

HOME GARDENING equ} [>] 38 Where? Why? 
PARSLEY 
Seed germinates slowly; soak over night. 
Sow early as seed germinates poorly in 
hot weather. Space plants 6” apart, Plain 
parsley has best true parsley flavor; curly 
sorts better for garnishing. If leaves are 
cut off when plant is 3” tall, curly sorts 
will have better curl. 
PARSNIPS 
Must be planted as early as ground can 
be worked. Soil must be loose to a depth 
of 12’ and cannot be heavy. Space 5” 
apart. Cold weather turns starches into 
sugar and improves flavor. Roots are 
hardy: leave in ground over winter if 
desired. 
PEAS 
Plant variety Alaska as soon as ground 
can be dug. Plant wrinkled varieties 
(which have better flavor) when narcissus 
buds show color or when crocuses are in 
bloom. Peas are not satisfactory when 
weather turns hot. Tall varieties must be 
staked, Peas want well-limed soil, Don’t 
forget, inoculation improves production. 
PEPPERS 
Need long growing season: start indoors 
8 weeks before plants are wanted, Set out 
after weather has become warm and set- 
tled. Set plants 15 x 24" and feed liber- 
ally for bigger fruits. 
PUMPKINS 
Follow muskmelon culture, 
corn after last cultivation. 
RADISHES 
As a rule the first crop to mature: plant 
as early as soil can be dug, Feed liberally 
for quick growth. Sow a 10 foot row every 
or plant in 
SQUASH, 
2 
ten days unti] weather turns warm, Start 
planting again with the coming of cool 
weather in fall. The fall and winter types 
are sown in mid-summer to mature in fall 
tor storage. 
SPINACH 
Seed in fall (protect with straw) or in very 
early spring, Must mature before hot 
weather. 
Spinach (New Zealand) 
While this crop grows freely in hot weath- 
er, it will not germinate except when soil 
temperatures are below 70 degrees. Hence 
it should be sown with the half-hardy 
crops — Those that are planted when the 
narcissi bloom, Plant in soil with plenty of 
organic matter, spacing the plants about 3 
feet by 3 feet. Keep them cut back, since 
only the young growing tips are eaten 
and long, woody stems have little flavor. 
Many who have tried a mixture of half 
Swiss Chard and‘half ‘New Zealand Spin- 
ach say that this is better than either veg- 
etable alone, 
SQUASH — 
Follow culture given for muskmelon for 
vine types. Grow bush types in rows, 
spaced 24’’ apart. Keep picked, Will bear 
all summer. 
TURNIPS 
Follow directions for radishes. Thinnings 
can be cooked for greens. 
TOMATOES 
There are two schools of tomato culture— 
those who stake and those who don’t. 
Reasons for and against are as follows: 
FOR STAKING: While staked plants pro- 
duce fewer fruits per plant, they produce 
more tomatoes for a given area, So if 
White Bush Scallop | 
" PEPPER, : 
ong Red Cayenne 
BUSH 
room is at a premium, it will pay to stake. 
Staked plants usually produce cleaner 
fruits and bear somewhat earlier. 
AGAINST: Staking calls for much extra 
labor in staking, tying and pruning. The 
total production per plant is higher in un- 
staked and unpruned plants. If you have 
plenty of room, the saving in labor makes 
the unstaked method the best. All com- 
mercial canning crops of tomatoes are 
grown in this way. If the ground under 
the vines is covered with a mulch of clean 
straw, this will improve the quality of the 
fruits and will also keep weeds down and 
save moisture, 
When staking, set plants 18"’ apart in the 
row, in rows 3 feet apart. Use a 7 foot 
stake, driven 1 foot into the ground. Tie 
plant to stake with soft twine or other 
plant tie. Habit of growth calls for a side 
shoot from the first point where a leaf 
joins the main stem, another side shoot 
from the second leaf joint, and a flower 
cluster from the third joint. This 2-1 pat- 
tern of growth is repeated up the entire 
stem. The staked plant is allowed to grow 
from the tip, and as it grows, the stem is 
tied to the stake, As the side shoots ap- 
pear, these are pinched out or rubbed off, 
leaving the flower clusters to produce 
fruits. When training tomatoes to stakes, 
be sure to leave all possible foliage to 
hide the fruits from direct sunshine; other- 
wise they will sunscald. 
When grown without staking, the vines 
will sprawl on the ground, This means 
they will need more room, Three feet be- 
tween plants and four feet between rows 
will not be too much ground to use if you 
can spare the room. 
Tendergreen 
Tall Telephon 


