


PRACTICAL ANSWERS TO EVERY-DAY QUESTIONS 
This is a Garden Annual that you can keep right on using long after you have 
bought and planted your seed! 
It's packed with practical, down-to-earth facts that every gardener needs to know. 
Even old-timers will find information that is mighty helpful. 
You'll find all of this valuable information listed under the ‘How? When? Where? 
Why?” headings all through the HOME GARDENING GUIDE. Read it carefully, 
keep it handy and use it to advantage all through the year. 
Planning before planting 
Don't expect your garden to grow itself. 
Plan the crops you want and the amount 
of each. List them and study the plant- 
ing and maturity time, Determine the 
amount of space you will need for the 
early crops that need cool weather and 
the time that space may again be used 
for hot summer crops. 
Check your soil. Do you need fertilizer, 
humus, inoculants, seed disinfectants? 
Are your tools in good condition? Check 
back over your experiences of last year. 
Was there something lacking in the kinds 
of crops, supplies or tools? Plan now 
to avoid repeating any of these old mis- 
takes and place your order for needed 
items early. 
If you still have questions unanswered 
after reading this book, come in and let's 
talk them over. Take advantage of our 
wealth of experience . .. It’s yours for 
the asking. 
How Much te Plant 
‘Figure exactly the number of feet of row 
to plant. Consult the chart on page 18. 
CANTALOUPE, 
Rocky Ford 
CARR 
Imperator 
CUCUMBER 
Long Green 
Study the chart on page 18. This will 
tell you how far apart rows should be, 
how long each crop takes to mature, 
and how much space you will need to 
provide 
the vegetables your family 
likes. After you have taken into con- 
sideration the crops you want to grow, 
make a rough sketch showing the loca- 
tion of each crop, with catch crops, 
intercrops, succession crops, 

Decide how many times during the har- 
vest season you want to eat a certain 
crop, how much of that crop you ordi- 
narily serve to your family, and plant 
accordingly. Thus, if you like beans, 
and if you want to serve them twice a 
week, 1 pound at a serving, note that 
a 50 foot row will produce about 20 
pounds. Since beans produce freely for 
about three weeks, a 20 foot row should 
give you all the snap beans your family 
cares to eat during that time. Why tend 
50 feet of row when 20 will do? 
Succession Seeding 
DON’T work more land than you need 
to. Conserve your energy by. intercrop- 
Cross Bantam 
eM aN cmc] Where? Why? 
ping, catch cropping and succession crop- 
ping. In intercropping, short season 
crops are grown between slower grow- 
ing plants (ie., plant early lettuce be- 
tween rows of tomato plants that won't 
need the space until after the lettuce is 
eaten). In catch cropping, plant an early 
crop before the main crop is planted. 
In succession cropping the main crop 
comes first (i.e., snap beans to be fol- 
lowed by late turnips). In this way you 
make better use of space, cut down the 
number of rows to tend, and make better 
use of water and _ fertilizers. 
In the smaller garden, concentrate on 
vegetables that lose quality most rapidly 
when shipped any distance—delicately 
flavored green beans, summer squash, 
early cabbage and leaf lettuce. Unless 
you have plenty of room, better leave 
late cabbage, dry onions, winter squash 
and potatoes to commercial gardeners. 
Before You Dig 
Before digging or plowing the garden, 
apply 2/2 to 3 lbs. of balanced fertilizer 
over every 100 sq. ft. of garden. Divide 
fertilizer into two lots, sowing one with 
the wind and the other across the wind. 
Or, better yet, use a fertilizer spreader. 
Next, make a mud pie test. Pick up a 
handful of soil and pat it lightly into a 
mud pie or cake. If this can be crumbled 
into loose soil easily, the soil is all right 
to dig. If it hangs together, it is too 
wet: don't dig, 
< 
COs 
LETTUCE, White Paris 9 

