
COMPOSTING 
The compost heap is a ‘‘must” for the 
permanent garden. Select a spot behind a 
shed or otherwise hidden (if your garden 
is in the open) and spread out your garden 
wastes over this area in a layer six inches 
deep. Use weeds, old vegetable and flower 
plants, vegetable waste from the kitchen 
and lawn clippings. Trimmings from lawn 
edging are particularly valuable. 
On each six inch layer, sprinkle a little 
lime and a-liberal amount of a good mixed 
fertilizer. The fertilizer will feed the bac- 
teria that cause the vegetable wastes to 
decay. Then apply a layer of good garden 
soil over the lime and fertilizer. Repeat 
until the pile is two feet high. Wet down 
if rain doesn't fall. 
In six months all weed seeds and other 
vegetable matter will be broken down by 
the bacteria into a rich home made “man- 
nure” that will go a long ways towards 
making yours a perfect soil. 
You need not waste the space used for 
the heap, since cucumbers, melons and 
squashes never grow as well as when 
planted in shallow depressions in the 
compost heap. 
“Long-pull’’ Fertilizers 
It is profitable to apply long-lasting fer- 
tilizer to the permanent garden. 
For instance, superphosphate or bone meal 
may last for ten or fifteen years before 
they are fully consumed. Also, potash 
such as muriate or sulfate of potash 
lasts a long time without washing away. 
Use fertilizers liberally on the permanent 
garden-it pays. 
Lime is also a “long-pull” fertilizer if it 
is applied in the form of crushed or 
pulverized limestone and not as the more 
soluble slaked or quick limes. Any -lime- 
stone used should be especially prepared 
for agricultural use, as other kinds may 
be too coarse to do any good. 
Hotbeds and Cold Frames 
Normally, these do not pay if used only 
for growing seedings, but the advanced 
gardener will find them useful for pro- 
tecting plants in fall, for storing winter 
vegetables or for growing lettuce and 
tadishes until long after they are available 
in the open garden, 
These should be located on the south 
side of a hedge, fence or building to 
break the wind, and must have at least 
as hours of direct sunshine during the 
ay. 

Pit should be 24 deep. Fill to top with 
fresh strawy horse manure and press 
down six inches. Set frame over manure 
and fill around outside and inside to level 
of ground. Add three inches of sifted soil 
inside frame. Heap leaves or straw around 
outside to conserve heat. 
If manure is not available, dried leaves 
or chopped straw may be used by adding 
a handful of ammonium nitrate or am- 
monium sulfate to each bushel of leaves. 
This will not, however generate as high 
a heat as manure. 
As soon as frame is in place, water well, 
insert thermometer in soil and cover with 
sash, airing daily until thermometer drops 
below 85 degrees. This is time to plant 
tomatoes and peppers, For cabbage, cauli- 
flower, broccoli and kohlrabi, allow ther- 
mometer to go below 75 degrees. 
On sunny days ventilate thoroughly, but 
even on cloudy days a crack of air may 
be needed to get rid of ammonia odor. 
Drainage 
Low, wet spots will produce better crops 
if drained by tiling. Oftentimes an open 
trench leading water away from a low 
spot can be filled with crushed stone or 
gravel and will perform as well as more 
elaborate tiling. 
Or the problem may be one of too much 
drainage—a steep slope that allows water 
to run off so rapidly that it causes washing 
or erosion. Remember that not only does 
surface washing carry off soil, but it also 
carries with it the valuable soluble plant 
foods as well. Grading and terracing may 
be too costly for most gardens, but often- 
times a simple plank set on edge will 
control the rush of water and hold back 
soil and plant foods. 
Garden Sanitation 
Regular sanitation measures in the garden 
will reduce the number of pests and weeds 
that you will have to battle. Sanitation 
means the removal of all dead plants and 
weeds and the preventative treatment of 
the garden with regular spraying to kill 
the pests before they become serious. Re- 
member that pest and weed control should 
extend about 25 feet around the garden to 
reduce the spread of them to the garden. 
Don’t Sprinkle—Irrigate. 
Don’t Sprinkle—Irrigate 
What we are after is a long, slow soaking 
of the soil so that water penetrates to a 
depth of several inches. 
Waier should always be applied so that 
the roots will be lured downwards rather 
than upwards as is the case when only 
the surface is moistened. Properly done 
watering need not be repeatéd oftener 
than once or twice a week. 
In all the world, NO FINER FLOWER SEEDS THAN OURS! 
COSMOS, Dazzler 
38 

You may search the land 
over, but you cannot find 
flower seeds any better 
than those we sell! We can 
give you this absolute assur- 
ance because we sell only 
the tested seeds of the best 
growers...and we always 
make sure they are fresh, 
new crop seeds. 

LARKSPUR, Ruby 


Bi hie é a 
PETUNIA, Glow 
