The Garden Magazine, January, 1922 



231 



tion for a reasonable time on the market bench; but Corn, to 

 be at its prime, should go into the boiling water within fifteen 

 minutes of being pulled from the stalk. 



How Much in Each Class and Why 



PERSONAL requirements must be the determining factor 

 in deciding the quantities to be grown. Ask yourself 

 how much of each vegetable the household requires in the course 

 of the season and then start systematically to provide that 

 quantity. Take Tomatoes for instance. The average plant 

 of a proved variety will bear about thirty pounds of fruit during 

 a normal season between the end of July and late September. 

 On that basis thirty plants would provide an ample supply 

 for a family of five throughout the season. 



A 20-ft. row of Beans bears about 20 quarts of pods in the 

 course of 4 weeks. Corn averages two ears to the stalk, while 

 it is relatively easy to figure out how many of the other vege- 

 tables may be expected from a given area. For a well balanced 

 supply of the above named nine vegetables for a family of 

 five or six, my recommendations are: 



Fifty Tomato plants — 20 of an early variety, 30 of a second 



early or main crop. 

 Ten 20-ft. rows of Beans, sowing 2 rows every other week 



for 5 weeks, beginning May 15th. 

 Twenty 10-ft. rows of Corn, planting 4 rows at a time, 2 



weeks apart, for 5 weeks, beginning May 1 5th. 

 Twenty-five early and 50 late Cabbages. 

 Twelve 15-ft. rows of Lettuce in three varieties, making 4 

 plantings 1 row of each kind at a time, a week apart, in 3 

 types for succession. 

 Six 20-ft. rows of Peas, 

 3 varieties, planting 

 all at one time. 

 Fifty feet of early Beets, 

 and an equal quantity 

 to be sown August 1 st 

 for winter use. 

 Twenty foot row of sum- 

 mer Squash. 

 Of early and midsummer 

 Radishes as much as 

 the appetite calls for, 

 — but never less than 

 10 ft. 

 For the proper handling 

 of such plantings an area 

 of 50 x 100 ft. is required; 

 and even then it would be 

 necessary to do some inter- 

 cropping by utilizing space 

 between Peas for Lettuce, 

 and by making the space 

 reserved for Tomatoes yield 

 Radishes and Beets early in 

 the season. Intensive inter- 

 cropping, a fine thing to 

 theorize over, and as a tour 

 deforce a. fascinating fancy, 

 is in actual practice, how- 

 ever, worth while only on 

 the really quite small place. 



The Practical Handling 

 of the Really Small Plot 



AVAST majority of 

 home gardeners have 

 available for the entire 

 vegetable garden a space 

 of 30 x 50 ft. at the most. 



ONE OF THE STAND-BYS AMONG VEGETABLES 



The popularity of the Bush Bean is amply justified by 

 its easy culture and generous, dependable yield 



Under able management, this area can be made to produce an 

 abundance of vegetable for a family of three or four, provided 

 every square foot of soil is handled to the best advantage. By 

 placing the early vegetables such as Radishes, Lettuce, green 

 Onions, etc., far enough apart, succeeding crops like Beans, 

 Tomatoes.Corn, etc., can be started right between the rows of 

 these early vegetables even while the early crops are being pro- 

 duced. By using the "extra-early" maturing varieties of 

 vegetables requiring a long time to become ready for use, such 

 crops may be made to yield profitably and vacate the ground 

 in time to make room for late vegetables that require but a 

 short time to mature. For instance: starting about the middle 

 of April with Radish, Lettuce and Onion sets, then an extra- 

 early variety of Tomato, placed between them by the middle 

 of May, will yield the bulk of the Tomato crop by the middle of 

 August, when the plants may be pulled up without regret, to 

 make room for crops of Beans, Beets, Carrots, Turnips, Cabbage, 

 and others for fall use. 



Varieties That Really Serve 



IT HAS ever been a delight to me to try experiments, and I 

 like to feel that others also will tread new paths, testing 

 out novelties and different ways of cultivation. But when 

 dealing with a garden conducted for measured results don't flirt 

 with "unknown quantities" among newcomers. By all means 

 devote a bed in the garden exclusively to the ever interesting 

 novelties. But hide that bed behind a smoke screen when 

 the housekeeper comes to take stock of resources. Her con- 

 cern is only with those varieties that will really perform and 



deliver the vegetables in 

 proper quantities and f>f 

 good quality, and on time! 

 Each individual gar- 

 dener must make his own 

 final selections in varieties, 

 for the choice is wide, even 

 in so-called limited classes. 

 The gardener's choice will 

 be governed quite as much 

 by soil and climate as by 

 personal likes and dislikes. 

 For instance, north of Bing- 

 hamton, N. Y., it is folly 

 to attempt to grow a late 

 Tomato, unless the seeds 

 are sown indoors in Feb- 

 ruary. Again, if you have 

 rough, stony soil or soil 

 having a hard subsoil, it 

 is not wise to attempt the 

 growing of late, long vari- 

 eties of Beets, Carrots and 

 other root crops. You sim- 

 ply won't like the product 

 after you grow it. 



But I do promise that 

 the varieties here recom- 

 mended will perform as 

 scheduled, and this promise 

 is based on performance 

 records in my own gardens 

 (in various localities) over 

 a period of ten years at 

 least. 



Tomatoes. The first 

 two extra-early kinds are 

 listed for the benefit of 

 the man who handles the 

 really small plot and for 

 no other reason. Plants 



