Vegetable Growing for the Home Table
The life of the husbandman,--a life fed by the bounty
of earth, and sweetened by the airs of heaven.
--_Jerrold._
IT is predicted that this year,--1917,--will be the greatest year for
gardening that the country ever has known!
The high cost of living first stimulated interest. Then after war was
declared, the slogan, "Food as important as men or munitions," stirred
young and old. Garden clubs sprang up everywhere, and in free lectures
people were instructed how to prepare, plant and cultivate whatever
ground they could get, from small backyards to vacant lots.
In our neighborhood last year a man with a plot of ground less than half
the size of a tennis court, grew $50.00 worth of vegetables,--enough to
supply his whole family! He got his planting down to a science,
however,--what he called "intensive gardening," so that every foot of
the soil was kept busy the whole summer. He fertilized but once, too, at
the beginning of the season, when he had a quantity of manure thoroughly
worked in. Then between slow growing crops, planted in rows as closely
as possible, he planted the quick-growing things, which would be out of
the way before their space was needed.
Incidentally he worked out a chart (which he afterwards put on the
market), ruled one way for the months, and the other for the number of
feet, with name cards for the vegetables that could be fitted in so as
to visualize--and make a record of the entire garden the entire season.
Such a plan means a great saving of both time and space.
Garden soil must be warm, light and rich. It must be well spaded to
begin with, well fertilized, well raked over, and kept well cultivated.
Vegetables require plenty of moisture, and during dry weather especially
must be thoroughly watered. As I have said before, simply wetting the
surface of the ground is almost useless, and often, by causing the
ground then to cake over the top as it dries, worse than none at all, if
the soil were cultivated instead. Pests must be watched for on all the
crops, and treated according to the special needs of each variety when
whale-oil, soapsuds, tobacco dust or insect powder seem ineffective.
Then with weeding, and reasonable care, you can safely expect to keep
your table supplied with that greatest of all luxuries,--your own green
vegetables, fresh from the soil.
VEGETABLE GUIDE
_Beans. Bush_
Plant from early May on, every two weeks, for succession of crops. Drop
beans 3 in. apart, in 2-in. deep drills, allowing 2 ft. between rows.
Hoe often, drawing the earth up towards the roots. Be sure that the
ground is warm and dry before planting, however, or the beans will rot.
_Beans. Pole_
Set stakes 5 to 8 feet high, in rows 3 ft. apart each way; or plant in
drills to grow on a trellis. Put four or five beans around each stake,
and when well started, thin out the poorest, leaving but three at each
pole. A cheap trellis is made by stretching two wires (one near the
ground and the other six feet above), and connecting them with stout
twine for the vines to run on.
_Beans. Lima_
As these are more tender, they should be planted a couple of weeks later
than other beans. They need especially good, rich soil, with plenty of
humus or the fine soft earth that is full of decayed vegetable matter.
Allow each plant 6 in. in the row, and make rows 2 ft. apart. Give a
good dose of fertilizer about the time they start, and keep well
cultivated. Beans are among the easiest of all vegetables to grow, and
as they can be dried for winter use, are especially valuable.
_Beets._
Any well-tilled, good garden soil will produce nice beets. Make drills
or rows 18 in. apart, and plant the seed about 1 in. deep if earth is
light and sandy, but only half an inch if heavy and sticky, as early as
the ground can be put in condition. Cultivate often, and thin out the
plants to about 3 in. apart. Sow at intervals of two or three weeks for
successive crops up to the middle of July. An extra early lot can be had
by starting seed in the house in boxes in February or March, and then
setting the young plants out at time of first outdoor planting.
_Cabbage._
For early crop, start seed indoors in February or March and transplant,
when four leaves appear, to another seed box until you can plant in open
ground in May. For later crop sow seeds in rows in open ground during
April and May, and transplant during July and August, to 20 in. apart,
in rows 3 ft. apart. Cultivate often, to keep moisture in the soil.
Prepare to fight pests, early and late. After the seventy or more
remedies suggested by one authority, for maggots alone, the amateur
might feel like abandoning cabbage, but at the price this moment of
$160.00 a ton, wholesale, in New York City, a person with even a
handkerchief bed feels like attempting this luxury.
_Carrots._
Hardy and easily grown, they can be sown in rows that are 12 in. apart,
and thinned out to 3 in. apart in the row. They can be started as early
as April, and sown for succession up to the middle of July. Cultivate
often.
_Cauliflower._
Treat like cabbage, except that you must start as early as possible, to
get ahead of the hot weather, and give the plants plenty of water. When
the heads are well-formed and firm, bring the outside leaves up and tie
together, to shut out the sun and keep the heads white and tender. And
don't forget,--plenty of water!
_Celery._
Seed for an early crop can be started in February, in a shallow box in a
sunny window, then transplanted to another box, pinching off the tall
leaves. In May or June dig a shallow trench in good rich soil, and set
plants, 6 in. apart at bottom. Fill up the trench as the plants grow, to
within a few inches of the tip leaves, in order to bleach out white. Set
up boards against the rows to exclude light, or cover in the easiest
way. For winter keeping, take up plants with roots and place on damp
soil in boxes in a cool, dark cellar.
_Chicory Witloof--or French Endive._
Often seventy-five cents a pound in the market, but easily grown by the
amateur. Seed is sold under name of Witloof chicory, and should be sown
in open ground, during May or June, in rows a foot apart. Allow to grow
until November, cultivating and keeping moist. Then dig up roots,--long,
thick tubers,--trim down tops to within 1-1/2 in., and cut off bottom of
root so that whole plant will be less than a foot long. Place upright
in separate pots or a long box in a cool cellar, fill up to within a
couple of inches from tops of roots, and cover each top with an inverted
pot or box, to exclude the light. Make thoroughly damp and never allow
to dry out. In about four weeks the new tops can be cut for the table,
and by covering and keeping wet, often three or four successive crops
can be secured. A friend of mine keeps two families supplied most of the
winter, at little cost or trouble. A delicious salad.
_Corn. Sweet_
Plant early and then every two weeks for succession, in good rich soil,
dropping the seed 10 in. apart in rows 3 ft. apart (for hand
cultivation). Start early in May, and hoe often. Golden Bantam,
Evergreen and Country Gentleman are especial favorites.
_Cucumbers._
Plant as soon as weather is settled, and warm, (early in May around New
York,) in hills at least 4 ft. each way. Give good rich soil, and keep
moist. Leave only two or three plants to a hill, and do not allow
cucumbers to ripen on vines. Plant for succession. The Japanese climbing
variety runs up a pole or trellis, is free from blight, and produces
especially fine, big cucumbers.
_Endive._ See Chicory
_Lettuce._
Can be started in boxes indoors, in March. Make sowing in the open
ground from April to November, if you protect the first and last. Put in
nice, rich soil, in warm spot, and transplant when big enough to handle,
into rows, setting 5 in. apart. Don't forget to weed!
_Melons._
Muskmelons are most easily grown, but both the weather and the ground
must be warm. Give them a light, rich soil,--which, if you haven't, you
must make by mixing the heavy soil with old manure. Make hills 6 ft.
apart, putting a few shovelfuls of fertilizer in each, and planting
about a dozen seeds to a hill. After well started, and when most of the
pests have had their fill and disappeared, thin out so as to leave only
four or five of the strongest vines to each hill. Spray repeatedly with
some good mixture.
_Watermelons._
These take up so much room that not many people try to grow them. The
culture, however, is about the same as for muskmelons, only make hills 8
to 10 ft. apart.
[Illustration: ALL READY TO HOE]
_Onions._
Plant seed in fine, rich, well-prepared soil, as early as possible, in
shallow drills, 12 in. apart. Firm down with the back of your spade, and
when well started, thin out to 3 in. apart in the rows. Hoe often
without covering the bulbs, and water freely.
_Parsley._
This requires a rich, mellow soil. Sow early in April, in rows 1 ft.
apart, after soaking the seed a few hours in warm water to make it come
up more quickly. Plant seed 1/2 in. deep, and thin out the little plants
to 5 in. apart in the drills.
_Parsnips._
Sow as early as you can in well-prepared ground, 1/2 in. deep, in rows 1
ft. apart. When well started, thin out to 6 in. apart in the row.
Parsnips are improved by being left in the ground over winter, for
spring use.
_Peas._
The early smooth varieties are the first seeds to put into the garden,
though the wrinkled are a better quality. Dig furrows 2 in. deep in
earliest spring, but when weather is warm, 4 in. deep; and 3 ft. apart.
Select the kind of peas desired, scatter in the rows, and cover with a
hoe. They need good soil, plenty of cultivation, and the tall sorts
should be given brush for support. Sow several times for succession.
Early crop may be hurried by first soaking the seed.
_Potatoes._
Selling as they are today (February, 1917), for 10 cents a pound, one is
strongly tempted to turn the flower garden into a potato patch! The
early varieties need especially rich soil. Drop a couple of pieces about
every foot, in 3 to 4 in. deep drills that are 3 ft. apart. Cultivate
often, and fight the vast army of potato bugs with Paris green, or
Bordeaux mixture.
_Radishes._
A light, rich, sandy soil will grow the early kinds in from four to six
weeks. Sow in drills a foot apart (scatteringly, so as not to require
thinning,) every two weeks, keep free from weeds, and water in dry
weather. Start outdoors in early April.
_Spinach._
Sow in early spring in drills made 3/4 in. deep, and 1 ft. apart, as
early as the ground can be worked. Thereafter, every two weeks for
succession. Good rich soil is necessary.
_Squash._
Be sure of rich, warm soil. Plant in well-fertilized hills, like melons
or cucumbers, at least 4 or 5 ft. apart. Sow eight to ten seeds to a
hill, and after the insects have had their feast, keep only three or
four of the vines that are strongest. To repress the ardor of the squash
vine borer, scatter a handful of tobacco dust around each plant.
_Tomatoes._
Most easily started by getting the young plants grown under glass, and
setting out in the open ground in May. Put 4 ft. apart, in rich, mellow
soil, and water freely. Seed can be started, however, in the house, in
March, then the seedlings transplanted into old berry-boxes or
flowerpots, and allowed to grow slowly until about May 15th (around New
York), when they can be set in the open ground. Plants are attractive
when tied to stakes or a trellis, and produce earlier, better and
higher grade tomatoes, without the musty taste of those that are allowed
to sprawl over the ground.
_Turnips._
Sow early in the open ground, in drills 15 in. apart, and thin out to 6
in. apart in the row. Up to June, sow every two weeks for succession.