


RADISH, 
White Icicle 




PUMPKIN, 
Green Striped 
Cushaw 


SQUASH, Early White Bush 
SQUASH, Hubbard 
Garden Guideposts 

How to plant 
(Continued from Page 11) 
Don’t sow seed too thickly. To do 
so wastes both seed and labor as 
the crowded seedlings must later 
be thinned by hand to allow space 
for proper development. Also, poor 
growth and poor quality vegeta- 
bles result ifseed is sown too thick 
and not proverly thinned. (This is 
true whether planting in seed flat, 
hotbed or in open ground.) 
Planting the seeds 
Tear the corner from the packet. 
If seeds are very small, mix with 
three times their bulk of perfectly 
dry sand, then hold the packet 
over the row, tapping gently with 
your forefinger. This enables you 
to distribute the seed more evenly 
and avoid sowing too thickly. 
Covering the seeds — After sow- 
ing, rake soil over seeds and 
tamp down lightly with hoe or 
foot to make sure soil is in close 
contact with seed, but do not pack. 
In dry weather 
CAUTION: The above directions 
apply to spring sowing, or where 
the soil is fairly moist. In hot, dry 
weather make deeper trenches and 
soak the ground thoroughly be- 
fore sowing the seeds. Sow seed 
in bottom of trenches, but do not 
fill trench to top—just provide the 
correct amount of cover according 
to the size of seeds. 
Transplanting 
When plants are 2 inches high, 
thin them so as to allow enough 
space to make good stocky plants, 
or, if transplanting, place them 2 
inches apart. 
Tomato, eggplant, and pepper 
plants are tender and should not 
be set out before danger of frost 
is past. Cabbage, cauliflower, and 
kohlrabi are less tender but it is 
not safe to set them out much 
before the frost-proof date. 
Plants started in coldframes can 
be hardened gradually by expo- 
sure to outdoor air, and can then 
be transplanted earlier than oth- 
erwise. 
Where care is needed 
Use care in transplanting or 
you will injure the tender, young 
plants. 
Use a wide board when trans- 
planting, to prevent packing soil 
around roots. (See sketch.) 

When soil is sufficiently moist 
so a ball of soil can be retained 
around each individual root there 
is less chance of injury or of air 
pockets being left around roots. 
Use a trowel, (It is important that 
roots be kept in close contact with 
soil so they can get moisture.) 

Right Wrong Wrong 
When seedlings are to be trans- 
planted without a ball of soil, long 
tap roots should be shortened, 
and the whole root system placed 
and ‘firmed in” so that it is well 
spread out, not bunched. Soil in 
which roots are placed must be 
finely pulverized. 

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When roots have been carefully 
placed in position, firm the soil 
around each plant enough to in- 
sure that roots are in contact with 
the soil, and that there are no air 
pockets. 
Transplant incool,cloudy weather 
or at evening or early morning. 
Watering 
Soak, don’t sprinkle. Your gar- 
den needs water when the leaves 
look wilted in the sun and do not 
recover freshness over night. 
Frequent sprinklings on the sur- 
face soil are not only of little value 
but may be harmful. 
Don't wash away fopsoil 
The best way to do a thorough 
soaking job is to use a canvas 
hose that leaks all along its length, 
placed along a row at a time. Let 
the water run until the soil is 
saturated to a good depth. Then 
move hose to next row. 

If you have only an ordinary 
hose (without holes), remove noz- 
zle and place a small board under 
the end of the hose to distrib- 
ute water gently. (See sketch.) 
If an overhead sprinkler is used 
be sure it doesn’t have too much 
force, or it will wash the soil 
away. 
Water in the evening or early 
morning. 
(Continued on Page 14) 
13 
