Plain or Single Leaved—Excellent for 
seasoning, hardy and strong-growing. 
PARSNIPS 
Parsnips do best in deep, rich, sandy 
soil, but will make good roots on any 
soil which is deep and mellow and 
moderately rich. As seed is sometimes 
slow to germinate it should be sown as 
early as possible. Staffel’s Large Sugar 
or Hollow Crown are considered the 
best for general culture in this vicinity 
and is the gardener’s favorite. 
, PEAS 
Alaska—Earliest of all. A smooth pea 
well suited for extra early planting 
Vine 2% feet high; pods small. Will 

not rot in cold, wet ground. Popular 
with canners. 
Hundredfold (62 days)—A heavy pro- 
ducer and used extensively as a ship- 
ping sort. Vines 24 inches high, dark 
green. Pods borne singly 4 to 4% 
inches long, blunt and tapered. 
Thomas Laxton—Extra early, fine qual- 
ity, tender and of excellent flavor. 
Telephone—Tall and large. Produces 
wrinkled peas of fine quality i 
Md quality in large 
Little Marvel—tThe earliest of all dwarf 
wrinkled varieties. Vines grow about 
9 to 12 inches high and produce a 
good crop of well filled pods of medi- 
um size, containing 5 to 8 large peas 
which are exceedingly sweet, tender 
and well flavored. 

PEAT MOSS 
A granulated, moisture-retaining 
humus. An important aid for 
saving soil fertility and moisture. 
Excellent prepared soil for pot 
plants and window boxes. Turns 
hard, brittle and unyielding 
ground into good vegetable soil. 
Soil will not bake or crack where 
Peat Moss is used. 


PEPPERS 
California Wonder—Fruit dark green 
smooth in surface in cross section Sud 
very large. Flesh is %4 to % inches 
thick. This pepper exceeds all other 
sweet varieties and is a desirable sort 
for home gardener and commercial 
growers. 
Chinese Giant is thick, mild and sweet 
and is a salad favorite. Lends itself 
perfectly to stuffing. Rich deep green 
when immature and bright scarlet red 
when ripe. 
(Continued on page 14) 
FERD STAFFEL CO., San Antonio, Texas 
Transplanting vs. Direct 
Seeding 
Some assume a special virtue for 
transplanting, which is supposed to 
give the seedling superior vigor. 
Actually, transplanting is an opera- 
tion from which the seedling must 
recover before it can begin to grow 
again. If there is ever any question 
between direct seeding or transplant- 
ing, direct seeding should always get 
first choice if there is still time to 
grow a crop. 
Starting seedlings indoors 
Don’t begin too soon. For most plants, 
flowers and vegetables alike, 5 to 6 
weeks is soon enough before trans- 
planting to begin. Light in the aver- 
age home is too feeble for good 
growth unless flats are grown in a 
window that gets at least 6 hours of 
direct sunshine daily. Fill shallow 
boxes (called flats) with mixture of 
14 good garden soil, 44 clean sand and 
14 compost or leaf mould. Make very 
shallow rows or drills with the edge 
of a ruler, 3” apart. Sow seeds in these 
1” apart. For most plants temperature 
of 70° is best. 
Soil must never dry out, yet must not 
be saturated. Spray with atomizer if 
possible two or three times daily. 
When best seedlings can be selected, 
thin out to stand 2” to 3” apart. Be- 
fore transplanting, withhold water for 
3 to 4 days. When set out in perma- 
nent position, water freely and seed- 
lings should start growing again with- 
out severe check. Always try to save 
as many roots as possible. 
Set firmly by pressing on both sides 
of stem. If soil is not firmed around 
roots, seedling may be killed when 
“hung” with space under it. 
As soon as garden has been planted, 
water thoroughly but gently to avoid 
formation of crust. If crust .forms, 
break by working gently on either 
side of planted row. In the case of 
slow-germinating, delicate seedlings 
like carrots, it pays to mix a few 
radish seeds with them so these quick- 
germinating seedlings will break thru 
and mark the row. Otherwise you 
may have to delay cultivation until 
too late for good weed control. 
If 
Weeding vs. weed control 
In soils in good tilthy condition, the 
main purpose of cultivation is to 
destroy weeds. Weeds are harmful 
because they shade desirable plants, 
because they rob them of food, and 
because they use up soil moisture. 
Annual weeds are usually easy to 
kill if we can keep them from seed- 
ing. Deep-rooted perennial weeds like 
bindweed, Canada thistle and quack 
grass, however, are another problem. 
The simplest way to control these is 
to take the soil out of cultivation and 
destroy them with a 2,4D weed killer. 
If this isn’t feasible, the only other 
control is to cut off the tops every 
two weeks, 
stored starch reserve. 
. 2. 
they recover some of this reserve. 
Practical answers to every-day 
questions about home gardening 
no sooner and no later. 
they do not use up their 
If cut later, 
cut sooner, 
In lighter soils it is sometimes pos- 
sible to dig out the roots, but every 
last piece must be 
stroyed or it will re-infest the entire 
garden. 
found and de- 
The right conditions for a success~ 
ful indoor start are not difficult to 
achieve. Any gardener can do the 
trick by applying a reasonable 
amount of care and attention. 
Use a box three inches deep and 
of any suitable size. Space the bot- 
tom boards about an eighth of an 
inch apart to provide drainage. 
Sift soil and use the coarser part 
in the bottom, with an inch of fine 
soil on top. Press around edges of 
box with a brick or board to firm 
the soil. Add more sifted soil and 
draw the straight edge of a lath 
or ruler across the top to level. 
Press furrows about one-quarter 
of an inch deep into the soil, 
the furrows spaced about 2” apart. 
Plant seeds 34” apart to allow room 
to lift each seedling without dis- 
turbing the rest. After seeding, 
fill furrow with clean sand or 
sifted soil and press down soil over 
entire box until it is 144” below 
upper edge. 


