HERE’S SUCCESS! 
The surest recipe for Garden Success— good 
seed—proper planting— adequate care. 
—and of these three the vital ingredient 
is the seed! Good healthy seed, fresh, 
true to type—the kind you get from 
reliable seedsmen—is the best insurance 
for success in your garden. 
Good garden seed is the world’s greatest 
bargain. Uncertain seed is a sorry gam- 
ble. 
Good garden seed returns dollars in crop 
for pennies spent on seed. That’s why it 
is just plain common sense to be sure 
your seed is right. 
Preparing the Soil 
Rich, sandy loam is best adapted to 
gardening. Stiff clay must be broken up 
and given plenty of fibrous material. 
Sandy soil should have additional fer- 
tilizing. 
Be sure to work soil deeply enough, 
making the top three or four inches fine 
and loose. Thorough hoeing or raking 
before planting is a big help in keeping 
down weeds. Do not work clay soils 
when they are wet enough to stick to 
rake or hoe. 
If subsoil is stiff clay, special drainage 
is needed. Tile placed three feet below 
surface and not more than eighteen feet 
apart will greatly improve results. 
Planting 
For planting in open ground, choose a 
time when the soil is moist but not wet. 
Seed should be covered immediately 
after planting so as to retain moisture. 
Press down fine earth firmly around 
seeds so as to bring particles into close 
contact with the seed. 
Planting depths are suggested by the 
table on page 19. However, it should 
be noted that the best depth varies with 
the condition of the soil, so that each 
gardener’s own practical experience 
must be considered. 
In order that the tender stems of seed- 
lings can push through the ground eas- 
ily, soil must be soft and loose. 
Cultivating 
The importance of cultivating cannot 
be over-emphasized. Proper cultivation 
pays ample dividends. 
Stirring the surface soil during the pe- 
riod of growth not only kills weeds but 
loosens the ground so as to encourage 
healthy root development. 
It also allows air to enter, and helps 
conserve moisture. 
As plants grow, cultivation should be- 
come more shallow to avoid injury to 
roots. 
A dust mulch of fine soil on the surface 
helps hold the moisture in the soil below 
—but a crust over the soil is harmful 
and should be broken up. 
Watering 
While roots may be watered at any 
time, plants should be watered early 
morning or evening. Remember that 
one good soaking is better than many 
light sprinklings. 
Time of Planting 
Seasonal variations make it difficult to 
specify planting by date. In using plant- 
ing “calendars” it is well to make allow- 
ances for “late” or “early” seasons. 
Good general rules for the timing of 
vegetable planting are: 
When heavy frosts are over, plant early 
peas, onion sets and seed, kale, lettuce 
and spinach. 
When frosts are about over plant 
radishes, parsnips, carrots, beets, late 
peas and early sweet corn, and set out 
cabbage, and cauliflower plants. 
When ail frosts are over and apple trees 
are in bud, plant string beans and late 
sweet corn, and set out early tomato 
plants from the indoor boxes. 
When apple trees blossom, plant cu- 
cumbers, melons, squashes, lima beans 
and set out the rest of the plants. 
Trees, shrubs, vines and dormant roses 
should be set out as early as conditions 
will permit, before the leaf beds open. 
Plant strawberry plants as soon as dan- 
ger from severe frosts is past. 
Peonies, Iris, Phlox and other peren- 
nials should be planted under the same 
conditions. 
Gladiolus bulbs and Dahlias should not 
be planted until the soil is quite warm. 
Transplanting 
Before removing plants soak soil thor- 
oughly and wherever possible take up 
soil with the plant. It pays to take great 
care to avoid injury to roots in handling 
the plants. Set them out as soon as 
possible to prevent air from coming in 
contact with roots—then firm soil so 
that roots can take hold securely. 
After transplanting it is advisable to 
provide shade or a mulch around roots. 
For plants like cabbage and celery, trim 
off one-third to one-half of the tops to 
prevent more evaporation than the 
roots can afford. 
Crop Succession 
It is preferable not to have a second 
planting of any one crop follow the first 
on the same soil. Where vegetables ma- 
ture early, they should be followed by 
later kinds. For example, follow early 
carrots by late beans or corn—or follow 
radishes with cabbage or tomatoes. 
Garden Sanitation 
Keeping the garden healthy is not only 
a matter of spraying and dusting. Of 
course, reliable and properly selected 
insecticides should be used whenever 
and wherever there is any evidence of 
insect pests. A quick, early attack on 
insects and plant diseases is simply good 
gardening sense. 
But garden sanitation also calls for 
keeping the garden clean. In fall, be 
sure to remove and burn all rubbish, 
thus destroying many insect eggs that 
would develop the following spring. 
Also combat plant diseases, wherever 
possible, by using the new disease-re- 
sistant strains of flowers and vegetables. 
Starting Plants Indoors 
For helpful information on early indoor 
planting see page 16. 
29 




SPINACH. Plant very early in spring—or 
start seed in fall (giving it protection by 3 inches 
of straw over the winter) and enjoy an early 
spring crop. Plan to cut all spinach before hot 
weather as it doesn’t do well in extreme heat. 
Sow again in August or September for fall crop. 
Spinach should always be gathered before the 
flower spike appears. 
SQUASH. Plant about the same time as 
corn—and in hills the same as for corn or musk- 
melon. Squash does best in rich, sandy loam 
and is further helped by fertilizing the hills the 
same as for melons. When in the third leaf, thin 
to four plants per hill. To help feed the fruit, 
cover every fourth joint with earth to encourage 
extra root formation. Bush varieties may be 
planted in hills 3 to 4 feet apart. 
SWISS CHARD. Requires about the same 
treatment as beets, being a member of the Beet 
family. Cultivate frequently. Leaves may be 
gathered during summer and fall and new ones 
will grow quickly. 
al pu 
Ww 
est 10 sandy . hotbed 
