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Outdoor Problems of the Householder: Garden

The custom of setting apart a portion of the home grounds for flower and vegetable gardens, while nearly universal in New England and many other of the older and more thickly settled portions of the United States, is much less widely practiced over the whole national area than it ought to be. Garden vegetables grown as farm crops are commonly used as articles of summer diet everywhere. But this custom can by no means vie with a well kept kitchen garden, either in the variety or quality of the wholesome eatables which it affords. An area of land cultivated as a kitchen garden will easily supply the family table with one hundred dollars' worth of vegetables every year. The advantage to the housewife of a bountiful supply of good vegetables, close at hand, is apparent. are Many of the best varieties of garden vegetables lose much of their proper flavor within a few hours after gathering. Hence these rarely, if ever, seen in the market.

Their places are commonly taken by inferior sorts which have better keeping qualities. Moreover, fresh vegetables in the home garden are clean and not liable to infection from handling and exposure.

Location of the Garden. -On small grounds the garden site may be confined of necessity to one location. But if choice is afforded, select preferably a spot having a gentle slope and southern exposure. A prime consideration is to secure the best possible crops of early vegetables as a wholesome change from the monotony of winter diet. A windbreak either of trees, buildings or hedges, OUTDOOR PROBLEMS OF THE HOUSEHOLDER 245 or even a high board fence or stone wall, will be an aid to this end by breaking the force of the cold spring winds. Some persons prefer, where space admits, to change the location of the garden every five or six years.

But by proper rotation of crops and suitable cultivation, it has been found possible to continue growing garden crops with equal, or even increasingly good results, upon the same piece of ground for many years.. a The subject of drainage and the original preparation of the soil have already been considered. The proper treatment in after years depends upon the nature of the soil. A clay or other heavy soil should be plowed in the fall so that it may be mellowed by the frosts. A lighter soil may be plowed in the spring as soon as the ground is dry enough to be worked. The rule is to grasp handful of soil firmly in the hand and observe whether or not it crumbles when released. If so, the soil may be worked with safety. The finer the soil, the better the crops will be. Hence, some gardeners go over the soil in the spring with the disc harrow before plowing so that, when turned over, the bottom soil will be fine. They also use the disc harrow after plowing so as to mellow the soil through and through. Fertilization. Only well rotted stable manure or high grade commercial fertilizer should be used.

The latter may be applied in the fall on heavy soil and plowed under.

Or on light soil it may be applied either in the fall or spring and turned under at the spring plowing.

Fertilizer may be applied either broadcast or in the hill; or better, part one way and part the other.

A handful of fertilizer sprinkled in the hill over a space about as large as a dinner plate and worked into the soil with a hoe will help to give any vegetable, and especially early crops, a flying start. But never dump a handful of fertilizer in the bottom of the hill without mixing it thoroughly with soil. Otherwise some of the roots will not come in contact with it at all, and those which do will be burned. Hence for the time being it will be somewhat worse than wasted.

Garden Seeds and Plants. - The selection of seeds and plants for the garden, the depth at which they should be planted, and many other particulars about the different garden crops vary so greatly by reason of climatic and other conditions that they cannot be properly discussed in this place. Send for the catalogs of the principal seedsmen in your section and follow carefully the directions which they give. For further information apply by letter to the State Experiment Station of the Department of Agriculture in your own State or to the Secretary of Agriculture at Washington.

Tables for Planting. -The tables on the following pages for planting flowers and vegetables are taken from "The Garden Annual" of the Chicago Sunday Tribune. The times of planting are calculated for the latitude of New York. Allow ten days for each one hundred miles north or south of that latitude. The date for indoor planting applies to seeds started in the house, in a hot bed, or in a cold frame, but observe that cold snaps and other weather conditions may affect these dates. The table for planting vegetables is planned especially for those having small gardens in which most or all of the work must be done by hand.

Hot Beds. To start early plants in the northern half of the United States build a hot bed. This is simply a box sunk in the ground and heated from below by means of a bed of stable manure or otherwise .

It contains a layer of soil for the seed bed and is protected by a cover of window sash filled with glass.

Hot beds may be either temporary or permanent.

To Build a Temporary Hot Bed.- Select a sheltered, well drained location and shake out a pile of manure in a broad flat heap 8 or 9 feet WHEN TO PLANT COMMENT HOUSEHOLD DISCOVERIES Give asparagus rich, well-drained soil.