THE KITCHEN-GARDEN
The garden should be open to the sky, and as far as possible unshaded
by adjacent trees from the morning and afternoon sun. It is even more
essential that the trees be not so near that their voracious roots can
make their way to the rich loam of the garden.
Now for the soil. We should naturally suppose that that of Eden was a
deep sandy loam, with not too porous a subsoil. As we have already seen
again and again, such a soil appears to be the laboratory in which we
can assist Nature to develop her best products. But Nature has a
profound respect for skill, and when she recognizes it, "lends a hand"
in securing excellent crops from almost drifting sand or stubborn clay.
She has even assisted the Hollander in wresting from the ocean one of
the gardens of the world.
We must again dwell on the principles already emphasized, that soils
must be treated according to their nature. If too damp, they must be
drained; if of the fortunate quality of a sandy loam resting on a clay
subsoil, they can be abundantly deepened and enriched from the start,
if of a heavy clay, inclined to be cold and wet in spring, and to bake
and crack in summer, skill should aim to lighten it and remove its
inertia; finally, as we have shown, a light, porous soil should be
treated like a spendthrift. All soils, except the last-named, are much
the better for being enriched and deeply plowed or forked in October or
November. This exposes the mould to the sweetening and mechanical
action of frost, and the fertilizers incorporated with it are gradually
transformed into just that condition of plant food which the rootlets
take up with the greatest ease and rapidity. A light soil, on the
contrary, should not be worked in autumn, but be left intact after the
crops are taken from it.
In one respect a light soil and a stiff, heavy one should be treated in
the same way, but for different reasons. In the first instance,
fertilizers should be applied in moderation to the surface, and rains
and the cultivation of the growing crops depended upon to carry the
richness downward to the roots. The porous nature of the earth must
ever be borne in mind; fertilizers pass through it and disappear, and
therefore are applied to the surface, to delay this process and enable
the roots to obtain as much nutriment as possible during the passage.
Equal and even greater advantages are secured by a top-dressing of
barnyard manures and composts to the heaviest of clay. The surface of
such soils, left to Nature, becomes in hot, dry weather like pottery,
baking and cracking, shielding from dew and shower, and preventing all
circulation of air about the roots. A top-dressing prevents all this,
keeps the surface open and mellow, and supplies not only fertility, but
the mechanical conditions that are essential.
If we are now ready to begin, let us begin right. I have not much
sympathy with finical, fussy gardening. One of the chief fascinations
of gardening is the endless field it affords for skilful sleight of
hand, short-cuts, unconventional methods, and experiments. The true
gardener soon ceases to be a man of rules, and becomes one of strategy,
of expedients. He is prompt to act at the right moment. Like the
artist, he is ever seeking and acting upon hints from Nature. The man
of rules says the first of July is the time to set out winter cabbage;
and out the plants go, though the sky be brazen, and the mercury in the
nineties. The gardener has his plants ready, and for a few days watches
the sky. At last he perceives that rain is coming; then he sets out his
plants, and Nature's watering starts them, unwilted, on their new
growth.
At the same time I protest against careless, slovenly gardening--ground
imperfectly prepared, crooked rows, seed half covered, or covered so
deeply that the germs are discouraged long before they reach light. One
of the best aids to success is a small compost-heap composed equally of
manure from the horse-stable, the cow-stable, and of leaves. This
should be allowed to stand so long, and be cut down and turned so
often, that it becomes like a fine black powder, and is much the better
for being kept under shelter from sun and rain.
All who hope to have a permanent garden will naturally think first of
asparagus--one of the vegetables that have bee a longest in
cultivation, and one which is justly among the most valued. It was
cultivated hundreds of years before the Christian era, and is to-day
growing in popular esteem among civilized peoples.
In the matter of preparation I shall take issue with many of the
authorities. I have read and known of instances wherein extraordinary
expense and pains have been bestowed upon the asparagus-bed. The soil
has been dug out to the depth of two or more feet, the bottom paved,
and the homely, hardy roots, accustomed to roughing it the world over,
set out and tended with a care which, if given to a potato, would make
it open its eyes. There are few more hardy or widely distributed
species of vegetables than asparagus. It is "a native of the sea-coasts
of various countries of Europe and Asia." According to Loudon, it is
abundant on the sandy steppes in the interior of Russia. In Southern
Russia and Poland the horses and cows feed upon it. It grows freely in
the fens of Lincolnshire, and is indigenous to Cornwall. On the borders
of the Euphrates the shoots are so extraordinarily large and vigorous
that Thompson thinks it would be to the advantage of gardeners to
import roots from that region. These facts may indicate that too much
stress may have been laid on its character as a marine plant. Yet it is
true that it grows naturally on the coast of Holland, in the sandy
valleys and on the downs, while off Lizard Point it flourishes
naturally on an island where, in gales, the sea breaks over the roots.
In this country also it has escaped cultivation, and is establishing
itself along our coasts, The truth is that it is a plant endowed with a
remarkable power of adaptation to all soils and climates, and does not
need the extravagant petting often given it. On different portions of
my place chance seeds have fallen, and annually produce almost as fine
heads as are cut from the garden. Nature therefore teaches what
experience verifies--that asparagus is one of the most easily grown and
inexpensive vegetables of the garden. From two small beds we have
raised during the past eight years twice as much as we could use, and
at the cost of very little trouble either in planting or cultivation.
In my effort to show, from the hardy nature of the asparagus plant,
that extravagant preparation is unnecessary, let no one conclude that I
am opposed to a good, thorough preparation that accords with
common-sense. It is not for one year's crop that you are preparing, but
for a vegetable that should be productive on the same ground thirty or
forty years. What I said of strawberries applies here. A fair yield of
fruit may be expected from plants set out on ordinary corn-ground, but
more than double the crop would be secured from ground generously
prepared.
When I first came to Cornwall, about twelve years ago, I determined to
have an asparagus bed as soon as possible. I selected a plot eighty
feet long by thirty wide, of sandy loam, sloping to the southwest. It
had been used as a garden before, but was greatly impoverished. I gave
it a good top-dressing of barnyard manure in the autumn, and plowed it
deeply; another top-dressing of fine yard manure and a deep forking in
the early spring. Then, raking the surface smooth, I set a line along
its length on one side. A man took a spade, sunk its length in the
soil, and pushed it forward strongly. This action made an almost
perpendicular wedge-shaped aperture just back of the spade. The
asparagus plant, with its roots spread out fan-shape, was sunk in this
opening to a depth that left the crown of the plant between three and
four inches below the surface. Then the spade was drawn out, and the
soil left to fall over the crown of the plant. Rapidly repeating this
simple process, the whole plot was soon set out. The entire bed was
then raked smooth. The rows were three feet apart, and plants one foot
apart in the row. A similar plot could scarcely have been planted with
potatoes more quickly or at less expense, and a good crop of potatoes
could not have been raised on that poor land with less preparation. A
few years later I made another and smaller bed in the same way. The
results have been entirely satisfactory. I secured my object, and had
plenty of asparagus at slight cost, and have also sold and given away
large quantities. A bit of experience is often worth much more than
theory.
At the same time it is proper that some suggestions should follow this
brief record. The asparagus bed should be in well-drained soil; for
while the plant will grow on wet land, it will start late, and our aim
is to have it early.
Again, with asparagus as with nearly everything else, the deeper and
richer the soil, the larger and more luxuriant the crop. Listen to
Thompson, the great English gardener: "If the ground has been drained,
trenched, or made good to the depth of THREE feet, as directed for the
kitchen-garden generally [!], that depth will suffice for the growth of
asparagus." We should think so; yet I am fast reaching the conclusion
that under most circumstances it would in the end repay us to secure
that depth of rich soil throughout our gardens, not only for asparagus,
but for everything else. Few of the hasty, slipshod gardeners of
America have any idea of the results secured by extending root
pasturage to the depth of three feet instead of six or seven inches;
soil thus prepared would defy flood and drought, and everything planted
therein would attain almost perfection, asparagus included. But who has
not seen little gardens by the roadside in which all the esculents
seemed growing together much as they would be blended in the pot
thereafter? Yet from such patches, half snatched from barrenness, many
a hearty, wholesome dinner results. Let us have a garden at once, then
improve it indefinitely.
I will give in brief just what is essential to secure a good and
lasting asparagus bed. We can if we choose grow our own plants, and
thus be sure of good ones. The seed can be sown in late October or
EARLY spring on light, rich soil in rows eighteen inches apart. An
ounce of seed will sow fifty feet of drill. If the soil is light, cover
the seed one inch deep; if heavy, half an inch; pack the ground
lightly, and cover the drill with a good dusting of that fine compost
we spoke of, or any fine manure. This gives the young plants a good
send-off. By the use of the hoe and hand-weeding keep them scrupulously
clean during the growing season, and when the tops are killed by frost
mow them off. I should advise sowing two or three seeds to the inch,
and then when the plants are three inches high, thinning them out so
that they stand four inches apart. You thus insure almost the certainty
of good strong plants by autumn; for plants raised as directed are
ready to be set out after one season's growth, and by most gardeners
are preferred.
In most instances good plants can be bought for a small sum from
nurserymen, who usually offer for sale those that are two years old.
Strong one-year-olds are just as good, but under ordinary culture are
rarely large enough until two years of age. I would not set out
three-year-old plants, for they are apt to be stunted and enfeebled.
You can easily calculate how many plants you require by remembering
that the rows are to be three feet apart, and the plants one foot apart
in the row.
Now, whether you have raised the plants yourself, or have bought them,
you are ready to put them where they will grow, and yield to the end of
your life probably. Again I substantiate my position by quoting from
the well-known gardener and writer, Mr. Joseph Harris: "The old
directions for planting an asparagus bed were well calculated to deter
any one from making the attempt. I can recollect the first I made. The
labor and manure must have cost at the rate of a thousand dollars an
acre, and, after all was done, no better results were obtained than we
now secure at one-tenth of the expense."
If the ground selected for the bed is a well-drained sandy loam, is
clean, free from sod, roots, stones, etc., I would give it a
top-dressing of six inches of good barnyard manure, which by trenching
or plowing I would thoroughly mix with the soil to the depth of at
least two feet. If the ground is not free from stones, roots, and sod,
I should put on the manure, as directed, in the autumn, and begin on
one side of the prospective bed and trench it all over, mingling the
fertilizer through the soil. The trencher can throw out on the surface
back of him every stone, root, and weed, so that by the time he is
through there is a sufficient space of ground amply prepared.
On all soils except a wet, heavy clay I prefer autumn planting. During
the latter part of October or early November put in the plants as
explained above, or else make a straight trench that will give room for
the spreading of the roots, and leave the crowns between three and four
inches below the surface. Then level the ground, and cover the row with
a light mulch of stable-manure as you would strawberries. If more
convenient to set out the plants in spring, do so as soon as the ground
is dry enough to crumble freely when worked. In the spring rake off the
mulch, and as early as possible fork the ground over lightly, taking
pains not to touch or wound the crowns of the plants. The young,
slender shoots will soon appear, and slender enough they will be at
first. Keep them free of weeds and let them grow uncut all through the
first year; mow off the tops in late October, and cover the entire bed
with three or four inches of coarse barnyard manure. In spring rake off
the coarsest of this mulch, from which the rains and melting snows have
been carrying down richness, dig the bed over lightly once (never
wounding the roots or crowns of the plants), and then sow salt over the
bed till it is barely white. Let the tops grow naturally and uncut the
second year, and merely keep clean. Take precisely the same action
again in the autumn and the following spring. During the latter part of
April and May a few of the strongest shoots may be cut for the table.
This should be done with a sharp knife a little below the surface, so
that the soil may heal the wound, and carefully, lest other heads just
beneath the surface be clipped prematurely. Cut from the bed very
sparingly, however, the third year, and let vigorous foliage form
corresponding root-power. In the autumn of the third and the spring of
the fourth year the treatment is precisely the same. In the fourth
season, however, the shoots may be used freely to, say, about June 20,
after which the plants should be permitted to grow unchecked till fall,
in order to maintain and increase the root-power. Every year thereafter
there should be an abundant top-dressing of manure in the fall, and a
careful digging of the ground in the early spring. Light, sandy soil,
clear of stones, is well adapted to asparagus, but should be treated on
the principles already indicated in this work. There should be no
attempt, by trenching, to render a porous subsoil more leaky. It is
useless to give the bed a thorough initial enriching. Put on a generous
top-dressing every autumn and leave the rains to do their work, and
good crops will result.
If, on the contrary, a cold, heavy clay must be dealt with, every
effort should be made to ameliorate it. Work in a large quantity of
sand at first, if possible; employ manures from the horse-stable, or
other light and exciting fertilizers, and there will be no failure.
In regard to the use of salt, Mr. Harris writes: "It is a popular
notion that common salt is exceedingly beneficial to asparagus. I do
not know that there is any positive proof of this, but, at any rate,
salt will do no harm, even if applied thick enough to kill many of our
common weeds. Salt is usually sown broadcast, at the rate of ten
bushels to the acre."
Until recently I have grown asparagus without salt. Hereafter I shall
employ it in sufficient degree to kill all weeds except the strongest.
I shall sow it every spring after the bed is dug until the ground is as
white as if a flurry of snow had passed over it. I think salt is a good
manure for asparagus, and many other things. At any rate, we secure a
great advantage in keeping our beds free of weeds.
I have written thus fully of asparagus because when a man makes a bed
as directed he makes it for a lifetime. He can scarcely find another
investment that will yield a larger return. We have asparagus on our
table every day, from the middle of April to July 1; and the annual
care of the crop is far less than that of a cabbage-patch. I do not
advise severe cutting, however, after the middle of June, for this
reason: it is well known that the most pestiferous perennial weed can
be killed utterly if never allowed to make foliage. As foliage depends
upon the root, so the root depends on foliage. The roots of asparagus
may therefore be greatly enfeebled by too severe and long-continued
cutting. Avarice always overreaches itself.
In some localities the asparagus beetle destroys whole plantations.
Thompson, the English authority, says: "The larvae, beetles, and eggs
are found from June to the end of September. Picking off the larvae and
beetles, or shaking them into receptacles, appears to be the only
remedy."
Peter Henderson, in his valuable book, "Gardening for Profit," figures
this insect and its larvae accurately, and says: "Whenever the eggs or
larvae appear, cut and burn the plants as long as any traces of the
insect are seen. This must be done if it destroys every vestige of
vegetation." He and other authorities speak of the advantage of cooping
a hen and chickens in the bed. Most emphatically would I recommend this
latter course, for I have tried it with various vegetables. Active
broods of little chickens here and there in the garden are the best of
insecticides, and pay for themselves twice over in this service alone.
We will next speak of the ONION, because it is so hardy that the
earlier it is planted in spring the better. Indeed, I have often, with
great advantage, sown the seed on light soils the first of September,
and wintered over the young plants in the open ground. Nature evidently
intended the onion for humanity in general, for she has endowed the
plant with the power to flourish from the tropics to the coldest limit
of the temperate zone.
While onions are grown in all sorts of careless ways, like other
vegetables, it is by far the best plan to select a space for an annual
and permanent bed, just as we do for asparagus. Unlike most other
crops, the onion does not require change of ground, but usually does
better on the same soil for an indefinite number of years. Therefore I
would advise that upon the Home Acre the onion, like the asparagus bed,
should be made with a view to permanence.
Not much success can be hoped for on rough, poor land. The onion, like
the asparagus bed, should be made and maintained with some care. If
possible, select a light, well-drained, but not dry plot. Make the soil
rich, deep, mellow, to the depth of twenty inches, taking out all
stones, roots, etc.; cover the land with at least six inches of good
strong barnyard manure. This should be done in the autumn. Sow the
ground white with salt, as in the case of asparagus, and then mingle
these fertilizers thoroughly with the soil, by forking or plowing it at
once, leaving the surface as rough as possible, so that the frost can
penetrate deeply. Just as soon as the ground is dry enough to work in
the spring, fork or plow again, breaking every lump and raking all
smooth, so that the surface is as fine as the soil in a hot-bed. You
cannot hope for much in heavy, lumpy ground. Sow at least three seeds
to the inch in a shallow drill one inch deep, and spat the earth firmly
over the seed with the back of a spade or with your hand. In subsequent
culture little more is required than keeping the MERE SURFACE stirred
with a hoe, and the rows clean of weeds. Onions are not benefited by
deep stirring of the soil, but the surface, from the start, should be
kept clean and scarified an inch or two deep between the rows during
the growing season. I prefer to have my onions growing at the rate of
one or two to every inch of row, for I do not like large bulbs. I think
that moderate-sized onions are better for the table. Those who value
largeness should thin out the plants to three or four inches apart; but
even in the market there is less demand for large, coarse onions. When
the tops begin to fall over from their own weight, in August or
September, leave them to mature and ripen naturally. When the tops
begin to dry up, pull them from the soil, let them dry thoroughly in
the sun, and then spread them thinly in a dry loft till there is danger
of their freezing. Even there they will keep better, if covered deeply
with straw, hay, etc., than in a damp cellar. Wherever the air is damp
and a little too warm, onions will speedily start to grow again, and
soon become worthless. After the crop has been taken, the ground should
be treated as at first--thoroughly enriched and pulverized late in
autumn, and left to lie in a rough state during the winter, then
prepared for planting as early as possible. I prefer March sowing of
the seed to April, and April, by far, to May. In England they try to
plant in February. Indeed, as I have said, I have had excellent success
by sowing the seed early in September on light soils, and letting the
plants grow during all the mild days of fall, winter, and early spring.
By this course we have onions fit for the table and market the
following May. In this latitude they need the protection of a little
coarse litter from December 1 to about the middle of March. Only the
very severest frost injures them. Most of us have seen onions,
overlooked in the fall gathering, growing vigorously as soon as the
thaws began in spring. This fact contains all the hint we need in
wintering over the vegetable in the open ground. If the seed is sown
late in September, the plants do not usually acquire sufficient
strength in this latitude to resist the frost. It is necessary,
therefore, to secure our main crop by very early spring sowings, and it
may be said here that after the second thorough pulverization of the
soil in spring, the ground will be in such good condition that, if well
enriched and stirred late in autumn, it will only need levelling down
and smoothing off before the spring sowing. Onions appear to do best on
a compact soil, if rich, deep, and clean. It is the SURFACE merely that
needs to be stirred lightly and frequently.
If young green onions with thin, succulent tops are desired very early
in spring, it will be an interesting experiment to sow the seed the
latter part of August or early in September. Another method is to leave
a row of onions in the garden where they ripened. When the autumn rains
begin, they will start to grow again. The winter will not harm them,
and even in April there will be a strong growth of green tops. The seed
stalk should be picked off as soon as it appears in spring, or else the
whole strength will speedily go to the formation of seed.
It should be remembered that good onions can not be produced very far
to the south by sowing the small gunpowder-like seed. In our own and
especially in warmer climates a great advantage is secured by employing
what are known as "onion sets." These are produced by sowing the
ordinary black seed very thickly on light poor land. Being much
crowded, and not having much nutriment, the seed develop into little
onions from the size of a pea to that of a walnut, the smaller the
better, if they are solid and plump. These, pressed or sunk, about
three inches apart, into rich garden soil about an inch deep, just as
soon as the frost is out, make fine bulbs by the middle of June. For
instance, we had in our garden plenty of onions three inches in
diameter from these little sets, while the seed, sown at the same time,
will not yield good bulbs before August. There is but little need of
raising these sets, for it is rather difficult to keep them in good
condition over the winter. Any seedsman will furnish them, and they are
usually on sale at country stores. Three or four quarts, if in good
condition, will supply a family abundantly, and leave many to be used
dry during the autumn. Insist on plump little bulbs. If you plant them
early, as you should, you will be more apt to get good sets. Many
neglect the planting till the sets are half dried up, or so badly
sprouted as to be wellnigh worthless. They usually come in the form of
white and yellow sets, and I plant an equal number of each.
The chief insect enemies are onion maggots, the larvae of the onion
fly. These bore through the outer leaf and down into the bulb, which
they soon destroy. I know of no remedy but to pull up the yellow and
sickly plants, and burn them and the pests together. The free use of
salt in the fall, and a light top-dressing of wood-ashes at the time of
planting, tend to subdue these insects; but the best course is
prevention by deeply cultivating and thoroughly enriching in the fall,
leaving the ground rough and uneven for the deep action of frost, and
by sowing the seed VERY early in spring. I have found that the insect
usually attacks late-sown and feeble plants. If the maggot were in my
garden, I should use the little sets only.
Some special manures have been employed in attaining the greatest
success with this vegetable. In England, pigeon-dung and the cleanings
of the pigsty are extensively employed. In this country the sweepings
of the hen-roost are generally recommended. It should be remembered
that all these are strong agents, and if brought in contact with the
roots of any vegetable while in a crude, undiluted state, burn like
fire, especially in our climate. What can be done in safety in England
will not answer under our vivid sun and in our frequent droughts. These
strong fertilizers could be doubled in value as well as bulk by being
composted with sods, leaves, etc., and then, after having been mixed,
allowed to decay thoroughly. Then the compost can be used with great
advantage as a top-dressing directly over the drills when either sets
or seeds are planted. The spring rains will carry the richness from the
surface to the roots, and insure a very vigorous growth. When the
compost named in the early part of this paper is used, I sow it thickly
IN the drill, draw a pointed hoe through once more, to mingle the
fertilizer with the soil, and then forthwith sow the seeds or put in
the sets one inch deep; and the result is immediate and vigorous
growth. Wood-ashes and bone-dust are excellent fertilizers, and should
be sown on the surface on the row as soon as planted, and gradually
worked in by weeding and cultivation during the growing season. Manure
from the pigsty, wherein weeds, litter, sods, muck, etc., have been
thrown freely during the summer, may be spread broadcast over the onion
bed in the autumn, and worked in deeply, like the product of the
barnyard. The onion bed can scarcely be made too rich as long as the
manure is not applied in its crude, unfermented state at the time of
planting. Then, if the seed is put in very early, it grows too strongly
and quickly for insects to do much damage.
Varieties.--Thompson in his English work names nineteen varieties with
many synonyms; Henderson offers the seed of thirteen varieties;
Gregory, of seventeen kinds. There is no need of our being confused by
this latitude of choice. We find it in the great majority of fruits and
vegetables offered by nurserymen and seedsmen. Each of the old
varieties that have survived the test of years has certain good
qualities which make it valuable, especially in certain localities.
Many of the novelties in vegetables, as among fruits, will soon
disappear; a few will take their place among the standard sorts. In the
case of the kitchen, as well as in the fruit, garden, I shall give the
opinion of men who have a celebrity as wide as the continent for actual
experience, and modestly add occasionally some views of my own which
are the result of observation.
As a choice for the home-garden, Mr. Henderson recommends the following
varieties of onions: Extra Early Red, Yellow Globe Danvers, White
Portugal or Silver Skin, and Southport Yellow Globe. Mr. Joseph Harris,
the well-known and practical author: Yellow Danvers, Extra Early Large
Bed, and White Globe. Mr. J. J. H. Gregory: New Queen, Early Yellow
Acker, Yellow Danvers, Early Red Globe Danvers, Large Red Wethersfield.
They all recommend onion sets. The Queen onion is quite distinct. For
the home table, where earliness, as well as quality, size and quantity
is desired, I think the Queen deserves a place. It is admirably fitted
for pickling. I have tried all the varieties named, with good success,
and grown some of the largest kinds to six inches in diameter.