816 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Vegetable Gardening 
Garden Notes from New England 
Potatoes Under Mulch.— The plan of 
growing potatoes under straw is one which 
seems to be awakening interest among 
amateur gardeners in Massachusetts. Pos¬ 
sibly it will be taken up in .the same way 
as was the potato bin scheme two years 
ago, unless,' indeed, the dismal failure of 
that much-exploited method shall create 
suspicion as to anything else which is 
new. Scores of people spent time, labor 
and money on potato bins, large and small, 
only to harvest barely as many potatoes 
as they put in. I have yet to hear of a 
single instance where a success was 
scored. The straw plan, however, is much 
more feasible. It has been tested out in 
other parts of the country with success, 
and I have learned of two people, one a 
man and one a woman, in different sec¬ 
tions of Massachusetts, who grew pota¬ 
toes under straw last year, and got excel¬ 
lent crops. The potatoes for seed are cut 
up and planted in the usual way, but the 
cut pieces are placed in shallow rows just 
under the ground. Then the straw, if 
straw is used, is spread over the surface 
to a depth of live inches. As a matter of 
fact, leaves, strawy manure, or any sim¬ 
ilar material may be used for the mulch. 
Potatoes make strong growth and soon 
push through to the light. The mulch 
keeps the'ground moist so that no culti¬ 
vation is needed, and prevents the growth 
of weeds. When the potatoes are full 
grown it is only necessary to remove the 
■straw in order to harvest them. The 
plan is said to work out very well in 
small gardens, and especially if they are 
carried on by women or children, to whom 
the labor of planting and digging potatoes 
is quite a burden. One of the most suc¬ 
cessful potato growers in Massachusetts 
is Donald McRae of Bridgewater. He 
raises big crops every year, and has done 
much experimenting. For one thing, he has 
been growing potatoes from seed balls in 
the last 10 years, but without obtaining 
any new varieties better than those now 
on the market. It is reported by Mr. 
McRae that he gets the best results in 
growing potatoes when he cuts the tubers 
lengthwise from the seed end, using a 
large piece. 
Chinese Cabbage. —It has taken sev¬ 
eral years for New England gardeners to 
become familiar with the Chinese cab¬ 
bage known as Pe-Tsai, but catalogued 
by one Boston firm under the name of 
Wong Bok. Repeated references in the 
papers, however, have increased the sale 
of seeds. I find, though, that many 
beginners are making the mistake of plant¬ 
ing this cabbage in tin 1 Spring. The re¬ 
sults are almost certain to be unsatisfac¬ 
tory. My experience has shown that 
early plants almost invariably go to seed. 
If the seed is sown late in .Tune or early 
in July, no trouble is found. My family 
has become fond of the Chinese cabbage 
when it is used as a substitute for lettuce, 
the crisp heart leaves being served simply 
with sugar or with French dressing. 
Kohl-babi. —Another vegetable which 
has come into much favor during the last 
year or two is kohl-rabi, which tastes like 
a mild turnip, although it really grows on 
top of the ground. Its habit of growth 
sometimes puzzles the novice. One man 
told me last year he was trying to keep 
the earth mounded up over the sphere | 
which was forming, but found it difficult. 
The part that is eaten is really the swol¬ 
len stem, and must invariably be served 
before it gets larger than a tennis ball, for 
it is tough and unpalatable when too 
large. 
Wixloof. —I wish to speak a good word 
for witloof chicory. It is exceedingly 
easy to grow. A row may be sown at any 
time now, and when Fall comes the plants 
will be ready for taking into the cellar. 
When forced in boxes of earth in partial 
darkness they produce a most delicious 
salad in a few weeks. It is very impor¬ 
tant to get the true witloof chicory and 
not the common chicory, for there is a 
great difference in reonlts. 
Florence Fennel. —A vegetable called 
Florence fennel is being recommended to 
some extent, and I have grown it foi the 
past tW<> years Some people like it very 
much, but as a rule my friends shy at. it. 
It certainly has a curious, sweetish, flavor, 
reminding one somewhat of anise. Where- 
ever a colony of Italians is found you may 
be sure that their gardens will contain 
Florence fennel, for it is a favorite Ital¬ 
ian vegetable, being used for a salad and 
also boiled. It grows somewhat like cel- I 
ery, and needs to be blanched a little. It 
is the enlarged leaf stalk which is eaten. 
It. may be tried out in a small way, but 
generous planting is not advocated. 
Cultivated Dandelions. —I am rather 
surprised that so few people grow dande¬ 
lions as a cultivated crop. The dandelion 
has unrealized qualities. If the plants 
are covered with a little straw in the 
Spring, so that they are blanched, they 
make a remarkably delicate salad, quite 
different from the dandelion as usually 
<*aten. The market for dandelion* is a 
good one. G. R. Arnold of Braintree 
grows about seven acres for the Boston 
trade, using one of the newer varieties 
like Thick-leaved French, which is vastly 
superior to the wild dandelion. The crop 
is off early, and the ground is then ready 
for peas or some other crop. Planting is 
generally left until July, although the 
books call for seeding in April or May. A 
light dressing of manure is found suffi¬ 
cient. as the plant is not a very gross 
feeder. The seed is put in in drills a. foot 
apart, and the plants thinned to about the 
same distance. The one difficulty in grow¬ 
ing dandelions is to' get the seeds to ger¬ 
minate well. Rolling the ground is found 
a good practice, to bring the moisture to 
the surface. When freezing weather 
comes the dandelions are often covered 
with hay or straw, hut the crop will usu¬ 
ally go through without any protection. 
Eggplant in New England. —I have 
been surprised to And how few gardeners 
in New England grow eggplant. Some 
people seem to think that eggplant will 
not thrive in New England, hut this is not 
true. One of my neighbors grows several 
acres for the market every season, and has 
no difficulty in maturing the crop. He 
has learned one important point, however, 
and one which is worth passing on. He 
has found that it is impossible to grow egg¬ 
plants twice on the same ground within 
a period of seven years, or more. East 
year I saw two adjoining fields, one of 
which was fresh land, while eggplants had 
been grown on the other some years ago. 
The difference was most marked, the new 
ground giving a very much larger and 
better yield. Of course eggplants need to 
be started in March to have them ready 
for planting out when the ground: is 
warm, but started plants may be obtained 
now or a littlejater, and will prove satis¬ 
factory unless they are kept, out of the 
ground too long. After they hav' been 
replanted and become established, it will 
be well to feed them with a litte nitrate 
<>f soda at intervals. 
Five-Row Marker. —One of the most 
interesting tools which I have seen in a 
long while is a marker which market 
gardeners are finding valuable, especially 
if they depend upon schoolboys or other 
green help to set out plants. It is pushed 
like a wheel hoe, and marks five rows at 
a time. Not only does it indicate the 
rows, but it spaces the distance far the 
plants in the rows, so that, when the 
young plants from the greenhouse or the 
hotbed are set out, there can be no ques¬ 
tion about getting them the proper dis¬ 
tance apart. Appliances of this kind have 
been resorted to almost as a matter of 
necessity, since it has been difficult to get 
experienced help, and those which have 
demonstrated their value will be kept in 
Plant of Kohl-rabi Heady for Use 
use. as a matter of course. (Fig. :D4. 
page 807). 
Advantage of Ridges. —Articles pub¬ 
lished in the different papers advocate 
level culture for all crops, but 1 notice 
that many of the market growers still 
practice hilling. They have their reasons 
for this practice, too, contending that 
ridging makes a warmer feeding ground, 
especially for early plants, and that the 
crop comes along quicker as a result. 
May 10 , 1010 
Even beaus, cabbages and squashes are 
sometimes billed or ridged, either with a 
plow or with the hoe. 
Setting Tomato Plants. —The start¬ 
ed tomato plants sold in the stores are 
often tall and spindling. When set out 
in the garden in the usual way, they have 
a weak and thriftless appearance, and. as 
a matter of fact, need staking. I have 
found that, the best way to handle plants 
of this kind is to bury most of the stalk 
along with the root. It is a simple mat¬ 
ter to scrape out a little trench to make 
room for the stalk, and to bend the plant 
upward before replacing the earth. Roots 
soon grow out all along the buried stalk, 
and a very much stronger, sturdier plant 
is produced. 
Reading Giant Asparagus. —In a let¬ 
ter from Prof. W. H. Wolff of the New 
Hampshire .State Experiment. Station, 
the fact is pointed out that Reading 
Giant asparagus was originated and in¬ 
troduced by Sutton & Sons of Beading, 
England, which accounts for its name. 
Prof. Wolff writes: “I have imported 
seed of this asparagus and have grown 
the crown*, and have marveled at the 
large size and fine quality of the shoots. 
Later I have seen the tops of the plauts 
Stand up and remain green and active 
while the foliage of Palmetto in adjacent 
rows has been killed to the ground with 
rust.” Prof. Wolff also points out that 
Reading Giant is not as new as is com¬ 
monly stated. Certainly it was listed by 
the Huttons many years ago, although it 
has not been widely grown in this country 
until lately. While it has great merit 
and is being recommended highly, Wilfrid 
Wheeler of Concord says that it is inferior 
to the new varieties, including Martha 
Washington, developed at the Concord 
asparagus experiment station. It is pn 
dieted that these new kinds will gradually 
displace all the varieties now being used. 
E. I. FARRINGTON. 
‘‘Tiiere*s unfortunately a lot of differ¬ 
ence between expectation and realization.” 
“You bet! As a concrete example, take 
reading a seed catalogue in the Spring 
and looking at your garden in the Fall." 
—Boston Transcript. 
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