
Preparing the soil 
(Continued from Page 9) 
When breaking new sod, if there 
are weeds or sod on the ground, 
apply lime and fertilizer to has- 
ten decomposition, then turn un- 
der. These materials should be 
worked into the soil. They help to 
hold moisture, aid in drainage, 
prevent rapid changes in soil tem- 
perature, and are a source of food 
for soil bacteria and other micro- 
organisms which work in the soil 
to liberate nutrients for plants. 
Apply these materials before 
plowing or spading. 
CABBAGE, Early Jersey Wakefield 
Note, too, that when you put 
fertilizer into newly spaded soil, 
it must be thoroughly worked in, 
so as to get it well distributed. 

Hints on spading or plowing 
Deep plowing or spading pro- 
vides better drainage and aeration 
of the soil, encourages deep root- 
ing of the crops. 
TOMATO, Rutgers 

Do not spade or plow when soil 
is wet—especially if the soil is 
heavy—or it will dry in hard clods 
that will be difficult to break up. 
If you’re going to tackle a sizable 
job of spading, it’s good strategy 
to work at it only one hour a day 
for eight days. Then you'll be 
done before you realize it and 
won't find the work exhausting. 

PEAS, 
Laxton’s Progress There’s a trick to spading prop- 
erly, but it’s easy enough —like 
this — 


First, dig a trench, as shown in 
sketch, piling at one end the soil 
removed. 
G 
LLNS ste 


SQUASH, 
Early Prolific Straightneck 

Second, dig row by row and, as 
you progress along each row, turn 
the soil over into the trench made 
in digging the preceding row. 
Third—when the last row is 
dug, carry the soil removed from 
the first row to fill in the last 
trench. 
If the good soil is deep, spade 
to depth of 8 to 10 inches. If shal- 
low, avoid digging up subsoil. 
Pulverize the topsoil, breaking 
up clods with iron rake and re- 
moving stones or trash. Just be- 

PEPPER, California Wonder 

fore planting any area of the 
garden, work that part finely and 
smooth off with a rake before 
laying out the rows. 
Fertilizing 

Fertilizer must not come in con- 
tact with the seed or roots. Ferti- 
lizer may be applied along the 
rows in a band about 3 to 4 inches 
wide and about 2 inches from the 
line of seeds. Do this by scooping 
out a wide furrow about 2 inches 
deep with a good-sized common 
hoe and then distributing the fer- 
tilizer uniformly along the row. 
Mix fertilizer thoroughly with 
top soil and cover about 2 inches 
deep. This is the most efficient 
way to use fertilizer. 
How much fertilizer 
Common mixtures of commercial 
fertilizer should be applied at the 
rate of 14 pound per 30 feet of 
row if rows are 1 foot apart, or 1 
pound per 30 feet if rows are 2 
feet or more apart. 
During dry spells, if additional 
plant food is needed, dissolve it in 
water before applying, to aid in 
getting it to the seed and roots. 
How fo Plant 
Make parallel rows—for a neat- 
er garden that is easier to culti- 
vate. Set stakes at either end of 
the row to be planted. Stretch a 
line of heavy cord or twine taut 
between the stakes and use this 
as a guide line for making the 
seed drill or furrow. 
Depth of drill 
Use a corner of your hoe to 
make a drill about 2 inch deep 
for small seeds (onions, lettuce, 
etc.), 1 inch for medium size seeds, 
or a furrow 2 to 3 inches deep for 
large seeds (peas, beans, onion 
sets, etc.). 
Planting in “hills” 
Melons, cucumbers, squash, and 
sweet corn should be planted in 
“hills’’—that is, a group of sev 
eral seeds together, which may 
be thinned out later. 
(Where there is heavy rainfall 
and poor drainage, the soil may 
be elevated slightly to form hills.) 
Do not sow seeds too deep. In 
other words, don’t bury them so 
they will rot before they have a 
chance to come up. (See chart on 
page 16 for guide in spacing rows, 
etc.) 
(Continued on Page 13) 
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