VARIETAL DESCRIPTIONS OF VEGETABLES 
KEYSTONE SEEDS 
♦ 
GARDENING SUGGESTIONS 
Since a number of vegetables reach maturity early in the season, it is possible to 
utilize the space they occupied for successive plantings of the same vegetables or for 
rotation plantings of different plants. The earliest of all the vegetables to mature is 
the radish. The gardener generally can count on being able to utilize anew the space 
occupied by the first planting of these vegetables in from 5 to 7 weeks, depending on 
the rapidity with which they are consumed. In intensive gardening, however, it is not 
necessary to wait until all the radishes of the first planting have been removed before 
other plantings can be made. Enough of the roots can be removed at intervals to make 
places for setting lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or other plants, and 
the two crops—radishes and the interplanted crop—can continue growing side by side 
until the former is used. In a similar way, onion sets may be set out in rows that are 
to be occupied later by tomato plants, room being made for the latter by the removal 
of a few onions when the proper planting time for tomatoes arrives. Various combina¬ 
tions of this sort can be worked out between quick-maturing crops and the plants grown 
in frames or seed beds for later planting in the open. 
L The gardener should not plant all of his radish, lettuce, or spinach seed at once, but 
should make several successive plantings at intervals of about two weeks. In this way 
the season for these vegetables will be lengthened greatly. Successive planting is 
possible also with beets, peas, beans, sweet corn, and a number of other vegetables. 
The best of the successive crops of the quick-maturing vegetables must be crowded 
into the early part of the season, since most such plants do not thrive well when planted 
in hot weather. This is especially true of radishes and lettuce. In the case of lettuce, 
this disadvantage can be overcome to a certain extent by artificial shading. 
In all sections but the extreme north, it usually is possible to grow fall crops of 
certain vegetables, notably carrots, beans, radishes, Irish potatoes, and turnips. In the 
southern part of the country an even larger number of vegetables may be grown in the 
fall. The seeds for these late crops are planted from July to September, depending on 
whether the garden is in the Northern or Southern States. 
In planning rotations of crops, whether the rotations be during the same or in 
succeeding seasons, certain general principles should be kept in mind. In type and 
character of growth, the succeeding plant should differ as widely as possible from the 
plant which it follows. This is both for the purpose of avoiding attacks by insects and 
diseases, and to insure that the second crop shall be properly nourished. A good plan 
is not to have root plants, such as beets and carrots, nor plants of the same family, 
such as cabbage and Brussels sprouts, or tomatoes and peppers, follow each other. It 
is well to divide the plants into root crops, fruiting crops, and foliage crops, and have 
members of the different groups alternate. 
For the convenience of gardeners who wish to plan to use their soil to best 
advantage by means of successive plantings and rotations, the following groupings of 
vegetables are made: 
1. Crops Occupying the Ground All Season 
Asparagus 
Rhubarb 
Beans, pole snap 
Beans, pole Lima 
Beets, late 
Carrots, late 
Parsnips 
Salsify 
Corn, late 
Cucumbers 
Melons 
Squash 
Pumpkins 
Tomatoes 
Eggplant 
Peppers 
Onions (from seeds) 
Leeks 
Okra 
Potatoes, main crop 
Rutabagas 
Radish 
Spinach 
Lettuce 
2. Successive Crops 
Peas 
Beans, dwarf 
Parsley 
Turnips 
Kohl-rabi 
Mustard 
Onion sets 
Beets, early 
Mustard 
3. Early Crops Which May Be Followed by Others 
Turnips, early Corn, early 
Carrots, early Cabbage, early 
Spinach 
4. Late Crops Which May Follow Others 
Cabbage, late 
Brussels sprouts 
Cauliflower 
Mustard 
Missouri State Board of Agriculture Monthly Bulletin, July, 1917, Vol. XV, No. VII, 
The Small Vegetable Garden/’ pp. 26-27. 
Beets, late 
Spinach 
Peas, late 
Celery 
i 
Kale 
Endive 
Flat turnips 
iir 
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