MELONS, Continued 
Watermelon 
Plant 10 or 12 seeds to hills spaced 6’ 
apart. Soil must be fertilized or worked 
thoroughly with well rotted manure. 
Sow seeds in warm, dry soil as water- 
melon plants are sensitive to cold and 
wet. Thin to 2 or 3 of the hardiest 
plants in each hill when plants have 
formed the first rough leaves. Fre- 
quent watering with liquid manure 
will hasten growth and diminsh dan- 
ger of insect pests. 
Dixie Queen—Very prolific. Bright red, 
crisp, splendid qualiy fibreless flesh. 
Very few small, white seeds. 85 days. 
Florida Favorite—Oblong shaped. Dark 
green rind with light green stripes. 
Bright red and very sweet. 85 days. 
Florida Giant—A huge melon, growing 
sometimes to weight of 100 lbs. Oval- 
round with blunt ends, it has dark green 
skin and thick, tough rind. Flesh is of 
excellent quality, firm and red. 90 days. 
Stone Mountain— Also called Dixie 
Belle. High quality shipping variety. 
Fruits very large, oval-round, blunt 
ends. Dark green, tough rind. Flesh 
rich scarlet, fine grained, sweet. Seed 
white with black tips. 90 days. 
Tom Watson—Red heart strain. Large 
fruit, uniform cylindrical, with tough, 
elastic rind, faintly veined. 90 days. 
Wondermelon or Kleckley’s Sweet— 
Large, cylindrical, slightly ribbed fruits. 
Deep red, juicy, sweet flesh. 85 days. 
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, 13 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- 
MUSTARD 
Sow as early as possible in the spring. 
Keep rows 6” to 12” apart and cover 
with soil 2’ deep. You may also sow 
seed in autumn to raise greens and for 
salads, 
Florida Broad Leaf—Vigorous, upright 
plants. Leaves large, broad and deep 
green; quick grower. 43 days. 
Chinese Broadleaf—Large, oblong, 
slightly crumpled leaves, ‘scalloped at 
edges. Medium green, vigorous plants. 
45 days. 
Mustard Spinach or Tendergreen — 
Wholesome, quick-growing green, com- 
bining mustard and spinach flavors. 28 
days. 
Southern Giant Curled—Large, frilled 
and crumpled. Light green leaves. 35 
days. 
OKRA OR GUMBO 
Sow in rows about 3’ apart after any 
danger of frost is past. Cover seeds 
with about 1” of fine soil firmly 
pressed down. Thin plants 18 to 24” 
apart when they reach 3” growth. 
Clemson Spineless—All-America Silver 
Medal Award for 1939. Pods are rich 
green, straight, uniform, ridged and of 
best quality. 56 days. 

Dwarf Green — Early, prolific dwarf 
growing sort. Dark green fluted, 5 to 
7-in. pointed pods. Most desirable, com- 
pact growing okra. 50 days. 
Perkin’s Mammoth Long Green—Early 
and prolific. Very tender, long pods. 
Deep green and slightly corrugated. 68 
days. 
White Velvet—Early and prolific. Pods 
pale greenish-white, 6 to 7-in. long. 
Meaty, tender. Strong, tall-growing, 3¥2 
feet in height. 62 days. 
ONIONS 
Sow in well pulverized, rich soil. Make 
level rows 18” to 24’ apart and cover 
seeds about 2" deep. After plants are 
well up, keep thoroughly cultivated 
and well weeded. When large enough 
thin to 3” apart. 
Yellow Varieties 
Prizetaker—Large, globe shaped, with 
glossy, thin straw-colored skin. Coarse, 
mild flesh. Sometimes weigh as much 
as 4 lbs. each. 102 to 104 days. 
Practical answers fo every-day 
questions about home gardening 
iti d no later. 
nent position, water freely and seeda two. weeks, nO _SscOner al 
lings should start growing again with- If cut sooner, they do not use up their 
out severe check. Always try to save stored starch reserve. If cut later, 
as many roots as possible. they recover some of this reserve. 
Set firmly by pressing on both sides 
In lighter soils it is sometimes pos- 
of stem. If soil is not firmed around sible to dig out the roots, but every 
roots, seedling may be killed when last piece must be found and de- 
“hung” with space under it. stroyed or it will re-infest the entire 
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. 
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 
garden. 
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 12” below 
upper edge. 

