Give Your Garden a Good Start 



In preparing the soil, drive the spade or spading 

 fork straight dozen full length with your foot 



Use the back of the rake to help break up clods; use 

 the tooth-side to make the soil fine and smooth 



To measure distances between rows a yard stick is a 

 great convenience 



PLANTING HINTS (Continued) 



LETTUCE. Sow lettuce seed as soon as the ground can 

 be worked. Make rows the same as for carrots and beets. 

 Sow the seed thinly, letting it run out slowly from the corner 

 of the packet. Cover with about one-fourth to one-half inch 

 of soil and press down firmly. If the plants of loose leaf let- 

 tuce look crowded when they come up, thin them a little. 

 Thin head lettuce plants so that they stand about eight to 

 ten inches apart in the row. Have the rows at least twelve 

 inches apart. Lettuce does best when the weather is cool 

 and moist. 



MUSKMELON. In sections where summers are short, 

 seed can be planted indoors or in hotbeds in small boxes. 

 The young plants can be transferred to the garden when 

 danger of frost is past. If practicable, spade in a liberal 

 forkful of well-rotted manure at the bottom of each hill. 

 The rows should be at least five feet apart, and the hills 

 two to three feet apart in the rows. In general, the culture 

 is the same as that for cucumber. 



WATERMELON. Raising watermelons requires about the 



same culture as muskmelons except that the vines need more 

 room. Hills should be liberally manured, and cultivation 

 careful and thorough. 



MUSTARD. Sow at the same time as radishes and lettuce. 



Make the rows in the same way. Sow the seed thinly and 

 cover with one-fourth to one-half inch of soil. Press down 

 firmly. When the plants are about two or three inches high, 

 thin them so that they are four to eight inches apart in the 

 row. Mustard plants make the best greens when they are 

 given plenty of water so that they grow quickly. 

 OKRA or GUMBO. Okra seed does not germinate well at 

 cool temperatures, and planting should be delayed until 

 the ground is warm. Drop four or five seeds to the foot and 

 cover one-half to one inch deep. Thin to about two feet in 

 the row and keep thoroughly cultivated. 

 ONION. Onion seed germinates well in cool weather. Plant 

 as soon as the soil can be prepared. Shallow planting is 

 advisable, — one-fourth to one-half inch. When a few inches 

 tall, the young plants can be thinned to prevent crowding, 

 and the plants removed can be used as green onions. After 

 that, they can be pulled as needed, and those left to become 

 fully ripe can be stored for winter. 



PARSLEY. The seed is even slower to germinate than pars- 

 nip. It grows best in rich mellow soil and should be sown as 

 early as possible in rows with a covering of not more than 

 one-half inch of soil firmly pressed down. W T hen the plants 

 are well up, thin them to three to four inches apart in the 

 row. As soon as those of the curled varieties are about three 

 inches tall, cut off all the leaves; the new growth will be 

 brighter and better curled. Every cutting will improve the 

 quality of the leaves. 



PARSNIP. Parsnips grow best in loose, rich, sandy loam 

 but will make good roots in any soil that is reasonably rich 

 and deep. Stony soil and raw manure are likely to produce 

 branched or misshapen roots. The seed requires steady 

 abundant moisture for germination and should be sown as 

 early as practicable. Sow in rows and when well up thin to 

 three to six inches apart in the row. * Keep the ground moist 

 if possible. Parsnips are improved by freezing, and a portion 

 of the crop can be left in the ground all winter to be dug in 

 spring when the ground has thawed. 



PEAS. Peas need moderate temperature, plenty of mois- 

 ture, and long daylight hours. They are not injured by light 

 frosts and may be planted as early in spring as the soil will 

 permit. By planting some of several varieties at the same 

 time, a well-arranged succession can be obtained, extending 

 over a period of 30 days. Successive plantings of a desirable 

 variety will also provide a succession, but this cannot be 

 extended over as long a period with good results. All vari- 

 eties more than one and one-half feet tall do better if staked 

 up or otherwise supported when four to six inches tall. Use 

 sharpened branches of trees set between the double rows. 



28 



