WHY THE HOUSEKEEPER GARDENS 



SARAH M. McCOLLOM 



Her Personal Interest in, and Attention to, the Garden Alone Will Insure that Full Return Which, 

 as "General Manager" of the Business of Home, as Well as Chief of Commissary, She Demands 



LIME SHOULD BE APPLIED LIGHTLY AND 



OFTEN AND MANURE SHOULD BE 



WELL WORKED OVER 



The annual use of enough lime to whiten the ground 

 without actually covering it, as shown at the left, is 

 best; while such forking over and mixing as the 

 compost heap at the right is undergoing assures 

 its prime condition for application to the ground 



HE one big factor 

 ! that causes disap- 



pointment and sub- 

 sequent failure in 

 garden making is lack of in- 

 terest. For lack of interest 

 and neglect travel together. 

 That was always the trouble 

 between my garden and me, 

 and I suppose it would still 

 be the same if I had not 

 suddenly awakened to the 

 fact that 1 had really a com- 

 mercial enterprise out there 

 in the back yard. Where- 

 upon I was interested — since 

 I have the "commercial in- 

 stinct" I fear; and becoming 

 interested. 1 began to give 

 attention to the garden — real 

 attention — with what were, 

 to me at any rate, amazing 

 results. For I had never 

 really believed in the kitchen 

 garden; it had seemed just a 

 fad to be somewhat indul- 

 gently regarded, until the war set everyone to talking about it 

 seriously. 



Of course all these results went into my accounting pages; 

 and of course I am going to draw on these to prove my thesis — 

 not in wearisome detail but in round numbers. Our particular 

 garden plot is approximately fifty feet square. For this the 

 seeds cost S5.90, plants (early Cabbage, Cauliflower, Big Bos- 

 ton Lettuce, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers and Celery) were 

 S2.45, and manure, labels, poles, pea brush and two bags 

 of hydrated lime were $13.55, giving a total outlay of 

 S21.90 which I am going to call S23, inasmuch as there were 

 some further trifles such as raffia for tying things up and 

 tobacco dust and such — not amounting to a dollar all told, 

 however. 



The plan of the garden speaks for itself, and shows the amount 

 planted of each thing. The quantity gathered of each vegetable 

 and the number of weeks of their bearing are shown in the 

 accompanying table. 



What Was Gathered, 



and When 





Radish 



May 17th to July 



I St 



24 bunches 



Spinach 



June 1st to July 



loth 



12 pecks 



Onions 



June 6th to July 



31st 



22 bunches 



Lettuce 



June 8th to Oct. 



15th 



149 heads 



Swiss Chard 



June 15th to Oct. 



15th 



14 pecks 



Peas 



June 23rd to Aug 



10th 



58 quarts 



Parsley 



June 23rd to Oct. 



15th 



60 bunches 



Carrots 



July 1st to Oct. 



15th 



41 doz. 



Beets 



July 4th to Oct. 



15th 



37 doz. 



String Beans 



July 5th to Oct. 



15th 



73 quarts 



Cabbage early 



July 10th to Aug 



10th 



22 heads 



Spinach, New Zealand 



July 10th to Oct. 



15th 



40 pecks 



Corn 



July 28th to Oct. 



6th 



34 doz. 



Tomatoes 



July 29th to Oct. 



15th 



65 quarts 



Lima Beans 



Aug. 2nd to Oct. 



6th 



36 pecks 



Eggplant 



Aug. 1 ith to Oct. 



6th 



1 1 doz. 



Peppers 



Aug. 22nd to Oct. 



15th 



10 doz. 



Cauliflower (late) 



Sept. 17th to Oct. 



15th 



15 heads 



The Following Were Canned or Stored fcr Winter 



30 cans Tomatoes 



2 



Dushels Ruta-bagas 



15 cans Beans 



1 



Dushel Onions 





12 cans Lima Beans 



1 



sushel Carrots 





6 cans Beets 



36 



heads Cabbage 





12 cans Succotash 



3 



4 



sushel Beets 





8 cans Spinach 



1 



bushel of Parsni 



ps 



12 bundles of Parsley 



and Herbs 80 



heads Celery 







1* 



bushels Tomatoes 



To produce the foregoing 

 the following quantities of 

 seeds and plants were used: — 



1 pint Bush Beans, Black Valen- 

 tine; 1 pint Pole Beans, King of 

 Garden; 4 oz. Beets, Electric; 1 oz. 

 Swiss Chard; 2 oz. Carrots, Gue- 

 rande; 1 qt. Corn, Golden Bantam; 

 1 oz. Lettuce, Big Boston; i oz. 

 Lettuce, Ideal; 2 oz. Onions, Yellow 

 Danvers; 1 qt. Onions (sets) white; 

 1 pkt. Parsnip, Hollow Crown; I qt. 

 Peas, Gradus; 1 pint Peas, Cham- 

 pion of England; 4 oz. Radish, 

 French Breakfast; 4 oz. Spinach, 

 Long Standing; 1 pkt. Spinach, New 

 Zealand; 1 oz. Rutabaga, Purple 

 Top; 1 pkt. Cabbage, Flat Dutch; 

 1 pkt. Cauliflower, Snowball; 1 pkt. 

 Parsley, Moss Curled; 1 pkt. Thyme; 

 1 pkt. Sage; 1 pkt. Sweet Majoram. 



Plants: 2 dozen early Cabbage; 2 

 dozen Early Cauliflower; 3 dozen 

 Big Boston Lettuce; 3 dozen Toma- 

 toes, large fruited; 6 Eggplant; 6 

 Peppers; 5 dozen Celery. 



It was on May 17th that 

 we had our first returns. 

 Radishes — and we had them 

 occasionally until July 1st. 

 By that time they were so 

 strong we threw out the balance. June 1st brought the first 

 Spinach, and it does not need an expert to tell that the first 

 is the best. We had it until July 10th, when we started 

 cutting New Zealand Spinach which lasted through the season 

 so we were never without abundance of greens until frost. On 

 June 6th we started to pick green Onions from the sets, and when 

 the seedling Onions were large enough we thinned these and 

 used the "thinnings" for green Onions. And in fall we had 

 about a bushel of full grown bulbs to put away. 



On June 8th we gathered the first head of Lettuce. Peas 

 were rather late, but that was a general condition, and the qual- 

 ity was wonderful when they did mature. We had these every 

 day from June 23rd until July 20th and then practically every 

 other day until August 1st when they succumbed to mildew. 

 Carrots we started to use July 1st, Beets July 4th, String Beans 

 July 5th, and of these vegetables we had a continuous supply 

 throughout the summer. Corn was ready July 28 and our sup- 

 ply lasted until October 6th. Of course we did not have this 



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