GETTING STARTED RIGHT 
By F. F. Rockwell, S“i 
Drop the plants along the row, not too many at a time, 
ahead of you. Expose them to wind and sun as little as 
possible. Set deep and firm enough so that they are not 
“wobbly,” if necessary pressing the soil about them with 
the feet. Tall tomato plants can be bent over and covered 
to within a few inches of the first blossom stalk. Where 
cutworms are prevalent, spread around poisoned bran 
mash for several days before the plants are set 
Cross mark the furrow where the plants are to be set, 
and at each of these cross marks put a half handful of bone, 
guano, cotton-seed meal, or all three combined, or a small 
forkful of well decomposed compost, and mix with the soil. 
Go over the row again with the hoes reversed, to throw 
back the soil; it is now in fine mellow condition and ready 
for the setting of the plants the cross marks between the 
rows show where the prepared “hills” are 
Careless planting is often the cause of a “poor stand.” 
Keep the seed drill well oiled; watch the seed to see that 
it is running evenly and falling to the bottom of the drill; 
keep the front wheel true on the mark; keep the roller 
wheel well clear. 
Test the seed drill before planting; a very common 
error is to sow too thickly, which means more work in 
thinning out and injury to remaining plants. Eight to 
twelve seeds to the inch of small and medium sized seeds, 
and three to six of larger sized seeds is right. The index 
on the drill can be only approximate, as the size of seeds 
varies greatly. In this picture the machine is being run on 
a board as a try out 
Properly setting out plants is as important as sowing 
seed. Use fertilizer or compost in the hills of such plants 
as cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and 
even lettuce, and started hills of melons and lima beans. 
A quick and easy way to do this is to open up a furrow 
several inches deep the length of the row with the plow 
attachment for the wheelhoe. Use both hoes, set points 
together, or a double mould board plow, so as to throw the 
soil both ways 
If possible transplant on a cloudy day, or 
late in the afternoon. If the plants are large 
and succulent, cut back a third or so of the 
largest leaves. Keep newly set plants from 
wilting badly; while not fatal, this seriously 
delays growth. Sheets of newspaper can be 
rapidly put over each plant and held in 
place by a handful or two of soil on the 
edges. The same protection is effective 
against light frost 
The combination seed drill and wheel hoe will pay for 
itself even in the smallest garden. Machine ready to sow 
seed, open the drill, drop the seed, cover it, roll the row 
and make the next row in one passage 
Cover the seed three to five times as deep as it is thick through. Or, sow small 
seeds (lettuce, carrots, turnips) Finch deep; medium sized seeds (onions, radish, cab- 
bage) Finch deep; large seeds (peas, beans, corn) 2 inches deep; between medium 
and large (beets, spinach, parsnips, salsify) 1 inch deep. In heavy soils, or cold 
and wet soils, plant shallower; deeper in light soils and dry weather 
Have everything ready for planting before 
removing the plants from the frames or flats. 
Take them out carefully, with an old case- 
knife or a transplanting trowel or fork (an 
ordinary trowel is not adapted to this work), 
getting a good ball of earth with each, and 
disturbing the roots as little as possible. 
Pack in an empty fiat or a shallow basket 
for convenience in handling. Do not delay 
too lung the actual planting 
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