The Home Vegetable Garden 
5 
30 tons to the acre in the fall before the ground is worked. If 
applied in the spring, it should be well decayed in order that the 
elements needed by the plants may be in available form. 
Other kinds of manure besides stable manure are sometimes 
used. Cow manure used exclusively has a tendency to cause the 
soil to become compact and hard; sheep, chicken, and hog manure 
are concentrated forms that should be used somewhat sparingly 
and with care. Compost made of decayed leaves, plants, and other 
vegetable matter is valuable for applying to soils lacking in humus. 
No diseased plants should be used in making the compost. Wood 
ashes contains important elements of plant food and should be 
saved. Coal ashes, however, have no value as a fertilizer. 
PREPARATION OF SOIL 
The ground should be plowed or spaded up in the fall, if 
possible (an application of manure having been made previously), 
and left rough over winter. The depth to which the ground is 
broken should be sufficient for the development of long-rooted 
crops, such as carrots, parsnips, and beets. Usually six to ten 
inches is about the right depth. In the spring, the ground is sim¬ 
ply harrowed or raked smooth when ready to plant. 
When the soil cannot conveniently be prepared in the fall, 
it may be done in the spring. One advantage of fall preparation 
is that there are often two or three days in the early spring when 
such vegetables as onions, turnips, radishes, etc., may be planted, 
but not enough nice weather both to prepare and to plant the 
ground. Perhaps by the time the ground can be put in shape for 
planting, and before actual planting can be done, unfavorable 
weather sets in, and the ground is not in condition again to plant 
until too late for best success with vegetables that require early 
planting. Also, the action of the weather during the winter breaks 
up any clods and leaves the ground in good physical condition. 
The importance of thorough preparation cannot be over-em¬ 
phasized. A plot of ground properly prepared is easily and satis¬ 
factorily handled throughout the season, while a poorly prepared 
garden is difficult to handle, and not apt to give satisfactory 
results. 
PLANNING THE GARDEN 
In order to make the best use of the land devoted to the 
garden, it is well to make a planting plan on paper some time in 
advance of the date for sowing the first seeds. This plan should 
show the number, location and distance apart of the rows of vege¬ 
tables, so that at planting time the work can proceed without de¬ 
lay. The different crops should be grouped somewhat according 
