FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
TO this hour one of the authors of this book prefers unripe Greengages
to ripe ones, because they remind her of those that grew against the
wall of her own garden when she was a child, and which she always ate
long before they were ripe. In her days children did imprudent things
of this kind, but no doubt you modern children know too much about the
laws of hygiene to run such risks—at least, we hope so, or we might
be blamed for letting you know that anyone could eat unripe fruit and
survive. We are not going to tell you much about fruit and vegetables,
because a child is not likely to want his little garden to be a kitchen
garden. In case you are a town child, and have never seen vegetables
growing, we may as well tell you that they take a great deal of room.
We know a boy in Germany who went to live in a ground-floor flat that
had a tiny garden belonging to it, the kind of garden in which you
can have three rose-bushes and a border of pinks. He was so fond of
gardening that after school on a winter day he would amuse himself with
a trowel shovelling the bare soil up and down; but he knew so little
about it that he wrote to his aunt in England, saying he wished to
grow Potatoes, Parsley, Mint, Honeysuckle, Runner Beans, and Vegetable
Marrows. The aunt had to explain as well as she could by letter that in
a garden of that size he could only grow about two Potatoes, and that
he had better try a few Tulips and Daffodils instead. But when spring
came she sent him some Vegetable Marrow seeds, and they were the source
of a great and joyful excitement later in the year. The boy was away
in the country most of the early summer, and when he got back to his
little garden in August he found a huge ripe Marrow and smaller ones
coming on. We can’t advise you to grow Vegetable Marrows, however,
as they take a great deal of room, and require a mound or ridge. If
you have a warm brick wall you should have a Peach, a Pear, a Golden
Plum, a Greengage, or a White Heart Cherry. If you have a spare corner,
plant a Gooseberry or a Currant bush. In your border try to grow a few
Lettuces and Radishes, and some Mustard and Cress for the schoolroom
tea.
MUSTARD AND CRESS.
The author who has survived a yearly crop of unripe plums has another
vivid memory associated with her schoolroom days in the garden. She
will never forget the moment when she saw her own initials _growing_
in her own little plot of ground. There they were, made of Mustard
and Cress, as if someone had written them. It is a miracle you can
perform for yourself any time from the end of March onwards by drawing
the letters you want in the soil with a stick, and sowing your seed
in them. You must remember, however, that the Mustard grows quicker
than the Cress, and should be sown about three days later. Sow both
seeds rather thick, and cover very slightly, or not at all. If it is
dry weather water with a fine rose every evening. People often place a
mat, or even a newspaper, over the seeds when first sown, as this makes
them sprout quicker; but the covering must be removed the moment the
seedlings appear. This may happen in twenty-four hours in favourable
weather, so you must keep a good lookout. In spring and autumn choose a
sunny spot for your Mustard and Cress, but in full summer give a moist
and shaded position. Mustard and Cress must be cut the moment it is
ready, while the seed leaves are tender, green, and short. If you leave
it till it is more than about an inch high, the Mustard is too hot and
the Cress is coarse.
LETTUCE.
Both the Cabbage and the Cos, or Long Lettuce, can be sown out of doors
in little patches from March to August. First rake the soil very smooth
and fine, and then, if you wish to have a big bed of Lettuces, draw
lines an inch deep and a yard long, about ten inches apart. Sow your
seed in these little ruts and rake your bed smooth, taking care that
the seed is only lightly covered with soil. You will soon see lines
of pale-green seedlings, but you will not have a single Lettuce if
you don’t keep off slugs. They are so fond of Lettuces that gardeners
often plant them as traps amongst Dahlias and other flowers they wish
to preserve. The slugs will desert everything else for Lettuces, and
can be caught in numbers on and around them at night. So if you have a
sluggy garden you must catch all the slugs you can, and also dust your
seedlings with soot or wood-ash. The proper time to do this is after
sunset, when the leaves are a little damp with dew. When the Lettuces
begin to grow up, the slugs will leave them alone, and then the rain
will wash away the slight dust of ash or soot from the outside leaves.
When you have rescued your Lettuces from slugs, you must thin them
severely. This is most important. You wait to do this until they are
big enough to handle easily, and then you leave nine inches between
each Lettuce and its neighbour in your rows. The French use the small,
thinned-out Lettuces as salad mixed with Cress; and if they were washed
they would be nice with bread and butter for tea—at least, they would
if you had not been obliged to dust them with soot or wood-ashes.
Cabbage Lettuces do not require tying, and are ready to cut when they
have a firm heart of folded, crinkled leaves like little Cabbages.
Some kinds of Cos Lettuce require tying, but not all. Sutton’s Superb
White Cos does just as well, or better, without this extra trouble. But
we think some of the good self-folding cabbage kinds are more suitable
in a small garden. Mammoth White, Nonsuch, and All the Year Round are
good kinds. Lettuces are more tender when they are grown quickly. It
is best to sow a few at a time about once a fortnight all the summer,
because they must be eaten when they are ready. If they are allowed
to stand, they _bolt_—that is to say, they shoot up tall and begin to
grow flowers. Then their leaves become tough and bitter, and they are
spoiled for salad.
RADISHES.
In London the Radishes you buy are often big and coarse. You must try
to grow them as the French eat them—crisp, small, clean, and pungent,
but not acrid. There are several kinds, as you probably know—some red,
some white, some round like Turnips, and some long like little Carrots.
The long ones, if you fancy them, should be sown in spring, and the
round and oval ones in hot weather. It is of no use to try to grow
Radishes in rough, lumpy ground. Your soil must be finely broken and
raked before you sow your seed. If you live in a warm district you can
make your first out-of-door sowing in February, but this would be too
early in cold climates. Radishes must grow quickly and be eaten while
they are young, or they are not worth having. On this account you
should sow a tiny pinch of seed every fortnight, rather than a whole
packet at once. They must be well thinned, as crowded plants make big
leaves and poor Radishes. In early spring give them a sunny place, but
when the warm weather comes sow in partial shade.
SPRING ONIONS.
You will not want to grow big Onions, but some of the friends you
invite to eat your salads may like some very little ones with Lettuces.
The soil for Onion seed must be rolled or stamped quite hard and
smooth. They never do any good in loose ground. You sow in March or
April in shallow drills about six inches apart. When you have sown rake
the ground lightly, and pat it smooth with a spade. As you will only
want quite small young Onions you need not thin them, but pull one or
two when you want them for a salad. They will not be ready, however,
for your early crops of Cress and Lettuce, as they grow slowly. Chives
are more delicate than Onions, and are a great deal used abroad for
omelets and salads. You need only get a clump of these, and if you want
to increase it lift, divide, and replant in autumn or spring.
MINT.
Children who live where there is a kitchen garden will not want to grow
Mint, but we have known of children who were anxious to have a plant or
two of this useful and fragrant herb. Those who do must be warned that
it is an underground wanderer, and will come up where it is not welcome
if not kept within bounds. The plants, if they are not to spread,
should be taken up, divided, and replanted in fresh soil when they show
in early spring. It does best in a moist situation. Each bit must have
a good root, and should be set six to nine inches from the next. The
tops, three to six inches long, will root easily in summer if inserted
about half their length, with the lower leaves stripped off, in a cool
border. In dry weather these cuttings must be watered after sunset. If
you are a London child, and do not know where to get Mint plants, you
could try to raise some yourself in this way, as Mint without roots is
to be bought everywhere. You would, of course, have to buy it as fresh
as possible.
PARSLEY.
Parsley seed takes some weeks to germinate, so you must not be
impatient about it. Soon after its seed leaves appear, if you look
closely you will see the pretty Parsley leaves coming. You should sow
the seed thinly, and then thin again, first to three inches and then
to six inches apart. All weeds must be kept down, as each Parsley
plant should be big and healthy. When you gather do not strip a plant,
but take a leaf here and there. When Parsley gets old and coarse the
plants should be cut over, as then they will make new growth. Those
that run to seed must be pulled up and thrown away. Your bed should
give you Parsley all through the winter and spring—in fact, until your
new plants are ready. One annual sowing in April is enough for a small
supply.
FRUIT.
We know of a lady living in a cathedral town in the South of England
who has three Peach-trees (two Alexandra Noblesse and one Sea-Eagle),
from which she gets more fruit than many of her neighbours who own big
gardens. Even in the suburbs of London fruit ripens well, provided
it is grown properly. The best Walnuts we ever ate were grown in a
Surbiton garden. In the midst of a grimy city we advise you not to try
fruit, as we know of no kind that would be healthy; but if you are
in a country town or suburb or in the country itself, if you have a
brick wall with a south aspect, and if you live in the Midlands or in
some other warm corner of England, you should certainly have a tree of
your favourite fruit. It is most important to get it from a first-rate
grower, to prepare the ground properly, and to plant it well. November
is the proper month for planting. You must get someone to dig a large
hole at least two feet deep, and put in plenty of manure for the roots
to find when they grow down. If your tree is to be against a wall, put
the main stem up against it before you begin, and then spread out the
roots carefully in the shape of a fan. Any that are growing straight
down must be cut off. Those that remain will be on different levels,
so you must arrange the lower ones first, and put soil amongst them,
then the next, and so on, till they are all comfortably spread out and
covered. The hole in which you plant a tree should be rather bigger
than its roots when spread out, and about a foot deep. When finished,
the uppermost roots should be four inches below the soil. If you are
going to grow it as a tree, and not against a wall, you must tie it to
a strong stake directly it is planted. In this case you must take care
that the rope you use does not chafe the bark. A short length of old
hose-pipe or a band of hay is usually put between the rope and the tree
where they touch each other. If the tree is to be trained against a
wall, you must first cut off all damaged or broken branches, and then
spread out those that remain in the shape of a fan. For this purpose
you will want some little bits of cloth, a hammer and nails. Before
you do it you should look at some well-trained fruit-trees carefully,
and try to find out how they are done. But if you can possibly get a
skilful gardener to plant your tree for you, we strongly advise you to
do so, as a newly-planted fruit-tree should be cut back more or less,
according to its variety and vigour. Pruning is also an operation that
requires more skill and knowledge than any child can be expected to
acquire. It should be done for you by the grown-up gardener. For a year
or two a young tree will not require much pruning, and will not bear
much fruit. If much fruit sets it should be picked off at once, or it
will weaken the tree. All shoots from the roots should be cut off at
once with a sharp knife.
[Illustration: A WINDOW GARDEN.]
If your wall is covered with climbing flowers, so that you have no
room against it for a Peach, a Pear, a Plum, or a Cherry, you might
find a corner for a Gooseberry bush, or a Red or White Currant. In
the North of England you must put your Gooseberry or your Currant in
the sunniest corner you can find, or the fruit will not ripen. In the
South a little shade and moisture will suit it better. Gooseberries and
Currants will prosper in any ordinary good garden soil, but the places
for them should be well dug and dressed with manure some time before
planting. They must not be put in too deeply, or the roots will send up
suckers. October is a good month to plant.
Red Champagne, Yellow Champagne, Red Warrington, and Early Sulphur, are
good Gooseberries; Raby Castle and Comet are good Red Currants; White
Dutch is the best White Currant.
Gooseberries and Currants are liable to be attacked by caterpillars in
May, and these will eat all the leaves and destroy your crops if not
removed. Hand-picking is the best way. You can also first syringe with
soft water in which you have put a little soap, and then dust with a
mixture of dry soot and lime. This will look ugly for a time, but rain
soon washes it away.
Both Gooseberries and Currants require careful pruning in the autumn.
The main branches should be shortened to six inches, and the side
shoots to two or three buds. You always cut just above a bud, upwards
and slantwise. You begin on the opposite side from the bud, and end
cleanly just above it. Always choose a bud that means to grow out from
the tree, and not inwards.