February, 1916 
21 
THE TABLE TEST FOR THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 
Planning and Planting Succession Crops That Will Bear in the Right Place, at the Right Time, 
in the Right Quantity—The Three Planting System Practically Applied 
T HE vegetable garden on the 
small place is usually 
planned, when it is planned at all, 
to fit the garden space that may 
be already under cultivation. For 
greater efficiency, it should be 
planned primarily to fit the re¬ 
quirements of the family table. 
After that, the garden plot should 
be added to, if more ground is 
available—or subtracted from, as 
the requirements of the case may 
indicate. 
In calculating this in a way 
that will he definite enough to 
be of practical help to the gar¬ 
dener whose experience is lim¬ 
ited, it is necessary to take an ar¬ 
bitrary unit, and to figure on av¬ 
erage yields, requirements, etc. 
These plans, lists of vegetables, 
and suggestions are not claimed 
to be such as would give the best 
results in any particular family, 
nor is there any guarantee that 
the reader who attempts to follow any particular set of sug¬ 
gestions will supply himself with all the vegetables his family 
can eat, nor that an amount which would be sufficient could 
not be produced on a smaller plot. It has to be assumed, of 
course, that the ground is in a fair state of productiveness, 
and will be well cared for. 
The Amateur’s Mistakes 
The mistake generally made in planning the home garden 
is to get too much stuff for summer and not enough for fall 
and winter. If the garden is a small one, it may be better to 
devote it almost entirely to the summer vegetables, having 
a complete supply, and leave the winter ones to be bought. 
But do not give them up until you have satisfied yourself fully 
that you haven't room to 
grow them. A great deal 
can be crowded into a lit¬ 
tle space. Irrigation will 
double the amount of stuff 
that can be produced in 
the average garden in 
most seasons. In fact, 
there is not one season in 
fifteen when irrigation 
will not increase the yield 
perceptibly. 
Another common mis¬ 
take is that of “making a 
garden” in the spring, do¬ 
ing it all at one planting 
while the garden fever 
lasts; and then expecting 
to do nothing more except 
a little cultivating and 
weeding, and a great deal 
of harvesting, for the bal- 
ance of the year. 
A garden that is to keep 
the table well supplied 
with fresh, first quality 
vegetables from May or 
early June until hard 
frost, as every home 
garden should, will neces¬ 
sitate more or less of a 
continuous performance 
as far as the planting is 
concerned. It is never as 
simple a proposition as it looks 
on paper. It is very much easier 
for the busy person to use the 
half hour or hour which may re¬ 
main between home-coming and 
dark, by getting a wheel-boe or 
weeder and going into the garden 
to work at whatever may seem 
to demand attention the most, 
than to remember what should 
be planted at the time it should 
be planted, and to have seed and 
fertilizer and space all provided 
at the proper time. Therefore, 
a scheme which I have termed 
the “three planting system” 
should be followed by such per¬ 
sons. Of course, it will not give 
quite as good results as are had 
in a garden where planting is 
planned for, and done every week 
or two weeks; but it is far bet¬ 
ter than the ordinary haphazard 
method. 
The Three Planting System 
The Three Planting System has this advantage: it is 
psychologically automatic. You do not have to trust to memory 
to get the various things in on time. There are but three 
planting dates to remember—the middle of April, the middle 
of May and the middle of June. Early and hardy vegetables 
should all be in by the middle of April; the planting is done 
before that date. Tender plants and seeds should be planted 
around the middle of May, a little before and a little after— 
say a five days’ leeway according to the season and the variety. 
Succession plantings, and late crops for fall and winter use, 
should be planted just after the middle of June. 
These dates are for latitudes similar to New York, Chicago 
and Kansas City. Each one hundred miles’ difference in 
latitude north or south 
will make approximately 
a week’s difference in 
these dates. Extra early 
or late seasons may make 
a difference of a week or 
ten days, seldom more 
than that. 
The things to plant at 
the first date include as¬ 
paragus, beets, cabbage, 
cauliflower, carrots, kohl¬ 
rabi, lettuce, onions, onion 
sets, parsley, parsnips, 
peas, early potatoes, rad¬ 
ishes, salsify, Swiss chard 
and turnips. 
Those that are suited to 
go in at the second plant¬ 
ing are beans of all kinds, 
beets (succession plant¬ 
ing), carrots (succession 
planting), corn, cucum¬ 
bers, egg-plant, lettuce 
(succession planting), 
melons, peas (succession 
planting), peppers, pump¬ 
kin, radishes (succession 
planting), squash, toma¬ 
toes, and turnips (succes¬ 
sion planting) ; also seeds 
of Brussels sprouts, cab¬ 
bage, cauliflower, and kale 
for transplanting later 
F. F. ROCKWELL 
Plan for plenty of peas, but see to it that 
they do not all come into bearing at once 
PLANTING PLAN FOR A HOME GARDEN FOR FOUR 
FIRST PLANTING 
CUCUMBERS, FROM POTS , TOMATOES 
5 hills (5' apart) IFROM POTS 
PATH 1.5' 
CABBAGE, early, 18 plants; summer, 
18 plants . 2' 
CAULIFLOWER, 18 plants C/ 2 R): 
Seed of cabbage, cauliflower and 
Brussels sprouts. 2' 
LETTUCE, plants 25"; seed 25'. 1’ 
BEETS, 200 plants. 1' 
SPINACH . 1' 
BEETS, 2 rows. 2' 
CARROTS, 2 rows. 2' 
TURNIPS, 1 row. 1' 
LETTUCE (2 varieties), 1 row. 1' 
BEETS, 3 rows. 3' 
CARROTS, 3 rows. 3' 
ONIONS, 4 rows. 4' 
PARSNIP, 2 rows. 3' 
SALSIFY, 2 rows. 3’ 
SWISS CHARD, 1 row.1.5' 
PEAS, main crop, 1 row. 3' 
PEAS, extra early, y 2 row; early, row. 3' 
BEANS, early, y 2 row; late, l / 2 row. . . 2' 
PEAS (2nd planting), main, 1 row.... 3' 
PEAS (2nd planting), early, 1 row.... 3’ 
CORN, early, 1 row. 3' 
CORN, medium, 2 rows. 6' 
CORN, late, 3 rows (or later planting of 
early, 4 rows).12' 
BEANS, pole. 6 hills; limas, 6 hills.... 4' 
MELONS (Musk), 8 hills, (6' apart).. 5' 
TOMATOES, main crop, 12; extra late, 
12 . 4' 
PEPPERS. 12: EGG PLANT. 12. 3' 
CUCUMBER, 4 hills; Squash, Winter, 
4 hills . 6' 
SQUASH (Summer), Scalloped, 3 hills; 
Crookneck, 3 hills; Winter-Bush, 
6 hills . 4' 
MELONS (Water), early, 4 hills; late, 
ills. 6' 
SECOND PLANTING 
6 Hills | MELONS. FROM POTS 
(2' apart) | 4 hills (4/ 2 ' apart) 
PATH 
CELERY, late, 100 plants. 
CELERY, early, 100 plants. 
CAULIFLOWER, 18 plants; Brussels 
sprouts, 18 plants. 
CABBAGE, winter, 36 plants. 
, , (Planted in hills 
BEANS, bush, 1 row Bvhen part of 
2 rows( cro p ; s removed. 
' Remain: Sow rye as soon as harvested 
CARROTS, 3 rows. 
BEETS. 3 rows. 
LETTUCE, 2 plantings. 
LETTUCE, Cos )4 row; Endive, l / 2 row. 
TURNIPS, winter, 3 rows. 
Remove and sow crimson clover or rye 
and vetch as soon as harvested. 
Sow rye, thick, as early as possible. 
