor 

 stand was secured, pull up or hoe out the row 

 without regrets and plant it to something 

 assuring full returns from every inch of row 

 between now and frost. For illustration, the 

 middle of the month, some of the rows of 

 early-planted beans will have yielded most of 

 their pods; then pull them up, rake the ground 

 level and sow beets, carrots, turnips or any 

 other root crops for winter storage. 



Intrenching for Winter 



AFTER all, the important thing from now 

 onward is: how much of the harvest can 

 you save and store for use next winter? Let that 

 be your guiding thought when deciding on July 

 plantings. Late kinds of celery and cabbage 

 keep better than early kinds, but also require 

 a longer season to grow; when setting out 

 plants, keep in mind that it may be necessary 

 to protect them against severe frosts in the fall 

 and do not plant them as far apart as you 

 would ordinarily so that it will be easier to 

 cover them. 



Of the root crops, parsnips may be left out in 

 the garden all winter — under cover, of course. 

 Turnips and rutabagas may be stored like 

 potatoes in a cool cellar. Beets, carrots and 

 salsify require a covering of soil or sand, other- 

 wise they will shrivel badly and lose their 

 usefulness for any purposes. 



Advancing the Reserves. 



'Y'OU may still gather cabbage, cauliflower, cel- 

 ery and celeriac crops if you start with plants 

 of sufficient size and age to reach maturity in 

 80 to 90 days. The age of the plants really 

 matters more than the size, and one of the best 

 ways to judge age is by the roots. See that you 

 buy strong roots rather than big tops. If you 

 can find from your plant source when seeds to 

 produce these plants were sown, so much the 

 better. 



Cabbages that will mature before frost from 

 seeds sown not later than May 15th are Sure- 

 head, Premium Flat Dutch and Danish Ball- 

 head. The last named requires a strong, heavy 

 clay soil to do well, so, if your garden soil is 

 rather light, depend on the other two. Of red 

 cabbage Danish Round Red is a particularly 

 good keeper and is well liked for "slaw" in 

 some sections. 



Cauliflower must have an abundance of 

 moisture to do well. Unless you are willing 

 to irrigate during Jul^ and August you are 

 courting failure. Either Snowball or Dry 

 Weather are satisfactory sorts for pickling and 

 winter use. 



Celery. See that the plants have fine 

 bunches of fibrous roots. Trim off about an 

 inch of both top and roots before setting out. 

 It stimulates the root system and prevents ex- 

 cessive wilting of the tops. Celery is another 



crop requiring an abundance of moisture. Set 

 the plants in rows three feet apart, six inches 

 apart in the row. Hill or board up to blanch 

 properly. Golden Self Blanching, New Easy 

 Blanching for early use and Winter Queen or 

 Giant Pascal for later will measure up to all 

 quality requirements. 



Celeriac is a turnip-rooted form of celery 

 offering an unexcelled flavor for soups and 

 salads. A detailed article on this fine root 

 crop will be found on page 231, June Garden 

 Magazine. I 



Recruiting New Forces 



J TERE is a programme of varieties for pre- 

 * *■ sent sowing which will yield fully: 



Beans. Dwarf or bush kinds of earliest 

 maturity only. Hopkins's strain of Red Valen- 

 tine may be sown up to July 15th, because it 

 has the unusual record of bearing pods in 55 

 days from date of planting. Since the average 

 first frost is September20th, Red Valentine, from 

 seeds sown middle of this month, will bear 

 the bulk of its pods before cold "nips" the 

 plants. 



During the first week in July sow either 

 Bountiful, Full Measure or Burpee's Stringless 

 among the green-podded, or New Kidney Wax 

 and Sure Crop Wax among the yellow-podded 

 kinds. Figuring on a light and a heavy picking 

 before frost, you may count on three quarts of 

 pods from every fifteen feet of row between 

 September 1st and frost. 



Beets. The first week in July sees the last 

 chance to plant the exceptionally good winter 

 keeping variety Long Smooth Blood. After 

 that, and up to July 20th, sow either Faust's 

 Early Crimson, Eclipse, Crosby's Egyptian 

 or Detroit Dark Red. All these reach good 

 size (2! to 3 inches in diameter) by fall. In 

 exceptional cases Faust's has reached the de- 

 sirable two inch size for canning by September 

 20th from seeds sown the first of August. But 

 to do that, prompt germination must be pro- 

 vided by pressing the seeds into firm contact 

 with the soil and by providing moisture 

 through irrigation whenever the natural 

 supply fails. 



Carrots. Make liberal provisions this 

 month to sow carrots for winter storage as 

 they are one of the most wholesome foods for 

 that purpose. Both, Chantenay and Danvers 

 Half Long will grow to be six inches long by 

 2| inches in diameter at the crown from seeds 

 sown up to July 15th. Carrots are not injured 

 by the first light frosts and often thrive out- 

 doors until the middle of October. 



Corn. Keep in mind that few sorts yield 

 ears in less than 85 days. Do the country a 

 patriotic service be devoting July 4th to sowing 

 either Early Mayflower, Peep O'Day, or 

 Golden Bantam in rows, z\ feet apart, plants 

 a foot apart in row. This will spell sweet corn 

 independence till frost. When gathering the 

 first ears, don't pull upward but give a quick 

 downward twist. Pulling disturbs the feeding 

 roots on which depend the development of 

 further ears on the stalk. 



Cucumbers. Still time to provide pickles if 

 you sow such extra early varieties, as White 

 Spine, Cool and Crisp or Klondyke. These 

 will reach the desirable three to four-inch size 

 by the middle of September if you water the 

 hills occasionally with liquid manure. Take a 

 shovelful of well rotted cow or sheep manure 

 to a gallon of water, let it stand for a few 

 days and give each hill a quart twice a week. 

 It'll work wonders! 



Endive. Few people appreciate that 

 properly blanched, handled and stored endive 

 will keep quite as well as celery! Early White 

 Curled sown during the first week in July will 

 form large bunches by end of September. It 

 stands considerable frost without injury — not 

 unlike lettuce. Tie up plants in cones, to help 

 blanch centre. Store just like celery — either 

 cover the rows with dry leaves and boards or 

 transfer to coldframe. 



Kohlrabi. You can grow this delicious 

 turnip-rooted cabbage (fully described on 

 page 231, June Garden Magazine) to 

 eatable size in 60 days from sowing seeds 

 if you sow either White or Purple Vienna. 

 Kohlrabi is quite hardy, will continue 

 to develop up to hard frosts and keeps 

 as well as turnips. 



Lettuce. Up to the middle of the month sow 

 heat-resisting mid-season sorts like All Season 

 Butterhead and Iceberg Crisphead. Between 

 July 15th and 30th, sow Naumburger or Ten- 

 derheart, Black Seeded Tennisball or Big 

 Boston. All these should be transplanted 

 promptly as often as plants crowd each other 

 in rows. Any of these sorts will stand con- 

 siderable cold weather if afforded the slight 

 protection of dry leaves or grass clippings or 

 coarse straw. 



Peas. While midsummer sown peas will not 

 yield the same quantities of pods as spring sown 

 seeds, yet July sowings of this delicious 

 vegetable prove well worth while. Select 

 heavy bearing, quickly maturing sorts like 

 Sutton's Excelsior, Thomas Laxton or Little 

 Marvel. All will perfect pods by September 

 25th from seeds sown up to July 10th — not 

 later! You can plant Pedigree Extra Early as 

 late as August 1st, but you should not expect 

 the quality of the sorts mentioned above in 

 this or any other smooth-seeded variety. 



Pumpkins. If your early corn patch is of 

 fair proportion (not less than 50 feet square) 

 put a few seeds of Livingston's Pie Pumpkin 

 or Winter Luxury Squash in every third row 

 after you cultivate the patch for the last time, 

 but not later than July 10th. This particular 

 type develops rapidly, is of unequalled 

 quality and when carefully handled and stored 

 the pumpkins keep well until midwinter. 



Radishes. Between July 1st and 15th, sow 

 White Strasburg, California Winter, and 

 Black Spanish for winter use. These grow to 

 large size and should be "thinned" to stand 

 six inches apart in the row. Their flesh being 

 of remarkably firm texture, they keep remark- 

 ably well, stored in boxes \yth dry sand or 

 soil. After the middle of the month and up to 

 July 30th sow Icicle, Cincinnati Market, 

 Chartiers and Lady Finger. While all these 

 develop rapidly, they withstand heat remark- 

 ably well during August and will be in fine 

 condition in September. 



Turnips and Rutabagas. Any time during 

 the first week in July, sow Swedish turnips or 

 rutabagas for winter use. , They require a 

 longer time than the ordinary turnips in which 

 to reach good size, but they have much firmer 

 flesh and keep as well as potatoes. American 

 Purple Top, Yellow Aberdeen and Monarch 

 or Elephant are splendidly flavored kinds. All 

 should be thinned out to stand at least six 

 inches apart in rows. Up to July 20th Purple 

 Top Strap Leaf, Amber Globe and White 

 Globe turnips may be sown for early winter 

 and late fall use. Generally about this 

 time, some of the early plantings of bush beans 

 have yielded the bulk of the crop. Pull them 

 up, level the ridges and sow these kinds very 

 thinly, later transplanting seedlings to stand 

 four inches apart. This is an ideal succession. 



