Grow Your Own Vegetables 
V—GETTING IN THE SUCCESSION CROPS—VEGETABLE INSECT ENEMIES AND HOW TO OVER¬ 
POWER THEM—THE NECESSITY FOR UNRELAXING VIGILANCE IF YOU WOULD HAVE BANNER CROPS 
by F. F. Rockwell 
Photographs by Nathan R. Graves and the J. H. McFarland Co. 
[This is the fifth of a series of articles which will cover in a thorough and practical way the subject of amateur vegetable gardening. The aim 
is to furnish the information covering every detail of what to do and in such a form that it will be clear to the very beginner just how to do it. 
Each article and its tabular data will give the information needed at the time of its publication, so as not to confuse the home-gardener with an over¬ 
whelming quantity of detail; that is, the reader will learn what is to be done at the proper time for doing that particular thing. Those who follow 
the suggestions made, from the selection of seed to the storing of winter vegetables, may confidently expect a successful garden. — Editor.] 
ERHAPS the 
most common 
and biggest mistake 
that the beginner at 
gardening makes is in 
letting up with his 
planning and work as 
soon as the “spring 
rush” is over. He 
has labored faithfully, 
and now carries 
proudly to the kitchen 
of his vine-wreathed 
villa a bunch of nice 
tender green onions, 
and a crisp head or 
two of lettuce. Rad¬ 
ishes are plentiful. 
The cauliflowers are 
heading; the cabbages are growing a luxuriant bluish green; 
the peas have covered their wire or bushing, and are stretching 
out tendrils in search of further support; and corn and beets 
and beans are growing over night. With things so flourishing, 
and the weather getting uncomfortably warm, what a tempta¬ 
tion to sit leisurely back on the veranda, enjoy a mild smoke 
and the fat fiction number of the latest magazine, and “let 
things grow!” But, alas, for him who yields! A single hot 
day may turn green and bitter the forming heads of cauliflower, 
if they are left unprotected; a visitation of striped potato beetles 
may in twenty-four hours work havoc with the thrifty young 
egg-plants; weeds neglected a day or two too long, then helped 
on by two or three days of rain, may mean good-by to the 
promising start onions or carrots or celery have made. Eternal 
vigilance is the price of success. There is no royal road in 
gardening to even so humble a reward as a cool green cucum¬ 
ber. So, if before, you've been at work with your coat off, lay 
aside now your vest also, and we’ll go the rounds of the vege¬ 
table garden and see what needs attention. 
First of all there’s the little plot of ground which early in 
the proceedings we laid out for a seed-bed. It is time now to 
procure, if you haven't them already on hand, seeds for your 
late crops of cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale. 
If you are not familiar with the two latter, do not fail to try 
them this year, especially the sprouts. They are very easy to 
grow, and don't have to be stored for winter use, as you can 
leave them right in the field, where the frost and snow only 
improve their quality, and use them up until Christmas. By 
many they are preferred to the best of cabbage. And for your 
cabbage, try a few at least of the Savoy, which is much finer 
in flavor than the ordinary sorts. For a variety to keep over 
winter, for use in the spring, Danish Ball-head, or some type 
of it, will prove most 
satisfactory. 
Any time, from 
about the first of the 
month, be ready to 
sow your seed as soon 
as possible after a 
good rain. If none 
comes, give the seed¬ 
bed a good soaking 
the day previous to 
planting. If the soil 
has become packed or 
weedy since plowing, 
spade up a part of it, 
rake it off smooth, 
and in drills about 
one - half inch ‘ deep 
and twelve to eigh¬ 
teen inches apart, sow the seed thinly. (A packet of each variety 
will give plants enough for the ordinary home garden.) Before 
covering, press the seed firmly into the soil with the edge of 
a board or of the sole of the shoe, and firm the earth over the 
drill after covering. If the plants come up too thickly, thin them 
out as soon as the third or fourth leaf appears, for they will grow 
rapidly, and cannot be thinned without damage as soon as their 
roots begin to get tangled up in each other. If the sun is bright, 
give a copious watering just after thinning. In four to six 
weeks they will be ready to “set out” where they are to mature. 
Do this work too, if possible, just before or after a rain; or 
better still, if you do not fear a little clean mud, during one. If 
no opportune rain comes along, transplant late in the afternoon, 
and shade the plants with half a sheet of newspaper, held in 
place by a handful of earth, for two or three days during the 
heat of the day—say from ten to four o'clock. Read carefully 
the directions for transplanting given in the April number of 
House and Garden, page 133. 
Try to have your succession crops follow vegetables of some 
other kind—for instance, put your late cabbage after a crop of 
peas, lettuce, or spinach, not after early cabbage or cauliflower. 
Turnips and cabbage also should not be used in succession. 
Try to follow this principle also with the crops of which you 
make succession plantings—lettuce, endive, peas, beans, beets, 
turnips. Don’t wait till your last head of lettuce is used before 
planting the next crop. Plant a short row in the seed-bed at 
least every two weeks, and have plants ready to set out wher¬ 
ever opportunity offers. For instance, as the early beets begin 
to have blank spaces in the rows (which are fifteen inches apart), 
put in three or four dozen lettuce, or endive. Try some of the 
“cos" lettuce, that blanches at the heart, white and tender, even 
in the hot summer days. Unless your supply of tomatoes is 
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