June, 1919 
49 
WORK AMONG THE JUNE VEGETABLES 
Important Matters to Meet the Conditions of the Changing Season and Prepare 
for the Hot Weather to Come — Succession Crops 
and the Maintenance of Soil Fertility 
WILLIAM C. McCOLLOM 
O NE of the most important things in suc¬ 
cessful vegetable gardening is to keep up 
the sowings of those crops that mature quickly 
and therefore require occasional or frequent 
sowings to maintain an endless chain of fresh 
vegetables constantly in motion between the 
garden and the kitchen. To accomplish this 
requires a little thought and a whole lot of 
courage. We know that hot weather will pre¬ 
vail during July and August. It would, there¬ 
fore, be unwise to sow cool crops at this time 
that would mature during the hot season. Peas, 
radishes, spinach, large head lettuce, etc., are 
considered cool crops. 
By selecting a partially shaded place, or by 
erecting some improvised artificial shade, it is 
possible to have lettuce and radishes all sum¬ 
mer. With lettuce, it would be wise to select 
the small headed, heat resisting varieties. Two 
sowings of com and bush beans should be made 
this month, and at least one sowing of cucum¬ 
bers, beets, carrots, okra and the small bush 
squashes. The final sowing of beets and car¬ 
rots may be made now for storing next winter 
if they are to be cut when cooked. If they are 
to be used whole, it would be better to wait 
until next month before sowing. The late sow¬ 
ings of kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauli¬ 
flower and celery should be attended to at once. 
When to Gather Vegetables 
It is important that the vegetables be gath¬ 
ered at the proper stage of their growth if we 
are to have what justly belongs to us. Those 
vegetables of which we use the seed pods, such 
The beans need support to prevent breakage 
as they grow larger. Stakes and a line of 
heavy cord will serve the purpose as well 
as more elaborate arrangements 
as peas, beans, etc., do not lose their food 
value when old, but they get coarse. Green 
crops such as spinach or Swiss chard lose their 
food value when old. Root crops, when allowed 
to attain any size, become unfit for the table 
because of the “wood” which they develop. 
With the gathering of vegetables for can¬ 
ning it becomes doubly necessary to use extra 
care in the selection of young, tender ones. One 
reason for this is the time that it takes to cook 
them, the saving of fuel being a factor well 
worth considering. Another reason for using 
young vegetables is the appearance they make 
in the jar. Young vegetables are full of color 
and wholesome. Those of a uniform size 
should be selected for either table use or can¬ 
ning, else results will not be satisfactory. 
Determining the Time 
The best method to employ when gathering 
root crops for table or preserving kettle is to 
go along the row, gathering those of the ac¬ 
cepted size, leaving the smaller ones to come 
along later. This is by no means as hard as 
it might seem. The fore-finger forced into the 
ground at the top of the vegetable will soon 
detect its size. The practice of pulling all 
the vegetables as you go along the row and 
then sorting them is very wasteful. 
Peas become meally with age. This is the 
general complaint about canned peas and is 
usually caused by allowing the pods to get too 
full. If gathered ripe the pods should be a 
very dark green and should show no lines. 
{Continued on page 66) 
Radishes should be gathered when small. 
All root crops become more or less woody 
and tough with age. Succession planting 
should be practiced to maintain the supply 
Beets, as 'well as other vegetables intended 
for canning, should be picked while they 
are young and tender 
Inexperienced gardeners often make the mis¬ 
take of not tying up the vine crops to 
their supports early enough 
