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Gardening as Recommended by Cornell University 
For more detailed and complete information we want to call your attention to Cornell Extension Bulletin No. 696 
Even in a small backyard a lot of vegetables can be grown 
Planning the Garden—Choosing the Crops 
The vegetables to grow are the ones best liked by the family. The size 
of the garden not only limits the number of kinds of vegetables that may 
be grown but it should also influence the choice of these kinds. Lettuce, 
Snapbeans, Cabbage, Carrots and Tomatoes are usually among the first 
choice whereas Lima Beans, Cucumbersand Peasare usually more difficult 
to grow, yield less per unit of area occupied and hence are grown only 
where space is relatively unlimited. 
Getting the Soil Ready to Plant 
The ground should be turned over just as soon in the Spring (if it has 
not been done in the Fall) as it is dry enough to work. A good test is to 
mold a handful of the soil into a ball with the hands. If the ball is not 
sticky but crumbles readily when pressed with the thumb, the soil is ready 
to be worked. 
Fertilizers 
Commercial fertilizers are applied mainly because of the nitrogen, 
phosphorus and potash they contain. A 5-10-5 fertilizer contains 5% 
nitrogen, 10% phosphorus acid and 5% of potash. The fertilizer nutrients 
are always listed in that order regardless of analysis. Most fertilizers are 
sown at the rate of 4 to 5 lbs. per 100 sq. ft. of garden area. On sandy 
soils commercial fertilizer is likely to give best results if all is broadcast 
after plowing or spading, but before harrowing or raking. Too much 
fertilizer too close to the row may injure young seedlings. If a crop has 
been harvested and another is to be planted there the same year a second 
application should be made equal to that used on the first crop. 
Where to Buy Seeds 
As with all merchandise the quality of seed varies with the dealer. 
Whether seeds are purchased from a local store or mail order house, the 
New York State seed laws protect the gardener fairly well against poor 
seeds and misrepresentation. 
The gardener should make sure that the kind, variety and percentage 
of germination and the date of testing are marked on every package. 
Usually it is best to buy seeds from the commercial seedsmen, but a few 
kinds may be saved from the home garden. The danger of crossing with 
other varieties and of getting seed borne diseases, and the difficulty of 
curing the seed, discourages gardeners. Only seed from healthy plants 
should be saved, as many diseases are carried on the seed. 
How to Grow Plants 
A sandy loam with lots of organic matter is best for plants, but a heavy 
soil can be made lighter with sand or coal ashes and humus can be added 
in the form of cow manure, peat moss, leaf mold or a well rotted compost. 
Plants are usually started in shallow boxes, called flats. The flat can be 
3 in. deep and a convenient size to handle such as 12 x 18 in. The flat 
should be filled level full with soil that is packed only at the corners and 
sides. Then a piece of cardboard may be used to form the soil evenly over 
the entire flat. That leaves the soil approximately 14 in. below the edge 
of the flat which will help to prevent water from running off when the 
flat is watered. In flats most vegetable seed are covered with }¢ in. to 14 
in. of soil. Extremely small seed such as Celery do best if covered with 
burlap which is kept moist, removing the burlap after the seed have 
germinated. 
Cultivation and Weed Control 
Cultivation generally increases the yield of vegetable crops because of 
weed control. On some soils cultivation also may be needed to loosen the 
soil and allow rain water to enter more rapidly. Weeds are the gardener’s 
worst enemy. Even a small growth of weeds may reduce the yield seriously. 
They not only steal the moisture and fertilizer but also serve as cover for 
insects and disease. Many weeds are affected by virus and fungus diseases 
from which they are carried to the crops. Tall weeds which shade the plants 
may retard the evaporation of dew and rain from the foliage thus favoring 
infection by bacteria and fungi. 
insects and Control 
Aphids are small soft bodied sucking insects, they may be green, pink, 
yellow, gray or black, clustering on the tender shoots and underside of 
leaves. Can be controlled by sprays or dust of nicotine, pyrethrum or 
rotenone. 
Cutworms as the name implies often cut off plants by chewing through 
the stem just above the ground. Cutworms are good sized smooth, fleshy 
caterpillars, usually dingy brown in color. A simple way to protect plants 
is by the use of Bait-Em-Snarol or cutworm bands. 
Bean Beetle commonly injures Snap, Lima, Field or Dry beans and some- 
times Soy beans. The black spotted beetles, yellow eggs and “‘spiny”’ 
lemon colored grubs are found on the underside of leaves, the grubs eat 
all except the thin upper epidermis and veins leaving a lacework appearance. 
Control by using rotenone, cryolite or pyrethrum dusts or sprays and apply 
them to the underside of leaves. Start treatment as soon as the beetles 
appear and at 10-day intervals until controlled. 
Space does not permit listing all kinds of diseases and control but we 
will be glad to advise you. 
One of the most asked for information is the culture of Asparagus and 
control of corn borer. 
One year old roots are likely to give the best results. They should be 
set 18 in. apart in a trench from 4 to 6 in. deep. The trench should be 
4 feet apart if more than one row is needed. The roots of each plant should 
be spread out as they are set and at first should only be covered with 
1 or 2 inches of dirt. When the plants start to grow, the usual cultivation 
will finish filling in the trench. 
Clean cultivation is essential even before the crop is harvested. Begin- 
ning the third season the Asparagus should be kept cut clean for four or 
five weeks. In the following years the harvest may extend over a period 
of two months. The Asparagus bed should be fertilized the same as the 
rest of the garden. Salt helps keep down weeds. 
Corn Borer 
The borers are dull white or grayish in color with a dark brown head and 
are about 1-inch long when full grown. They feed for a time on the leaves, 
then bore into tassels, stalks and ears. To avoid Corn borer injury make 
your largest plantings of Sweet Corn after June lst in Western New York so 
as to mature when few borers are present. Early plantings are most subject 
to injury but can be protected by four applications of rotenone dust contain- 
ing 4% or 1% rotenone made at 5-day intervals starting about June 20th. 
The Corn earworm is often confused with the Corn borer. It is a much 
larger, fleshy worm or caterpillar, greenish to brownish in color. It enters the 
ears through the silk and devours the kernels near the top of the ear. To 
prevent injury use an inexpensive medicinal type of mineral oil. Start the 
treatment about August 15th, treating ears when silk has started to turn 
brown at tip. Apply with an ordinary medicine dropper, half full. Insert the 
dropper into the silk just inside the tip of the husk. The oil penetrates the 
silk channel and kills the young worms as they enter. 
