HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING 
CULTIVATION 
W ITHOUT timely and diligent cultivation a garden 
will either be a partial or total failure. 1 o yield 
good crops, the plants must be given every possible chance 
to develop quickly and make as strong and healthy a 
growth as season and soil fertility permit. 
To attain this end cultivation is necessary not only 
between and alongside of the rows, but also between the 
plants in the row. Cultivation keeps down the weeds, 
gives the air access into the soil, and conserves the mois- 
ture, by formation of a dust mulch. 
Eliminating weeds puts every bit of fertility at the 
disposal of the cultivated crop. By giving the air a chance 
to circulate through the soil, the soil is kept alive and 
sweet. The closing of cracks in drying soil preserves the 
moisture underneath. Heavy clay soils need more cul- 
tivation than soils of sandy nature. Any act that ac- 
complishes any or all of above three important garden 
needs is classed as cultivation, regardless of tools used. 
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