HOUSE AND GARDEN 
1910 
T 33 
twice over with a harrow may be sufficient; but keep it going 
until all lumps are broken up, if it takes a dozen goings-over. 
And it may need to be rolled once or twice during the process! 
Then it will be ready for the iron rake — and lots of elbow grease. 
Take a strip about as wide as you expect to plant at once, and 
rake it from one end. Make it just as smooth as possible, with a 
backward-and-forward motion of the rake. Rake up just as 
little sod, stones, and other trash as possible. 
When your strip is thoroughly “fined,” and as nearly table- 
smooth as you can make it, the preliminaries are over, and you 
are at last ready to plant. 
OUT-DOOR SOWING 
Vegetable 
When to sow 
or plant 1 
Depth 
to sow 
Distance 
Seed or 
plants for 
No. 
days 
to 
No. days 
to 
in ins. 
Apart in 
rows 3 
Rows 
apart 
50-ft. row 
mi- 
nate 
mature 
III. Crops to be Followed by Others. 
3-4 in. 
1 h ft. 
IS in. 
2 ft. 
1 oz. 
35 
7-15 
5 -IO 
60-75 
100—140 
Broccoli, early 4 .. 
April.'.. 
^-1 
h~ I 
£“I 
2$- ft. 
2 ft. 
25 
35 
85-120 
100—140 
Brussels Sprouts 4 
April. 
ii ft. 
5-10 
Cabbage, early 4 .. 
April. 
£-1 
1 4 ft. 
2 ft. 
35 
5 -io 
100-125 
£-1 
i-i 
2-3 in. 
ih ft. 
iS in. 
2 ft. 
h oz. 
35 
10—20 
5 -io 
60—80 
100—ii5 
Cauliflower 4 . 
April. 
3-4 ft. 
15 in. 
3 ft. 
1 pt. 
2 pt. 
1 pt. 
4-10 
60—80 
40—60 
s°-6s 
2-4 in. 
2-4 in. 
Peas. 
April 1 -May 1. . . . 
2 
s-15 
Crops in Sec. II.. 
IV. Crops That May Follow Others. 
Beet, late. 
July-August. 
2 
3-4 in. 
15 in. 
I oz. 
7-15 
75-90 
Borecole. 
May-Tune 2 . 
£-1 
2 -ft. 
2 j ft. 
25 
5-10 
85 _ t on 
Broccoli. 
May-June 2 . 
^ I 
2 ft. 
2 4 ft. 
25 
5-10 
100—140 
Brussels Sprouts. 
May-Tune 2 . 
h 1 
ft. 
2* ft. 
35 
5-10 
100—140 
Cabbage, late... 
May-June 2 . 
£-1 
2?T ft. 
24 ft. 
25 
5-10 
120-180 
Cauliflower. 
May-June 2 . 
hr~ 1 
2 ft. 
24 ft. 
25 
5-10 
100—140 
Celery, seed. 
Celery, plant. ... 
April. 
July 1-Aug. 1. 
i 
1-2 in. 
6 in. 
1 ft. 
3-4 ft. 
I oz. 
100 
12—20 
125-150 
Peas, late. 
Crops in Sec. II. 
May 15-Aug. 1... . 
2-3 in. 
2-4 in. 
4 ft. 
I pt. 
5-10 
50-75 
Un the vicinity of New York City. Each 100 miles north or south will make a difference 
of 5 to v days later or earlier. 
2 This is for sowing the seed. It will take three to six weeks before plants are ready. 
Hence the advantage of using the seed-bed. For instance, you can start your late cabbage 
about June 15th, to follow the first crop of peas, which should be cleared off by the 10th of 
July. 
3 Distances given are those at which the growing plants should stand, after “thinning." 
The seed, for crops sown in drills, should be sown several times as thick. 
“•Best started in seed-bed, and afterwards transplanted; but may be sown where wanted 
and afterward thinned to the best plants. 
Before taking up special directions for the various vegetables, 
1 want to say a word about seed-drills, and also give a few general 
rules. No matter how small your garden is, get a combination 
seed-drill and wheel-hoe, if you can possibly afford it. A seed- 
drill will enable you not only to get your seeds in more quickly, 
and with greater ease, but it will do the job better than can possibly 
be done by hand. It will open the furrow, drop the seed evenly, 
cover with moist earth, roll down the drill, and mark out the next 
row, all with one operation, and nearly as fast as you can walk. 
And then by changing a few bolts and nuts, you can convert this 
same machine into a wheel-hoe, that will save you even more work 
in cultivating than the seed-drill did in planting. You cannot 
afford not to have one. But in case you are just beginning, and 
do not feel like investing a few dollars this year in one of these 
machines, keep the following suggestions in mind when planting 
by hand. Seeds as a rule should not be covered more than three 
or four times their own depth. They should be planted as soon as 
possible after the ground is ready, before the surface of the soil 
has a chance to dry out. They should be “firmed” into the 
ground, either with the edge of a board, back of a hoe, or by being 
pressed firmly with the foot, to prevent the formation of air 
spaces to dry up the newly sprouted rootlets. Great care should 
be taken to get the rows straight, as cultivation should be begun 
when the little plants are scarcely up, and it will be much facili¬ 
tated by even rows. 
Get a stout 
string and stretch 
it tightly just above 
the ground for your 
first row. With a 
hoe handle mark off 
along it a shallow 
drill, deep enough 
for whatever seeds 
you may be plant¬ 
ing. If a seed-drill 
is being used, it can 
beadjusted to plant 
at different depths, 
as desired. For 
peas, beans, and 
other large seeds, it 
will be necessary to 
open up the drill 
still more, with a 
hoe. There is an 
implement with a 
heart-shaped blade, 
called the “ Warren 
hoe,” made espe¬ 
cially for opening 
and covering drills. 
Sow the seed evenly in the freshly opened drills, press down as 
directed above, and cover level with a hoe, or back of a rake. 
A second firming on top of the row is advisable if the ground is 
very dry. 
So much for those vegetables which are planted in the open 
from seed. But many crops may be had several weeks earlier by 
setting out young plants which have been started ahead, as de¬ 
scribed in the next preceding article of this series. If the following 
few simple things are done in the important operation of plant¬ 
setting, practically every one will live, and they will receive little 
check in the process. Do this work on a cloudy day, or late in 
the afternoon if you can. If it must be done on a bright hot day, 
shade the newly set plants with newspapers. Prepare the ground 
as for seeds. Mark off the rows lengthwise, and also across, 
at the proper distances. With a trowel or hoe, dig out at each 
intersection a hole four or five inches deep. Mix up in an old 
pail manure (hen manure is the best) and water, until about the 
consistency of thin paste, and throw half a trowelful into each 
hole; then mix this up thoroughly with the dirt and cover over 
level, making a mark with the trowel to indicate just where 
the prepared spot is. Take your plants, which should be well 
(Continued on page xix) 
Corn takes up a lot of room, but there is all the 
difference in the world between bought and 
home-grown corn 
Sow your cucumber seed May 10—July 15 for a crop to remain 
throughout the season 
