PEAS, Little Marvel (top) 

 Laxton's Progress (bottom) 



PEPPER, California Wonder Improved 



BEANS, Bountiful 



TOMATO, Marglobe 



RADISHES, Icicle and French Breakfast 



TOMATO, Rutgers 



HOW? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? 



Practical answers to every-day 

 questions about home gardening 



{Continued -from Page 17) 



RADISHES 



As a rule the first crop to mature: 

 plant as early as soil can be dug. 

 Feed liberally for quick growth. Sow 

 a 10 foot row every ten days until 

 weather turns warm. Start planting 

 again with the coming of cool weather 

 in fall. The fall and winter types are 

 sown in mid-summer to mature in fall 

 for storage. 



SPINACH 



Seed in fall (protect with straw) or 

 in very early spring. Must mature 

 before hot weather. 



Spinach (New Zealand) 



While this crop grows freely in hot 

 weather, it will not germinate except 

 when soil temperatures are below 70 

 degrees. Hence it should be sown with 

 the half-hardy crops — those that are 

 planted when the narcissi bloom. 

 Plant in soil with plenty of organic 

 matter, spacing the plants about 3 feet 

 by 3 feet. Keep them cut back, since 

 only the young growing tips are eaten 

 and long, woody stems have little 

 flavor. Many who have tried a mix- 

 ture of half Swiss Chard and half 

 New Zealand Spinach say that this is 

 better than either vegetable alone. 



SQUASH 



Follow culture given for muskmelon 

 for vine types. Grow bush types in 

 rows, spaced 24" apart. Keep picked. 

 Will bear all summer. 



TURNIPS 



Follow directions for radishes. Thin- 

 nings can be cooked for greens. 



TOMATOES 



There are two schools of tomato cul- 

 ture — those who stake and those who 

 don't. Reasons for and against are as 

 follows : 



FOR STAKING: While staked plants 

 produce fewer fruits per plant, they 

 produce more tomatoes for a given 

 area. So if room is at a premium, it 

 will pay to stake. Staked plants usu- 

 ally produce cleaner fruits and bear 

 somewhat earlier. 



AGAINST: Staking calls for much 

 extra labor in staking, tying and prun- 

 ing. The total production per plant is 

 higher in unstaked and unpruned 

 plants. If you have plenty of room, 

 the saving in labor makes the un- 

 staked method the best. All commer- 

 cial canning crops of tomatoes are 

 grown in this way. If the ground 

 under the vines is covered with a 

 mulch of clean straw, this will im- 

 prove the quality of the fruits and 

 will also keep weeds down and save 

 moisture. 



When staking, set plants 18" apart 

 in the row, in rows 3 feet apart. Use 

 a 7 foot stake, driven 1 foot into the 

 ground. Tie plant to stake with soft 

 twine or other plant tie. Habit of 

 growth calls for a side shoot from the 

 first point where a leaf joins the main 

 stem, another side shoot from the 

 second leaf joint, and a flower cluster 

 from the third joint. This 2-1 pattern 

 of growth is repeated up the entire 



stem. The staked plant is allowed to 

 grow from the tip, and as it grows, 

 the stem is tied to the stake. As the 

 side shoots appear, these are pinched 

 out or rubbed off, leaving the flower 

 clusters to produce fruits. When 

 training tomatoes to stakes, be sure 

 to leave all possible foliage to hide 

 the fruits from direct sunshine; other- 

 wise they will sunscald. 

 Tomato diseases have been on the in- 

 crease lately. For this reason, plant- 

 ing disease resistant varieties like 

 Rutgers, Pritchard and Marglobe is 

 good business. Planting outside when 

 the weather is cold and wet en- 

 courages disease by favoring the 

 growth of aphids, which multiply at 

 lower temperatures than do their 

 enemies. Aphids spread virus dis- 

 eases. By delaying planting until the 

 weather is really warm, much of this 

 type of injury can be prevented. 

 Dusting with Tomato Dust helps con- 

 trol fungus diseases. 

 Blossom end rot and cracking at the 

 stem end are due to variation in 

 water supply. Don't allow water in 

 soil to fluctuate any more than you 

 can help. Don't water freely for a 

 time and then stop. If you start 

 watering, keep it up at regular inter- 

 vals. A heavy mulch of straw not 

 only helps prevent violent fluctuations 

 in water supply, but helps keep the 

 fruit clean if the vines are not staked. 

 When grown without staking, the 

 vines will sprawl on the ground. This 

 means they will need more room. 

 Three feet between plants and four 

 feet between rows will not be too 

 much ground to use if you can spare 

 the room. 



18 



