THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN 
By 
R. A. McGINTY* 
The scarcity and increasing cost of all kinds of foodstuffs 
make it necessary that everyone do "what he can to relieve the sit¬ 
uation. Much can be accomplished along this line by practicing 
economy in the use of foods and by increasing their production. 
In this connection, the home vegetable garden is of the greatest 
importance. Wherever there is a small area of ground adjacent 
to the home and suitable for cultivation, it should be made to pro¬ 
duce something in the way of vegetables for home use. In towns 
and cities, back yards are often allowed to grow up to weeds, or 
remain unproductive because the owner is unfamiliar with the 
principles of vegetable culture which would enable him to realize 
considerable profit and pleasure from such a piece of ground. 
The experienced gardener will find in these pages very little 
that he does not already know. This bulletin is published with 
the hope that it will assist those who are less experienced, but who 
wish to learn something of the art of growing vegetables. While 
many details of culture, which are important to the commercial 
gardener, must be omitted, it is hoped that the information con¬ 
tained herein will enable the amateur gardener to plant and cul¬ 
tivate his crop more intelligently. 
THE PURPOSE OF THE GARDEN 
The main purpose of the garden is, of course, to supply a 
quantity of fresh vegetables for the table during the growing sea¬ 
son, but there are other purposes which the garden may be made to 
serve. These are to supply vegetables for canning and drying, 
and for storage, to be used during the winter. 
There is a tendency with many gardeners to plant too many 
varieties of vegetables of a perishable nature and not enough of 
those kinds which may be stored successfully. Consequently, dur¬ 
ing the grov/ing season, great quantities of such vegetables as rad¬ 
ishes, lettuce, string beans, etc., go to waste, and when the fall 
of the year arrives, there are comparatively few carrots, onions, 
*Tbe author wishes to ao'knowledg'e his Indebtedness to Dr. "E. P. Sand- 
sten for many helnful suggestions, and for the portion of the bulletin relat¬ 
ing to potato growing. 
