16 WAR GARDENING 
If plants are grown in seed flats, hotbeds 
or cold frames, follow the directions for 
transplanting given on pages 9 and 10. 
Plants suitable for setting out should be 
4-6 inches high, having a thick stem and 
dark green leaves. Begin cultivation as 
soon as the plants are set. Cultivate deeply 
and close to plants at first but later cultiva- 
tion should be more shallow to prevent 
injury to roots. Cultivate frequently to keep 
the soil loose over the surface, so preventing 
evaporation. Always cultivate after a rain. 
When preparing seed flats, hotbeds, or 
cold frames for tomato seed, use soil which 
has never grown tomatoes. This insures 
plants free from disease. It is not advisable 
to plant tomatoes on land which has been 
planted the previous year with white potatoes, 
melons or tomatoes. To plant on such soil 
increases the danger from disease and pests. 
It is always advisable to train the plants to 
stakes or other supports. They may be 
trained on wires or on poultry wire fastened 
on posts set about fifteen feet apart in rows. 
Barrel hoops a foot apart fastened to stakes 
eighteen inches apart are some times used. 
To tie plant to support, loop the string 
around the support and tie it under a leaf 
stem. Remove all side branches at the axil 
of the leaves as soon as they appear. Do 
not remove flower clusters. When the plant 
has reached a height of 5 feet cut off the top. 
When three or four clusters of fruit have 
formed and some of the fruit is as large as a 
silver dollar prune the leaves at the base one 
half. This hastens ripening. 
Once a month apply a little commercial 
fertilizer or compost around each plant. 
Avoid the use of fresh or unrotted manure 
as this produces too much leaf growth, the 
fruit does not set and disease is encouraged. 
Turnips 
For early spring, plant ^ ounce of seed 
to 50 feet of row, sowing them y inch deep, 
in rows 1 foot or more apart. For fall crop 
yi ounce of seed to 50 feet of row, inch 
deep, or make the rows 8 to 10 inches wide 
and scatter seeds thinly in broad rows. 
Vegetable Marrow 
Plant 6 or 8 seed to a hill, one inch deep, 
in hills 8 to 9 feet apart. Thin to 2 plants 
to hill. Give the same care as for pump- 
kins. The young and tender vegetable 
marrow may be baked whole like sweet 
potatoes or may be sliced and fried like 
eggplant, or boiled like summer squash. 
Watermelon 
Plant 1 inch deep, 8 or 10 seed to each 
hill, the hills 10 feet apart. Later thin to 
2 plants to each hill. 
Watermelons require much room and are 
not recommended for small gardens. 
DISEASE AND INSECT PREVENTION 
Every garden is subject to attack from 
insects and diseases. Your garden may not 
be attacked, but it is wise to take advance 
precautions. Spraying at occasional in- 
tervals from the time the plants have made 
their start until they are harvested is worth 
while. A hand sprayer should be used to 
distribute the necessary solutions on the 
plants. Such sprayers may be bought in 
various types. Some of them may be bought 
for a dollar or less and others range up to 
the neighborhood of $10 for the small, 
compressed air type. The simplest and 
cheapest type is the small atomizer sprayer 
with hand pump and with glass receptacle 
for holding mixture. (Figure 21.) Another 
type, costing a little more, is the bucket pump. 
(Figure 21.) If you have no spray pump a 
Fig. 21 — Some of the best types of sprayer. At the left is a hand sprayer, which is one of the most satisfactory for 
the small garden. The glass receptacle is better than metal. This sprayer can be bought for from 50 cents to 
$2.00. In the center is a bucket sprayer which costs about $5.00. At the right is a compressed air sprayer, which 
is highly efficient and costs from $5.00 to $10.00. One sprayer may be used by several families, or by community 
gardeners, reducing the cost to each user. 
