Give Your Garden a Good Sta® 
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 half an inch of soil and press 
down firmly. If the plants of loose leaf lettuce look crowded 
when they come up, thin them a little. Thin head lettuce 
plants so that they stand about eight inches apart in the 
row. Have the rows at least eighteen 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 six 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 about half an inch of soil. Press down firmly. 
When the plants are about two or three inches high, thin 
In preparing the soil, drive the spade or spading them so that they are about six inches apart in the row. 
fork straight down full length with your foot 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 about an inch deep. Thin to about one and one-half 
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. When the plants 
we SPR ) aa 2 Chae . xe are well up, thin them to eight to twelve inches apart in 
SES ets . OF ee TW i the row. As soon as those of the curled varieties are about 
se eae 3 ‘ SIFT... 2 + o£ three inches tall, cut off all the leaves; the new growth will 
Use the back of the rake to help break up clods; use eee pre eae Every cutting will improve 
the tooth-side to make the soil fine and smooth PARSNIP: "Parsnige ocGwibese euler cone eIaanican 
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 
five 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 
To measure distances between rows a yard stick is a up or otherwise supported when four to six inches tall. Use 
great convenience sharpened branches of trees set between the double rows. 
28 
