Manual of Gardening Part 69

Seed may be sown in early spring for a succession; later in the season seed of the New Zealand summer spinach may be sown, and this will grow through the heat of the summer and yield a fine quality of leaves. The seed of this kind, being very hard, should be scalded and allowed to soak a few hours before sowing. This seed is usually sown in hills about 3 feet apart, sowing four to six seed in each hill.

The spring and winter spinach should be sown in drills 12 to 14 inches apart, one ounce being sufficient for 100 feet of drill. Remember that common spinach is a cool-weather (fall and spring) crop.

SQUASH.--The summer squashes rarely fail of a crop if they once escape the scourge of the striped beetle. The late varieties are not so certain; they must secure a strong start, and be on "quick" fertile warm land in order to make a crop before the cool nights of fall (Fig. 315).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 315. One of the so-called j.a.panese type of squash (_Cucurbita moschata_).]

The time of planting, method of preparing the hills, and after-culture are the same as for cuc.u.mbers and melons, except that for the early bush varieties the hills should be 4 or 5 feet apart, and for the later running varieties from 6 to 8 feet apart. From eight to ten seeds should be planted in each hill, thinning to four plants after danger from bugs is over. Of the early squashes, one ounce of seed will plant fifty hills; of the later varieties, one ounce will plant but eighteen to twenty hills. For winter use, varieties of the Hubbard type are best.

For summer use, the Crooknecks and Scallop squashes are popular. In growing winter squashes in a Northern climate, it is essential that the plants start off quickly and vigorously: a little chemical fertilizer will help.

Pumpkins are grown the same as squashes.

SWEET-POTATO is rarely grown north of Philadelphia; in the South it is a universal garden crop.

Sweet-potatoes are grown from sprouts planted on ridges or hills, not by planting the tubers, as with the common or Irish potato. The method of obtaining these sprouts is as follows: In April, tubers of sweet-potatoes are planted in a partially spent hotbed by using the whole tuber (or if a large one, by cutting it in two through the long way), covering the tubers with 2 inches of light, well-firmed soil. The sash should be put on the frames and only enough ventilation given to keep the potatoes from decaying. In ten or twelve days the young sprouts should begin to appear, and the bed should be watered if dry. The sprouts when pulled from the tuber will be found to have rootlets at the lower end and along the stems. These sprouts should be about 3 to 5 inches long by the time the ground is warm enough to plant them out on their ridges.

The ridges or hills should be prepared by plowing out a furrow 4 to 6 inches deep. Scatter manure in the furrow and plow back the soil so as to raise the center at least 6 inches above the level of the soil. On this ridge the plants are set, placing the plants well in to the leaves and about 12 to 18 inches apart in the rows, the rows being from 3 to 4 feet apart.

The after-cultivation consists in stirring the soil between the ridges; and as the vines begin to run they should be lifted frequently to prevent rooting at the joints. When the tips of the vines have been touched by frost the crop may be harvested, the tubers left to dry a few days, and stored in a dry, warm place.

To keep sweet potatoes, store in layers in barrels or boxes in dry sand, and keep them in a dry room See that all bruised or chilled potatoes are thrown out.

TOMATO.--The tomato is an inhabitant of practically every home garden, and everybody understands its culture (Fig. 316).

The early fruits are very easily grown by starting the plants in a greenhouse, hotbed, or in shallow boxes placed in windows. A pinch of seed sown in March will give all the early plants a large family can use. When the plants have reached the height of 2 or 3 inches, they should be transplanted into 3-inch flower-pots, old berry boxes, or other receptacles, and allowed to grow slowly and stocky until time to set them out, which is from May 15 on (in New York). They should be set in rows 4 or 5 feet apart, the plants being the same distance in the rows.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 316. A good form or type of tomato.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 317. A tomato trellis.]

Some support should be given to keep the fruits off the ground and to hasten the ripening. A trellis of chicken-wire makes an excellent support, as does the light lath fencing that may be bought or made at home. Stout stakes, with wire strung the length of the rows, afford an excellent support. A very showy method is that of a frame made like an inverted V, which allows the fruits to hang free; with a little attention to tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, the light reaches the fruits and ripens them perfectly (Fig. 317). This support is made by leaning together two lath frames.

The late fruits may be picked green and ripened on a shelf in the sun; or they will ripen if placed in a drawer.

One ounce of seed will be enough for from twelve to fifteen hundred plants. A little fertilizer in the hill will start the plants off quickly. The rot is less serious when the vines are kept off the ground and the rampant suckers are cut out. Varieties pa.s.s out and new ones come into notice, so that a list is of small permanent value.

TURNIPS and RUTABAGAS are little grown in home gardens; and yet a finer quality of vegetable than most persons know could be secured if these plants were raised on one's own soil and brought fresh to the table. They are usually a fall crop, from seed sown in July and early August, although some kitchen-gardens have them from spring-sown The culture is easy.

Turnips should be grown in drills, like beets, for the early crop. The young plants will stand light frosts. Choose a rainy day for planting, if practicable. Cover the seed very lightly. Thin the young plants to 5 to 7 inches in the row. Sow every two weeks if a constant supply is desired, as turnips rapidly become hard and woody in warm summer weather. For the fall and winter crop in the North,

"On the fourteenth day of July, Sow your turnips, wet or dry."

In many parts of the northern and middle states tradition fixes the 25th of July as the proper time for sowing flat turnips for winter use. In the middle states, turnips are sometimes sown as late as the end of August. Prepare a piece of very mellow ground, and sow the seed thinly and evenly broadcast. In spite of the old rhyme, a gentle shower will then be acceptable. These turnips are pulled after frost, the tops removed, and the roots stored in cellars or pits.

For the early crop, Purple-top Strap-leaf, Early White Flat Dutch, and Early Purple-top Milan are the favorite varieties. Yellow-fleshed sorts like Golden Ball are very fine for early table use, when well grown, but most eaters prefer white turnips in spring, although they occasionally patronize the yellow varieties in the fall. Yellow Globe is the favorite yellow fall turnip, though some persons grow yellow rutabagas and call them turnips. For late crop of white turnips, the same varieties chosen for spring sowing are also desirable.

Rutabagas are distinguished from turnips by their smooth, bluish foliage, long root, and yellow flesh. They are richer than turnips; they require the same treatment, except that the season of growth is longer.

Fall-sown or summer-sown bagas should have a month the start of flat turnips.

Except the maggot (see cabbage maggot,), there are no serious insects or diseases peculiar to turnips and bagas.

WATERMELON.--The watermelon is s.h.i.+pped everywhere in such enormous quant.i.ties, and it covers so much s.p.a.ce in the garden, that home-gardeners in the North seldom grow it. When one has room, it should be added to the kitchen-garden.

The culture is essentially that for muskmelons (which see), except that most varieties require a warmer place and longer period of growth. Give the hills a distance of 6 to 10 feet apart. Choose a warm, "quick" soil and sunny exposure. It is essential, in the North, that the plants grow rapidly and come into bloom early. One ounce of seed will plant thirty hills.

There are several white or yellow-fleshed varieties, but aside from their oddity of appearance they have little value. A good watermelon has a solid, bright red flesh, preferably with black seeds, and a strong protecting rind. Kolb Gem, Jones, Boss, Cuban Queen, and Dixie are among the best varieties. There are early varieties that will ripen in the Northern season, and make a much better melon than those secured on the market.

The so-called "citron," with hard white flesh, used in making preserves, is a form of watermelon.

CHAPTER XI

SEASONAL REMINDERS

The author a.s.sumes that a person who is intelligent enough to make a garden, does not need an arbitrary calendar of operations. Too exact advice is misleading and unpractical. Most of the older gardening books were arranged wholly on the calendar method--giving specific directions for each month in the year. We have now acc.u.mulated sufficient fact and experience, however, to enable us to state principles; and these principles can be applied anywhere,--when supplemented by good judgment,--whereas mere rules are arbitrary and generally useless for any other condition than that for which they were specifically made. The regions of gardening experience have expanded enormously within the past fifty and seventy-five years. Seasons and conditions vary so much in different years and different places that no hard and fast advice can be given for the performing of gardening operations, yet brief hints for the proper work of the various months may be useful as suggestions and reminders.

The Monthly Reminders are compiled from files of the "American Garden"

of some years back, when the author had editorial charge of that magazine. The advice for the North (pages 504 to 516) was written by T.

Greiner, La Salle, N.Y. well known as a gardener and author. That for the South (pages 516 to 526) was made by H.W. Smith, Baton Rouge, La., for the first nine months, and it was extended for "Garden-Making" to the months of October, November, and December by F.H. Burnette, Horticulturist of the Louisiana Experiment Station.

KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTING TABLE

A GUIDE TO THE PROPER TIMES FOR SOWING OF VARIOUS SEEDS IN ORDER TO OBTAIN CONTINUOUS SUCCESSION OF CROPS

EXPLANATION OF SIGNS USED IN THE TABLE.

(0)To be sown in open ground without transplanting. Plants have to be thinned out, given proper distance.

(1) Sow in seed bed in the garden, and transplant thence to permanent place.

(2) Make two sowings in open ground during the month.

(3) Make three sowings in open ground during the month.

(4) Start in greenhouse or hot-bed, and plant out so soon as the ground is in good shape, and weather permits.

(5) Sow in open ground as soon as it can be worked.

(6) To be grown only in hot-bed or greenhouse.

(7) Sow in cold frame, keep plants there over winter with a little protection; plant out in spring as soon as the ground can be worked.

(8) To be sown in open ground, and protected with litter over winter.

(9) Plant in frame. When cold weather sets in, cover with sash and straw mats. Plants will be ready for use in December and January.

(10) Plant in cellar, barn or under benches in greenhouse.