Careful Thinning 
Increases Yields 
There is no satisfactory way to avoid thinning. When too 
many come up, be thankful and consider the thinning out as 
an opportunity to select the best plants as the ones to survive. 
For best results, thinning should be done gradually. In case 
of a crop which grows best when the plants stand four inches 
apart, do not at first thin it to one plant for each four inches. 
It is foolish to discard all excess plants prematurely when 
accidents, insects or disease may destroy many which are 
left. If thinning is done by stages as the plants grow, they will 
finally stand at the optimum distance from each other, and 
here will be small chance of vacant spaces in the row, 
Lettuce plants, thinned to stand an inch apart, will soon reach 
a size when alternate plants can be removed to make a salad; 
and this process may be continued until the spacing is right 
for the remaining plants to mature. 
Carrots may be thinned the first time when they are as thick 
as a pencil; and a dish of the thinnings will give those who 
have never eaten such tiny carrots before, a new idea of this 
vegetable, 
Beets may be allowed to grow until about six inches tall, 
when their roots have just begun to swell. 
The Importance 
of Correct Watering 
Except for transplants, try to avoid watering the garden until 
it really needs water. When you do water, soak, don’t 
sprinkle. Do a thorough job. The hose or sprinkler should 
be allowed to run on one spot until the water stands on the 
surface in a pool. 
After watering, the soil should be moist to a depth of five 
to six inches. Check this with a spade or a stick to be sure. 
Never apply water with such force that the top soil is 
washed away. Use an “TIri-gator’’ which allows water to 
ooze through the pores, or remove the nozzle of the regular 
hose and let the stream run out on a board. Another effective 
method of good soaking is to allow the water to run off a 
paper sack. 
Overhead sprinklers do waste some water, but also, they do 
prevent washing. Watering in the evening or early morning 
means that the moisture sinks in and is absorbed by the soil 
before it can evaporate. 
Watering tomatoes calls for special care, Cracks and ‘‘blossom 
end rot” (the free or blossom end turning black) are both 
caused by fluctuating water supply. Never let tomatoes be 
dry one week and wet the next. Tomatoes must be kept either 
moist constantly or be grown in dry soil, without artificial 
watering. 
THAT 
QUACKGRASS 
INFEST THE LAWN 
Crabgrass 
An annual. Spreads by seeds. 
Mow often at 14% inches. Hand 
pick young seedlings. Feed lawn 
heavily in the fall. 
Broad Leaved Plantain 
A perennial. Use hormone-type 
weed killer in late summer or 
drop acid or gasoline in centers 
of rosettes. 
Quack Grass 
Perennial. Spreads by creeping, 
jointed rootstalks. Smother with 
mulch or remove all visible shoots 
three times a week as long as they 
show. 
Dandelion 
An annual spread by seeds and 
from the crown. Cut below crowns 
any time of the year, Drop gaso- 
line in crowns. Spray with hor- 
mone-type weed killers. 
Ground Ivy 
Perennial. Dig out or spray with 
a sodium chlorate solution. 
Narrow Leaved Plantain 
Perennial. Prolific seeder. Cut off 
tops, pierce a hole in the crown 
of the root and apply a few drops 
of carbolic acid or sodium chlor- 
ate. 
Lawn Pennyworth 
A perennial weed, Seeds are dis- 
tributed by lawnmower and rake. 
Must be dug out and ground re- 
seeded or sodded. 
Yellow Foxtail 
An annual. Must be cultivated 
frequently. Use chemical weed 
killer, 
Heal All 
Perennial, especially bad in shady 
lawns. Roots at nodes and spreads 
by seeds. Cut out by hand or spray 
with hormone-type weed killer 
after bluegrass is dormant. 
Yarrow 
Perennial. Cut back repeatedly or 
dig out, Spray lawn with sulphate 
of iron. 
