|^gg|^[^ HOME GARDENING GUIDE 



Where? Why? 



DOWN-TO-EARTH ANSWERS TO EVERY-DAY QUESTIONS 



The Home Gardening Guide sections of this and following pages of our Garden 

 Annual tells, in as few words as possible, what every gardener should know. It 

 is planned to be of informative value to you the whole gardening season, not as a 

 mere garden starter. Here you will also find practical every day facts you'll want 

 as a foundation for successful gardening. 



All the data in the Home Gardening Guide sections is necessary information for 

 the gardeaer of limited experience. We urge all such gardeners to study and follow 

 the suggestions offered here. 



The good seed we sell you will yield results in direct ratio to your observance 

 of these notes. Much of what we say is, of course, already known by the old 

 timers. But some of our facts are necessary reference material for all gardeners. 



If you still have questions unanswered after reading this book, come in and let's 

 talk them over. Take advantage of our wealth of experience . . . it's yours for the 

 asking. 



8 Fundamentals of Planning 



No one can fully plan your garden for 

 you, because garden planning is a highly 

 personal, individual matter. Give your own 

 ideas and desires plenty of play — and 

 you'll enjoy your garden more. 

 There are certain absolutely basic facts 

 that apply to all home garden planning. 

 1 — Plan to use your garden full time. To 

 do this you'll need catch crops, intercrops 

 (also called companion crops) and succes- 

 sion crops. Catch crops are early vegeta- 

 bles, like spinach, that you grow very 

 early before a crop like late cabbage is 

 set out. Intercrops are planted between the 

 rows of larger vegetables, like head let- 

 tuce between rows of broccoli. Succession 

 crops are catch crops in reverse — they fol- 

 low early crops. For instance, Chinese 



cabbage will mature fine heads if planted 

 after an early crop of peas has been taken. 



2 — Divide the garden into three sections ii 

 possible, (1) Root vegetables, (2) Leaf veg- 

 etables, and (3) Fruit vegetables. By 



switching these three groups every year 

 you avoid many soil-borne diseases and 

 insects and get better use of fertilizers. 

 This isn't absolutely necessary, but it is 

 one of those details that the smart gar- 

 dener watches. 



3 — On level ground, you can run either 

 east and west or north and south. If east- 

 and-west layout is used, be sure to plant 

 taller vegetables to the north. On sloping 

 ground, the rows must run across the 

 slope, not up and down. Otherwise all 

 your plant food and much of your topsoil 

 will go down the hill when it rains. 



4 — Plan to grow enough vegetables for 

 storing and canning. Remember that cor- 

 rect storage begins with planting so pro- 

 vide for this when planning your garden 

 and ordering seed. 



5 — In smaller gardens, don't plant space- 

 wasting crops like Potatoes, Pumpkins, 

 Sweet Corn and Vine Squash. On the farm 

 these can be grown with the field crops, 

 saving the more highly cultivated garden 

 space for the more productive vegetables 

 that need closer attention. Many gardeners 

 report that Zucchini and other bush 

 squashes gave better results than Eggplant 

 and satisfied many of the requirements for 

 vining Squashes. 



6 — Include perennial vegetables when pos- 

 sible. Rhubarb, Asparagus, Korse Radish 

 and Perennial Onions can be grown on 

 one side of the garden where they won't 

 interfere with plowing or cultivating. Small 

 fruits should be included whenever space 

 will permit, since the quality of home- 

 grown berries is far better than any you 

 can buy. 



7 — Avoid growing vegetables your family 

 doesn't like and won't eat, but be sure to 

 include plenty of those they do like. If 



they're fond of beans, for instance, don't 

 be satisfied with a single large planting, 

 but make several smaller plantings at 

 two weeks intervals. 



8 — Study the chart on page 22. This will 

 tell how far apart rows should be, how 

 long each crop takes to mature, and how 

 much space you will need to provide the 

 vegetables your family likes. After you 

 have taken into consideration the crops 

 you want to grow, make a rough sketch 

 showing the location of each crop, v/ith 

 catch crops, intercrops, succession crops 

 indicated. 



ONIONS, Green Bunchin^i 



