HENDERSON'S GARDEN GUIDE AND RECORD. 



11 



COMPANION and SUCCESSION VEGETABLE CROPPING-Continued. 



ROTATING VEGETABLE CROPS. — Crop rotation of vegetable crops is now recog- 

 nized as necessary as rotating farm crops if tlie balance of plant-feeding elements, stored in 

 the soil, is to be maintained, for various types of vegetables differ greatlj' in their food 

 requirements, and their extractions from the soil. Leaf crops as cabbage, lettuce, etc., 

 large consumers of nitrogen, if grown for successive j-ears in the same piece of ground, are 

 likely to deplete, possibly exhaust, the supply of nitrogen and therefore should be followed 

 by beans or peas (legumes), which add nitrogen to the soil. Our table on page 62, of 

 "the essential fertilizing ingredients consumed bj- various crops" will aid in the selection 

 of crops for rotation, but if one does not care to study the subject we advise as a rough 

 guide, planting root or below ground crops after above ground crops and vice versa. 



The Right and Wrong Ways of 

 Sowing Seeds in Garden Drills 



THE RIGHT WAY 



THE WRONG WAY 



Make the drills with a flat bottom 2 to 3 inches in width and scatter the seeds over 

 the surface, so that every developing seedling may have at least a little feeding ground, and 

 not be starved out in a " survival of the fittest" struggle as many are when seeds are hud- 

 dled together in a V-shaped furrow. A little more time and care when sowing seeds, 

 saves much time and labor in thinning, and in the thinning of well-scattered seedlings, 

 those removed do not so disturb those that remain. 



Transplanting Vegetable Crops 



In cool northern climates 

 where some vegetables are 

 wanted early, it is the custom 

 to start the seeds in a protect- 

 ed or glass covered seed bed 

 and from here transplant the 

 seedlings as soon as they are 

 large enough to handle — and 

 when they begin to crowd 

 one another. These seedlings 

 should be transplanted 1 to 2 

 inches apart in another seed 

 bed where they can "harden 

 off" before being planted out in the open garden. In the operation of transplanting, care 

 should be used that the roots are placed down in the hole and not curled up towards the 

 neck of the plant and also be sure that the earth is closed against the roots for their whole 

 length, for an air space left at the bottom of the hole is likely to cause the rootlets to wither 

 and the plant to languish (See explanatory illustration). Some vegetable plants are greatly 

 benefited by one or more transplantings which causes a bushy growth of roots— among 

 these are notably cabbage, cauliflower, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Some other kinds 

 are difficult to transplant and are best transferred from the seed bed to paper pots or 

 other receptacles so they may be grown individually and be planted in the open garden 

 with but little disturbance of the root system— among these "hard to transplant" 

 vegetables are beans, cucumbers, melons, squash, etc. 



