HOW TO SECURE THREE SUCCESSIVE CROPS. 



15 



June, and these are followed by the September sowings of the early 

 Cauliflowers, seed of which can only be grown in Holland and Den- 

 mark. It is not sufficiently known that these Cauliflowers, such as 

 'First Crop,' 'Snowball,' ' Magnum Bonum,' 'Purity,' 'Early London/ 

 * Walcheren,' &c, give heads double or treble the size, and of greatly 

 superior quality if sown in September, sheltered during winter and 

 transplanted during March, as compared with early sowings in January 

 under glass or in the open as soon as weather permits — indeed the 

 earliest varieties can scarcely be grown to advantage unless autumn 

 sown. Later on, the autumn sown Onions are available, but perhaps 

 not much earlier than those sown early in the year. 



It will be seen from what I have already said that the early months 

 of the year are well supplied with useful vegetables from sowings 

 made in the previous year. But to follow these, gardeners who have 

 the necessary facilities are busy from the early days of the year in 

 raising vegetables from sowings under glass, and are thus able to 

 provide abundant supplies during the early summer as evidenced 

 by the wonderful exhibits staged at the R.H.S. Temple and Chelsea 

 Shows. 



Meanwhile in March and April everyone is busy making the annual 

 spring sowings of vegetables for the general cropping of the garden, 

 and these crops last according to their kinds, either a few weeks or 

 months — but as soon as each kind has reached maturity we begin to 

 see vacant spaces in the vegetable garden, and we realize all too soon 

 that the season is over, and we must wait till the next year before 

 we can again indulge our taste for such favourite dishes as Radishes, 

 Spring Onions, Lettuces, Peas, Dwarf Beans, Spinach, tender Spring 

 Cabbages, &c. 



It is true that by successional sowings, or successional plantings 

 from seed beds, the season may be extended, and also that by sowing 

 very late varieties of Peas, supplies may be had late in the season, 

 but we all know how susceptible the latter are to climatic conditions 

 and how liable to failure from mildew. 



We now, perhaps, understand how immense the gain would be 

 if we could ensure from August and September onwards another 

 crop of the vegetables we have appreciated so much during the summer 

 months, and it is really remarkable that we have had to wait until 

 the war for the simplicity with which these can be produced to be 

 fully understood. It is not so much that gardeners and amateurs 

 have not sown again in July and August, but they have sown their 

 seed beds with the object of transplanting from them in the autumn 

 for spring use, not knowing that by the simplest of all methods of 

 cultivation the same crops which they generally utilize in the spring 

 and early summer can be had fit for the table in September and October 

 and in many cases throughout the winter months. 



The whole secret lies in the fact that the seeds must be sown 

 where the crop is to stand and no transplanting be done, except for the 

 crops required in the spring and early summer. All that is needed is 



