June, 19 17 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
277 
There are several makes of wheel hoe. Don't try to push 
in a steady drive like this 
The proper way to use a hand cultivator is to stand still, draw the cultivator toward you, then push it away to arms length, 
and step forward a step, advancing by short jerks 
only at this time since the early spring kinds 
(with the exception of Icicle) get hot and 
pithy over night. In some sections, or in a 
cool season with irrigation, spring radish will 
succeed. Sow Long White Vienna, White 
Delicious or White Strasburg in rows 2 ft. 
apart, covering seeds ^ inch deep. Thin out 
seedlings to stand 4 inches apart in row, as 
soon as they get large enough to be handled. 
This is very important with this crop, since 
“spindley” plants require a good deal longer 
than normal time to produce eatable roots. 
Radish seeds may be prepared for prompt 
germination by putting them between wet 
blotters or wet newspaper over night. Where 
this is done, ; inch covering of seeds is ample. 
Swiss Chard. A spinach beet producing large 
leaves, but not bulb roots. A most profitable 
vegetable for war gardens since it practically 
provides two dishes from one plant. Cook 
the leafy part like spinach, the midribs like 
asparagus. Sow and treat exactly like beets, 
but, when fully grown, each plant should have 
at least a foot of space in the row. Twenty 
feet of row provides an abundance of 
greens. You can “cut and come again.” 
To-matoes. Secure plants. If that is 
impossible you may still hope to raise a 
crop before frost by sowing without de- 
lay, seeds of Spark’s Earliana, Chalk’s Early 
Jewel or June Pink. I hese will bear fruits in 
100 to 1 10 days after seeds are sown and con- 
ditions in June are such as to promote both 
quick germination and rapid growth. Sow 
like lettuce and transplant like cabbage. 
Every “sucker” or branch removed from 
an old plant, will take root and develop into 
a self supporting plant almost over night. 
In an emergency, where neither seeds nor 
plants are obtainable, ask your neighbor for 
a few “shoots” when he prunes the latter 
art of the month. All tomatoes should 
e reduced to three of the strongest branches, 
trained to five-foot stakes and pruned regu- 
larly. This will stimulate fruit production 
and also economize space. 
Turnips. Sow the late or winter keeping 
rutabagas or Swedish turnips in rows \ inch 
deep, 2 feet between the rows. Thin out 
seedlings to stand from 4 to 6 inches apart, 
according to variety. Monarch or Elephant 
grows very large; American Purple Top needs 
but 4 inches of space in the row. While the 
main sowings of turnips for winter use are 
made in July, it is well to sow the very large 
growing rutabaga toward middle of June. 
★ Save every bit of vegetable matter, 
weeds, garbage, etc., for the compost heap. 
Cover with soil and allow* to decay. By next 
year the whole mass will be in fine shape to 
spread on the garden as a rich dressing, 
/.bout the only things that won’t decay in 
that time are the ripe stalks of corn, tomatoes, 
etc., which being woody and ready only at 
the close of the season require longer time to 
disintegrate. They may be placed in a 
separate pile preparatory to the formation 
of next year’s compost heap. 
★ From the day the melon and cucumber 
plants are set out hoe the ground surrounding 
them at least once a week. The best hoe 
for this purpose is the scuffle because when 
properly handled it will not cut deeper than 
half an inch to an inch. The scheme is 
to keep the surface loose and dusty without 
going near the roots which spread out farther 
than the vines and only a trifle below the 
surface. The less they are molested the better. 
★ W HILE “ it’s nice to get up in the morning 
when the sun begins to shine,” it’s not good 
for all kinds of plants to be roused out of their 
night’s sleep so early. Melons, cucumbers 
and beans especially should be left alone untd 
after the dew is off as their vines are somewhat 
brittle and are likely to suffer from breakage- 
to say nothing of the damage spread most 
seriously while the plants are wet with dew. 
★ Now that warm weather is upon us the 
mam point in gardening is to conserve mois- 
ture. Unless you have an overhead irrigation 
system the best plan is to keep the soil con- 
stantly loose and open by weekly shallow til- 
lage either with hoe or wheel tools. Such at- 
tention while it destroys weeds is not done 
for weed extermination alone but for the effect 
it has upon the soil. The loose surface layer 
acts as a mulch through which the moisture 
below cannot pass as readily as if the surface 
were hard and smooth. 
★ If you have no other use for lawn clip- 
pings, spread them on your strawTerry bed to 
serve as a mulch. \ hey contain no w*eed 
seeds, are short and lie snugly up to the plants 
and w T hen turned under after the bed has 
borne its crop, make excellent plant food. 
The new bed will probably do better if kept 
clean of weeds during the first summer by fre- 
quent shallow cultivation or hoeing. 
7 ime enough to mulch it after the 
ground freezes hard in the fall. 
★All crops 
that are grown for 
their leaves — spin- 
ach, cabbage, cel- 
ery*, chard, endive, 
etc., may be lav- 
ishly fed wfith ni- 
trogeneous ferti- 
lizers. Rotted ma- 
nure is best to 
apply prior to the 
growing season 
and even during 
the early part of 
this w*hen it can be 
spread without 
trouble. The next 
best things are 
poultry and sheep 
manure, espe- 
cially if dry 
and ground. 
Keeping Up Fertility 
