How? When? 



HOME GARDENING GUIDE 



Where? Why? 



5 Facts on Site and Soil 



Even though you may not have any free- 

 dom of choice for the location of your 

 garden, there is still much that you can 

 do to make the most of your site and soil. 



1 — Locate the garden in an open spot that 

 receives at least six hours of direct sun- 

 light each day, away from the roots of 

 trees that might rob the soil of moisture 

 and fertility. 



2 — A rich sandy loam is the best garden 



soil, but if you have either heavy clay or 

 light sand, the same materials will im- 

 prove both — decayed vegetable matter — 

 old rotted manure, peat moss, commercial 

 humus or well-rotted leaves. 



3 — Don't apply lime tmless it is really 

 needed. Usually a soil that will grow good 

 beets is all right. If beets do poorly and 

 grow irregularly, you can add about 50 

 lbs. of hydrated lime or 100 lbs. of ground 

 limestone to each 1,000 square feet of gar- 

 den. If you have a pH tester, most flowers 

 and vegetables will do well in a soil be- 

 tween 6.0 and 7.0. 



4 — Do supply plant food. Before digging or 

 plowing the garden, apply 4 lbs. of bal- 

 anced fertilizer over every 100 sq. ft. of 

 garden. Divide fertilizer into two lots, sow- 

 ing one with the wind and the other 

 across the wind. Or, better yet, use a fer- 

 tilizer spreader. 



5 — Don't plant in wet ground. No soil is 

 right for gardening that can't pass the 

 "mud pie" test. To make a mud pie test, 

 pick up a handful of soil and squeeze it 

 slightly. If it balls or packs together and 

 won't crumble when you apply light pres- 

 sure, it is too wet to work. 



Planting the Seed 



Place a stake at each end of the row and 

 stretch a line tightly between them. Don't 

 try to make rows without a line or straight 

 edge. 



Make the furrow for the seed with a hoe. 

 Fine seed (onion, lettuce, cabbage, etc.) 

 should not be planted more than 1/2" deep. 

 Medium seeds (okra, spinach, cucumber) 

 1" deep. In heavy soils, beans, squash, 

 onion sets and peas need not more than 

 1" but the soil must be moist. In lighter 

 soils, 2" is deep enough. 

 The old theory that seed should be plant- 

 ed deep enough to come in contact with 

 soil moisture still holds, but in dry weath- 

 er the soil should be watered thoroughly 

 before planting so the moisture will be 

 right at the surface. If the row is then 

 covered with a board until the seed ger- 

 minates, it will not be necessary to bury 

 the seed even though the weather is dry. 

 Tear the corner from the pocket. If seeds 

 are very small, mix with three times their 

 bulk of perfectly dry sand, then hold the 

 packet over the row, tapping gently with 

 your forefinger. This enables you to dis- 

 tribute the seed more evenly and avoid 

 sowing too thickly. 



Don't sow seed too thickly. To do so 

 wastes both seed and labor as the crowded 

 seedlings must later be thinned by hand 

 to allow space for proper development. 

 Also, poor growth and poor quality veg- 

 etables result if seed is sown too thick 

 and not properly thinned. (This is true 

 whether planting in seed flat, hotbed or 

 in open ground.) 



When to Sow 



Seed catalogs and garden books usually 

 offer you a list of definite planting dates. 

 We'd like to do this, too, but experience 

 has taught us that such dates are often 

 dangerous. Weather variations from year 

 to year are likely to make the most care- 

 fully compiled dates look foolish. 

 Here's a guide to planting time that doesn't 

 rely on dates, but rather on Nature's own 

 signs. 



FULLY HARDY CROPS: Sow as soon as 

 the ground can be worked in spring, or 

 when the farmer plants oats. In some 

 years crocuses and snowdrops may be in 

 bloom at this time, but if the ground is 

 ready sooner, plant anyway. These crops 

 include lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, 

 cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, parsnips, rad- 

 ishes, rutabagas, spinach and turnips. Also 

 round-seeded peas. 



HARDY CROPS: When the daffodils and 

 earliest tulips bloom, or when maple trees 

 are in full flower, plant these: Beets, 

 wrinkled peas, Swiss chard, and onion 

 sets. 



TENDER CROPS: When the Lilacs, Darwin 

 Tulips and Apple Blossoms are in full 

 bloom, plant these: Bush beans, sweet 

 corn, pumpkins, and squash are included. 

 TROPICAL CROPS: When the petals on 

 apple blossoms will have fallen and the 

 tall late irises are in full bloom plant: 

 Okra, Lima beans, Pole beans, muskmel- 

 ons and cucumbers, and set out plants of 

 tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. These 

 can't stand frost and should not be planted 

 until the weather is warm and " settled. 



CABBAGE 

 Early Jersey Wakefield 



TURNIP 

 Purple Top White Globe 



PEA Laxton's Progress 



KOHLRABI 

 White Vienna 



SWEET CORN Country Gentleman 



