THE HOME 
 GARDEN 
 
 A Brief Discussion of Garden Soils and 
 How They Are Built Up, Together 
 With Suggestions For Growing 
 the More Common Vegeta= 
 bles. Also a Monthly 
 Rlanting Calendar. 
 
 Cy o/X* \ O' 
 
 By W. L. HOWARD, distant Professor 
 of Horticulture and E. H. FAVOR, As- 
 sistant Horticulturist, University of Mis- 
 souri and Agricultural Experiment Station. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE FRUIT-GROWER COMPANY 
 SAINT JOSEPH, MISSOURI 
 1905 
 
vm% 
 
 / 
 
Brother Jonathan 
 Series 
 
 Booklet No. 4 
 
Vjji/ccjCi 
 
 Introduction 
 
 The home garden is so intimately associated with 
 the well-being of the family that it becomes one of 
 the important factors in the make-up of the estab- 
 lishment. The farmer looks upon the vegetable 
 garden as a necessity, while the resident of city or 
 town regards the first products from his little plot 
 of ground in the backyard as luxuries which money 
 will not buy. For all this, neither the farmer nor 
 town resident is living up to his possibilities in 
 providing his table with good things in and out of 
 season. 
 
 It is a comparatively simple matter to grow 
 things in season, but skill is required to grow them 
 ' under artificial conditions. It is this last phase of 
 gardening that is being given more and more atten- 
 tion as the people learn that by using simply con- 
 ^structed hotbeds it is possible to produce delicacies 
 like lettuce, radishes, etc., very early in the spring or 
 late in the fall, and sometimes during the winter at 
 . . a trifling expense. The awakening in this direction 
 is very wide and great, but judging from the number 
 ^ of inquiries received at the Experiment Station there 
 w are many who feel in need of some guidance in the 
 ^ way of plain, brief directions for growing garden 
 vegetables for home use. It is the mission of this 
 booklet to try to fill this want. No effort has been 
 made to give directions in detail for growing the 
 various crops, as such a discussion would quickly 
 have led beyond the limits of this treatise. 
 
 No apology is necessary for occupying so much in 
 the discussion of soils, as a good soil is the founda- 
 tion of a good garden. Without the soil is right 
 failure is almost sure. Fortunately the principal 
 materials are always at hand for building up good 
 
6 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 soils from uncongenial locations. The value of barn- 
 yard manures for this purpose can scarcely be over- 
 estimated. There is a popular misunderstanding in 
 regard to what the average soils need to make them 
 congenial for vegetable growing. While plant food,, 
 or actual fertility of soil, is necessary to a degree, it 
 is of far more importance that it be porous and in 
 good physical condition. Commercial fertilizers will 
 supply fertility, but it is only by the addition of large 
 quantities of vegetable fiber (humus) in the form of 
 manures that the soil becomes porous, warm, quick 
 and, at the same time, fertile. Other factors are aids 
 in improving many soils, but it should always be 
 remembered that the liberal use of barnyard 
 manures is the most important. 
 
 The Home Garden 
 
 The Soil: In General — The first essential to suc- 
 cess in the home vegetable garden is good soil. The 
 soil must not only be rich, but it must be in a proper 
 mechanical or physical condition. By this it is meant 
 that it must be porous and well drained, so that it 
 will warm up early in the spring; can be worked 
 quickly after a rain, and will not bake and run to- 
 gether or crack open. The farmer can usually 
 exercise considerable choice as to the location for a 
 home garden, but in many instances, on account of 
 the scarcity of land, or as a matter of convenience, it 
 is necessary to locate the garden near the residence, 
 regardless of whether the soil is the best or not. 
 Under such circumstances it is quite possible to build 
 up a favorable soil, even, where the natural condi- 
 tions are extremely bad. The soil building will con- 
 sist of surface and tile drainage, if necessary; the 
 addition of humus, or vegetable fiber, to the soil; 
 and otherwise improving the physical make-up by* 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 
 
 7 
 
 FIG 1. 
 
 FIG. 1. Soil much magnified. T!he large lumps in the Il- 
 lustration are the smallest parts of the soil we can see with 
 the naked eye; when magnified, each lump is seen to consist of a 
 large number of very small particles of irregular shapes and sizes. 
 In a good soil, when, moist, the roomy spaces between the large 
 particles are occupied by air, while each of the very small parti- 
 cles is surrounded by a film of water which occupies most of the 
 spaces between them. In a wet soil the large spaces are filled 
 with water instead of air. 
 
8 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 the addition of sand and manures. The addition of 
 plant foods in the form of fertilizers is a secondary, 
 consideration, but these may also claim some atten- 
 tion. In order to intelligently begin the work of 
 building up a good garden soil, it will be necessary 
 to know something of the general make-up, or 
 structure, of soils. -« 
 
 A handful of ordinary earth from a field or 
 garden in a good state of tilth, will contain a great 
 many things. In the first place, what is usually 
 known as the soil itself, seems to be a black mass of 
 particles of different sizes. Upon closer examination 
 this mass will be found to consist of material much 
 resembling crushed rock. If we take a very small 
 amount of this material and place it under a micro- 
 scope which magnifies two hundred or three 
 hundred times, it will be found that what appeared 
 to the naked eye as little lumps of “dirt” is, in 
 reality, a collection of very fine particles of matter 
 loosely stuck together, forming the supposed lumps. 
 The interesting part of this last discovery lies in the 
 fact that the small lumps visible to the naked eye 
 are, in reality, a large collection of very small parti- 
 cles which, although they lie close together, have air 
 spaces between them, because of their irregular 
 shapes, as shown in Fig. 1. 
 
 Soil Water — When water falls upon the earth it 
 is said to soak into the soil and disappear. Most 
 farmers know that if the sub-soil is porous enough 
 to allow water to pass through it, it will soon drain 
 off after a rain, but if there be a layer of compact 
 clay, known as “hard-pan,” some distance below the 
 surface, it is a matter of common experience that the 
 soil soon becomes saturated and water stands in the ^ 
 soil or upon the surface, draining off very slowly. 
 At this point it should be stated that the water is 
 
FRUIT-GKO WEB CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 9 
 
 able to gain an entrance into the soil by reason of 
 •the air spaces between the soil particles, as men- 
 tioned above. If the soil is in a water-logged condi- 
 tion it is because all of these air spaces are com- 
 pletely filled with the water. Under such condition 
 the soil is said to be wet. When the soil is merely 
 *moist and in proper condition for growing crops and 
 for being cultivated, the air spaces are not filled 
 completely with the water, but each of the smaller 
 particles of the soil is merely surrounded by an 
 exceedingly thin film of the water. This may be 
 illustrated by dipping a small stone in a cup of water. 
 After shaking as much of the water off as can be 
 removed in this manner, the stone is still seen^to be 
 moist, while no water can actually be seen to be 
 standing upon it. Such a stone is merely surrounded 
 by a film of water. In a fine soil there will be 
 thousands of little particles in a single cubic inch of 
 the earth, so that it is readily seen that if each one 
 of the particles is surrounded by a film of water, 
 such a soil is not at all wet, being merely moist, 
 yet it contains in the aggregate a great deal of 
 water. Many farmers’ boys are familiar with the 
 fact that a moist soil, which is in good working 
 condition, can be taken up with the hand and by 
 constantly rolling and pressing between tbe hands 
 can be made wet, so that water will be quite notice- 
 able on the surface. This is because the pressure has 
 caused the fine particles to be forced closer together 
 and the small amount of water adhering to each 
 particle has crowded to the surface. 
 
 MAKE-UP OF SOILS AND SUB-SOILS. 
 
 Soils are usually classified according to the size 
 of the particles of which they are made up, it being 
 remembered that the particles consist of either sand 
 
10 ] 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 or clay, the former being- composed of fragments of 
 a very hard kind of rock (quartz) and the latter , 
 being fine dust, resulting from the decomposition, or 
 rotting, of other kinds of rock. This makes up what 
 is known as the mineral part of the soil. All of the 
 earthy matter -except the surface layer which we 
 cultivate, is of this nature, although there is, in- 
 addition to the sand and clay mentioned, varying 
 amounts of fragments of rocks of different shapes 
 and sizes, from the finest gravel to the largest 
 boulders. 
 
 The surface layer. of the soil is materially differ- 
 ent from that below. It is usually much darker in 
 color than the sub-soil; it is much looser and more 
 porous than the clay beneath, and every farmer 
 knows it is far richer. Both the color and the fertil- 
 ity of the top soil are due to the presence of decayed 
 vegetable matter. Countless generations of vegeta- 
 tion have liv-ed and died on our average soils and 
 this decayed matter has formed what is known as 
 luimiis. In nature, humus is formed rapidly in 
 woodlands by the annual crop of decaying leaves, if 
 fire is kept out. Humus also supplies fiber to the 
 soil. This fiber is secured in garden soils by plowing 
 under any kind of vegetation as rye, clover, manure, 
 or the refuse of the garden. All of this decays and 
 becomes humus. The humus improves th-e physical 
 condition of the soil by making it loose, open and 
 mellow; by enabling it to hold moisture; by prevent- 
 ing it from becoming compact and baking after 
 rains. The humus itself contains a great deal of 
 plant food. It also assists in converting the mineral 
 matter of the clay and fragments of rock into plant 
 food. The chief reason for the almost extravagant 
 use of stable manures by market gardeners is the 
 addition of humus. Lands which are thus manured 
 year after year have a tendency to become well 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 11 
 
 drained, loose and warm. When fertilizers are added 
 to such soil they act quickly. The land can be tilled 
 9 at almost any time in the growing season and when 
 one crop is off another can be put in immediately. 
 
 Drainage — Almost the first thing to be considered 
 in building up an unfavorable soil is the matter of 
 * drainage. The best drainage is that which is pro- 
 vided by nature, which is a matter of slope and the 
 character of the sub-soil, which will either hold the 
 water or allow it to settle down quickly. There are 
 two methods of draining the soil: First, by means 
 of surface ditches; and, second, underdraining by 
 the use of tiles. For temporary purposes, surface 
 drainage may be used, or the land may be ridged so 
 that the surface water is taken off in the dead fur- 
 rows. This surface drainage, however, results only 
 in carrying 'off superfluous water and does not have 
 much effect on improving the land in the way in 
 which underdrains do. Underdraining is practiced 
 for two purposes — to carry off the water that stands 
 in the soil, thus filling up all of the air spaces be- 
 tween the particles, and to improve the physical 
 texture of the soil. All low and boggy lands need to 
 be drained to get rid of the extra water. Very stiff 
 clay lands, which are generally dry and hard, usu- 
 ally can be much improved in their grain, or texture, 
 by a good system of underdrainage. The explanation 
 is as follows: If water stands long in clay lands it 
 tends to cause the soil to run together and become 
 hard. If the superfluous water is quickly taken off, 
 however, this cementing, or hardening, does not take 
 place. The soil is thereby made looser, or in a better 
 physical condition. This loose or friable condition 
 of the soil enables it to hold more moisture than 
 m when it is hard and brick-like. For vegetable 
 gardening purposes, particularly if quickest results 
 are derived, it is necessary to underdrain hard clay 
 
12 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 lands, even if they are not wet. It makes them 
 workable early in the spring after rains, seeds 
 germinate earlier and plants obtain a quicker foot- 
 hold. 
 
 The depth of the drains and the distance apart 
 will vary with the different soils. In general, the 
 deeper the drains the deeper will be the effect on 
 the soil and the greater the area which they drain. 
 As a matter of practice, however, it is found that 
 four feet is usually the greatest depth and three 
 feet the least. Wet lands, or very hard clay lands, 
 should have drains at a distance of not more than 
 two or three rods, if the lands are to be put in the 
 very best of condition for market gardening 
 purposes. 
 
 The tiling should have a diameter of at least three 
 inches on the inside, should be of the plain, un- 
 glazed kind, and in laying care should be exercised 
 to see that there is a fall of at least one inch to the 
 rod, but three to six inches would be better. The 
 home garden will seldom be large enough in extent 
 to necessitate having a main drain for the laterals to 
 empty into. 
 
 Fall Plowing — It is a favorite practice with the 
 gardener to plow land in the fall. Land which is 
 plowed in the fall can nearly always be worked 
 several days earlier than when plowed in the spring. 
 It dries out sooner. If a heavy dressing of barnyard 
 manure is turned under in the fall the weathering, 
 freezing, thawing, etc., causes it to break down and 
 decay. If the land is clean and in good condition it 
 will not need to be plowed again in the spring but 
 can be worked down with heavy tools like the spad- 
 ing harrow and be got in ideal condition. 
 
 Emphasis should be laid on the necessity for 
 plowing the land deeply. The ordinary twelve-inch 
 plow can be so adjusted as to cut a furrow from six 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 13 
 
 to ten inches deep and care should be taken to see 
 that it does not feed into the land too far, thus 
 * preventing- all of the soil from being cut and turned 
 over. Lands may be worked earlier if they are 
 thrown into beds or ridges by the fall plowing so 
 that the dead furrows occur every eight or ten feet. 
 The surface water is then carried off and the ridges 
 - lie so high that they dry out quickly. 
 
 Where lands are poorly drained by reason of their 
 containing a high percentage of clay, thus causing 
 them to bake, they may be materially improved bv 
 the addition of sand. By the use of both sand and 
 barnyard manure in large quantities, -extending over 
 two or three seasons, it is possible to build up a fine 
 garden soil out of land that was previously useless 
 for that purpose. In adding manures to the soil it 
 v would be much better if the material is thoroughly 
 rotted. It thereby becomes quickly mixed with the 
 soil and its plant food can be immediately used by 
 the plants. 
 
 Tillage — At the present time the great emphasis 
 in good gardening is placed on tillage. There are 
 two kinds of tillage; first, where we prepare the soil 
 to receive the crop, and, second to maintain the soil 
 in good condition for the growth of the crop. To 
 prepare the soil for the crop the land should be 
 loosened and pulverized as deeply as ordinary roots 
 go. To maintain the soil in ideal condition for grow- 
 ing crops the surface should be tilled or stirred as 
 often as it becomes crusted or compacted, which will 
 nearly always be the case after each shower of rain. 
 If the land is thoroughly tilled before any crops are 
 planted a great deal of later work will be avoided. 
 This is a fact often overlooked, but the observant 
 farmer knows that if the land is stirred deeply and 
 thoroughly pulverized previous to planting to any 
 kind of cultivated crop that there is much less labor 
 
14 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 involved in keeping down weeds during the growth 
 of the crop. This is a considerable item, especially 
 w'here very small plants, like onions from the seed, 
 are grown. 
 
 The rainfall of the growing season is often in- 
 sufficient for the crop; the plants draw on the 
 moisture which has been stored in the soil by the 
 winter rains and snows; therefore it is very im- 
 portant to save this supply of water and this is done 
 by careful tillage at proper intervals to keep the 
 surface finely pulverized, so as to prevent the 
 evaporation of the moisture. A mulch made of fine 
 dust is just as effective in keeping the soil moist as 
 a mulch made of grass or straw. Even if some part 
 of the land is not to be used until June it should be 
 fitted early and lightly harrowed at frequent inter- 
 vals until the crop is planted. If it is ever allowed 
 to bake and crack open the moisture from below 
 comes up and is quickly evaporated and lost. 
 
 Rotation of Crops — Land which receives identical 
 treatment year by year, while it may be fertile 
 enough in ordinary plant foods, tends to become un- 
 productive and unsatisfactory. A rotation is useful 
 because it gives different treatments to the land. 
 Any fault of one year tending to be corrected by the 
 management in another year. Furthermore, no one 
 element of plant food is exhausted, the rotation 
 tending to even up the demand on the soil by the 
 different crops. Also, one kind of crop, as beans or 
 peas, will leave the land in good physical condition 
 for another kind of crop. Some crops demand 
 different methods of cultivation from others and 
 therefore have a tendency to destroy weeds and 
 other pests. Finally a rotation of crops means a 
 rotation in tillage, manuring and other treatment. 
 Rotating crops is equivalent to resting the land, in 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 15 
 
 much the same manner that a person may become 
 rested by changing- work. 
 
 Fertilizing — A distinction is made between fertil- 
 izers and manures. A fertilizer does nothing but 
 furnish plant food, while a manure may (and usually 
 ^does) supply plant food and, in addition, greatly 
 improves the texture or physical condition of the 
 soil. When the soil has been thoroughly fitted, built 
 up and improved, by the means mentioned, it is then 
 time to think of adding plant food. This plant food 
 may be supplied in the form of some concentrated 
 fertilizer. It is also added when green crops are 
 plowed under or when manure or compost (well 
 rotted vegetable matter of any kind) is applied. 
 From the foregoing it will be readily understood 
 why the addition of commercial fertilizers even in 
 bountiful amounts, may . not insure the production 
 of a satisfactory crop. Without the soil is in a good 
 physical condition plants cannot grow satisfactorily, 
 no matter how much plant food there may be pres- 
 ent. On the other hand, a soil that is built up by the 
 addition of vegetable fiber in the form of manures 
 or decayed vegetation, and by the addition of sand 
 to further improve the drainage, while it may 
 possess only moderate fertility, is in a good mechan- 
 ical condition and crops will thrive in it. The best 
 results are usually to be expected when there is 
 something like a rotation in the fertilizing of the 
 land, stable manures being used alternately with 
 concentrated or commercial fertilizers. 
 
 The kind and amount of fertilizers to be used are 
 to be determined by several circumstances. It should 
 be remembered that there is no exact means by 
 which one can determine what fertilizers he shall 
 apply. A little experiment with different kinds of 
 
16 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 fertilizers on two or three of the leading crops on 
 one side of the garden is the readiest means of an- 
 swering the question. It is the popular belief that 
 a chemical analysis of a plant will tell exactly what 
 fertilizers and what quantities it may require. Also 
 that the chemist may analyze the soil and thereby 
 determine whether the required fertilizers are pres- 
 ent or not. Both of these assumptions, however, are 
 incorrect. The chemical contents of plants vary in 
 different seasons and in the different parts of the 
 plant and also with the soil in which the plant 
 grows. The plant may take up more than it needs 
 when some element is abundant. By analyzing the 
 soil the chemist can tell what is present, to be sure; 
 but, owing to the fact that the plants cannot use any 
 kind of food unless it is dissolved in water, the 
 chemist has no means of telling us whether the 
 foods he found in the soil were in a condition to be 
 used by the plants or not. In making the analysis 
 he has to dissolve everything in acids and therefore 
 he has no means of knowing whether they could 
 have dissolved in water. Another difficulty in giving 
 advice for fertilizing land is the variable character 
 of the soil. The sandier and more uniform the land 
 the more marked, as a rule, will be the effect of 
 commercial fertilizers. The harder the clay the less 
 marked, in general, is the effect although the addi- 
 tion of lime may exert an influence in making such 
 soils more porous. 
 
 Again, the state of tillage has much to do with 
 the efficiency of the fertilizer. The element which 
 the plant needs may often be afforded more cheaply 
 by giving better tillage than by adding fertilizers, for 
 tillage sets at work the forces of nature which un- 
 lock the plant food. On the other hand a fertilizer 
 is more useable by plants on well tilled soil; the 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 17 
 
 plant can get hold of it, because the material is more 
 easily distributed and there is more moisture in 
 which it may dissolve. The good gardener is the one 
 who gets the most out of his land by means of stable 
 manures and good tillage and then adds a fertilizer 
 to get more out of it. He uses fertilizer for the pur- 
 pose of securing an extra yield rather than to pre- 
 vent the soil from becoming exhausted. Fertilizer is 
 usually a losing investment for a poor farmer or 
 gardener. 
 
 As a rule most garden crops require a great deal 
 of nitrogen. This is the fertilizing element that is 
 most expensive when purchased and is the easiest 
 lost when applied to the soil. Good commercial 
 sources of nitrogen are nitrate of soda and sulphate 
 of ammonia. This element is supplied to a consider- 
 able extent by the use of barnyard manure, or by 
 growing leguminous crops, like peas, beans, clover, 
 etc. The other two fertilizing elements which we 
 expect to add to the soil are potash and phosphoric 
 acid. The first is supplied commercially by muriate 
 of potash and unleached wood ashes. The latter is 
 secured by using bone compounds and fossil phos- 
 phates, as South Carolina and Florida rock. Of 
 nitrate of soda, one hundred and fifty to three 
 hundred pounds per acre is a good application. Of 
 muriate of potash, from two hundred to four hun- 
 dred pounds, and of acidulated South Carolina rock, 
 from two hundred to four hundred pounds. It must 
 be remembered that nitrogen, potash and phosphoric 
 acid are found in a great many different materials, 
 in which they will occur in varying quantities; but 
 under our fertilizer laws each brand which is placed 
 upon the market is accompanied by an official 
 analysis showing the percentage of available fertil- 
 izing ingredients which it contains. From these 
 data the farmer may compute the amount of each to 
 
18 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 use on his land by making- use of the following 
 formula for garden crops: 
 
 Nitrogen, 4 per cent. 
 
 Phosphoric acid, 8 per cent. 
 
 Potash, 10 per cent. 
 
 LAYING OUT THE GARDEN. 
 
 The size of the garden and the relative amounts 
 of the different crops grown must be regulated by 
 the size of the family and their fondness for particu- 
 lar vegetables. An area 100x150 feet is generally 
 sufficient to supply a family of five persons, not con- 
 sidering the winter supply of potatoes, but the area 
 mentioned must be well tilled and handled. It is 
 much easier to cultivate and manage the different 
 crops when they are planted in long rows. The old 
 practice of growing vegetables in beds usually calls 
 for more labor and expense than the crop is worth. 
 Even if the available area is only twenty feet wide 
 the rows should run lengthwise the plot and be far 
 enough apart (from one to two feet for small stuff) 
 to allow of sufficient room for passing between the 
 rows in gathering the product or for cultivating with 
 hand wheel-hoes, if desired. If sufficient land is 
 available for using a horse in the cultivation none of 
 the rows should be less than thirty inches apart, and 
 for large-growing things like cabbage, three to three 
 and a half feet is better. If the rows are long it 
 may be necessary to grow two or three kinds of 
 vegetables in the same row. In this case it is im- 
 portant that vegetables requiring the same general 
 treatment and similar length . of season be grown 
 together. One part of the garden plot should be set 
 aside for growing crops that are somewhat alike; for, 
 example, all root crops might be grown on one side, 
 all cabbage crops in the adjoining space, tomato, 
 
FRUIT- GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 19 
 
 egg plants and the like in the center, and all corn 
 • and other tall things on the opposite side. Those 
 crops that continue to live for many years without 
 replanting, like asparagus and rhubarb, should al- 
 ways be located at one side, where they will not in- 
 terfere with the plowing and cultivation. " * 
 
 In a family garden of 100x150 feet, with the rows 
 running the long way, eight or ten feet may be re- 
 served on the borders for asparagus, rhubarb, sweet 
 herbs, flowers and, possibly, a few berry bushes. A 
 strip twenty feet wide might be used for vines, like 
 cucumbers, melons and squashes. The remaining 
 seventy feet will be room enough for twenty rows 
 three and a half feet apart. This area is large 
 enough to allow of good results in rotation and if it 
 is properly managed should remain highly pro- 
 ductive for a life time. 
 
 HOTBEDS AND COLDFRAMES. 
 
 Hotbeds are devices supplied with bottom heat 
 from fermenting manure, of other sources, for the 
 purpose of growing plants out of season, or for 
 forcing them into a quick growth. More farmers, 
 and even city residents, should learn to make use of 
 the hotbed. A hotbed is made by digging a pit in 
 the ground, 4x6 feet in size and 18 inches deep. Set 
 a small post in each corner to which to attach the 
 framework. In building a single bed, the long way 
 should be north and south. The sides and ends are 
 boxed up from the bottom with any kind of rough 
 boards. If the soil be of a nature that is not likely 
 to cave in on the sides, the board work may be only 
 above ground. When completed, the cover for the 
 bed should have a good slope toward the south in 
 order to carry off rains or melting snow quickly. 
 The north end of the frame should be at least twelve 
 inches high and the sides eight inches. 
 
20 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 The best cover is made by using a wooden frame- 
 work, employing strips not over three inches wide, 
 with narrow wooden strips about ah inch thick, run- 
 ning lengthwise only. Panes of glass should be fitted 
 into the grooved strips in such a way that they will 
 lap over each other shingle fashion, the laps being 
 only about a quarter of an inch. After danger of 
 severe freezing is passed a much cheaper covering 
 for the bed may be made by tacking to a board 
 frame a sheet of thin cloth, which has been soaked 
 in linseed oil. New domestic is good for this pur- 
 pose. The cover should admit as much sunlight as 
 possible, glass, of course, being the best. An oiled 
 cloth also admits considerable light, will turn water 
 and is inexoensive. 
 
 The hotbed pit should be filled with fresh 
 manure from a horse barn, making sure that the 
 material has not been exposed to the weather. The 
 manure should be spread in the pit uniformly and 
 firmed down well, taking car-e that all the corners 
 are filled, otherwise the "bed will be unevenly heated. 
 Over the manure put a layer of rich soil five or six 
 inches deep. This soil should be made of a mixture 
 of one part good garden soil to two parts of a mix- 
 ture of equal amounts of rotted sod, sand and thor- 
 oughly rotted manure. Water thoroughly, so that 
 the manure is wet to the bottom. In four or five 
 days the manure should begin to ferment and give 
 off heat. If all goes well, the bed will become very 
 hot, so that a thermometer to plunge in the soil 
 would be very useful. When the temperature gets 
 down to about 80 degrees the seeds or plants may 
 be placed in the soil. In the latitude of Missouri a 
 bed of this kind may be made in late February or 
 March and vegetables like lettuce, radishes, etc., will 
 be ready for table use by the time it will ordinarily 
 do to sow the earliest seeds in the garden in spring. 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 21 
 
 The hotbed will require regular watering every 
 day or two, depending upon the state of the weather. 
 Also the growing plants must have an abundance of 
 fresh air. Each day, about the middle of the fore- 
 noon, if the air is not cold enough to freeze the 
 plants, one end of the sash should be propped up a 
 few inches. See Fig. 2, On warm, sunny days the 
 sash may be left up until the middle of the after- 
 noon. If severely cold weather is expected at any- 
 time the outside of the frame should be banked up 
 with manure or. earth and the sash covered with 
 manure, a board cover or a mat of some kind. The 
 best location for a hotbed is on the south side of a 
 building or high board fence, where it will receive 
 the full benefit of the sun all day. 
 
 Hotbeds are perhaps most useful for starting 
 plants early and afterwards transplanting them to 
 the garden, although certain crops may be grown to 
 maturity in them. Radishes may be made to grow 
 to perfection in twenty-seven days, or less time, from 
 the date of planting the seed. 
 
 Coldframes — A coldframe has no bottom heat, 
 otherwise it is like a hotbed. The exhausted hot- 
 beds are often used as coldframes in early spring. 
 Coldframes are very useful in early spring for start- 
 ing vegetables early to be later transplanted to the 
 field. Hotbeds would not do, as they would force 
 the plants too fast. Coldframes are also useful 
 for receiving plants like tomatoes, which have been 
 started in hotbeds, or forcing houses, but require a 
 gradual process of “hardening off” before being 
 transplanted to the garden. Another use for cold- 
 frames is for wintering young cabbages, lettuce and 
 other plants of like hardiness which are sown in the 
 fall. 
 
 Where the coldframe is always to be used as 
 such it is not necessary to make the deep pit in the 
 
22 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
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 earth. All the heat needed is derived from the sun 
 shining- on the glass covers, which are precisely the 
 same as the sashes for covering hotbeds. In gen- 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 23 
 
 eral gardening, even in a small way, the coldframe 
 is almost an indispensable companion to the hot- 
 bed. The hardening off process of plants is the im- 
 portant step between the hotbed and garden 
 conditions. 
 
 GARDEN SEEDS. 
 
 Longevity of Seeds — Seeds of every kind are little 
 undeveloped plants Wrapped up in some kind of a 
 protective covering. The length of time that a 
 seed will live varies with the kind, the conditions 
 under which it was grown, the degree of ripeness 
 and the manner in which it is stored and handled. 
 There is a limit to the life of every seed, yet when 
 this limit is reached there may be no evidence in the 
 seed itself, either outside or inside, to indicate the 
 loss of vitality. 
 
 Testing Seeds — In order to determine whether 
 seeds are dead or worth planting it is necessary to 
 test them. The seed test should be made well in ad- 
 vance of the planting season, so that in case they 
 are found to be unsatisfactory there will still be an 
 opportunity to replace them before planting time. 
 In testing, a certain number of seeds, say fifty or 
 one hundred, should be selected from the center of 
 the package and planted in a box of sand or loose 
 soil and kept in the house. By noting the number of 
 seeds that come up it is a simple matter to deter- 
 mine the percentage of good seeds in the package. 
 It should be remembered, however, that the mere 
 fact of the sprouting of a seed is not sufficient evi- 
 dence that it will make a good plant. The seeds 
 should sprout uniformly and come up evenly and 
 show evidence of making vigorous plants. Seeds are 
 often adulterated by having mixed with them others 
 of inferior varieties which have been killed by bak- 
 ing in order to prevent the fraud being detected, or 
 
24 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 the seeds of weeds or other plants may be put in to 
 help make up the bulk. All of these things will be 
 detected in a seed test. 
 
 GARDEN CROPS. 
 
 FIG 3. 
 
 FIG. 3. One-year-old asparagus plants grown by Missouri Ex- 
 periment Station. Seeds were planted in hotbeds in February and 
 plants moved to the garden late in April. Suc*h a plant is strong 
 enough to permit of cutting the young stems the second season 
 when ordinarily this could not be done until the third year. 
 
 Asparagus — This is one of the crops that live year 
 after year without replanting and,, being so easily 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 25 
 
 kept, it deserves to be more widely grown by farm- 
 
 • ers. Asparagus is especially adapted to a place in 
 the small garden of the town or city resident. 
 Asparagus is a gross feeder; land can scarcely be too 
 rich. Since the asparagus plantation should be made 
 for a lifetime, it is well to give careful attention to 
 
 • the selection of the soil and to the choicest place 
 that can be permanently set aside for the purpose. 
 In the home garden asparagus should be in rows at 
 one side of the garden plot, so that it will not inter- 
 fere with the plowing. It usually looks best at the 
 farther side, where its beautiful plants make an at- 
 tractive background in late summer and fall. The 
 old plan of planting asparagus in beds is not the 
 best. One row, from 75 to 100 feet long, if properly 
 kept, will yield a surprisingly large amount of the 
 juicy, succulent stalks, and will be enough for table 
 use in season for the average family. 
 
 In buying plants secure the best one-year-old 
 crowns obtainable. See Fig. 3. Asparagus roots do 
 not grow straight down in the soil very well unaided, 
 so they should be planted deeply. Planting is usu- 
 ally done in the spring. A furrow six to ten inches 
 deep should be opened and the plants set in the bot- 
 tom. The roots should be covered with loose soil or 
 thoroughly rotted manure or other vegetable matter 
 to a depth of two or three inches. As the plants 
 grow the trench is gradually filled with soil. If the 
 trench were filled at first, the young plants might 
 not have strength enough to push through to the 
 surface. The plants should be set from two to three 
 feet apart in the rows and by fall the furrows should 
 be filled until they are level with the rest 
 of the ground. If the soil is not naturally rich, the 
 
 • furrow should be dug deeper than the figures given 
 and partially filled with very rich soil, or with 
 composted manure. 
 
26 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 The plants should have two full seasons’ growth 
 before any of the shoots are cut; that is, the first 
 cutting 1 is done at the beginning of the third season. 
 Sometimes a few stalks are taken the second year, 
 but it is usually better to wait until the third season, 
 when the plants will have become thoroughly estab- 
 lished. It is easy to injure the bed by cutting it for 
 too long a period each season. Begin to cut in the 
 spring as soon as the first stalks appear above the 
 ground and cease not later than the first of July. 
 It would be even better to discontinue the cutting 
 by the middle of June. During the time the crop is 
 being harvested every stalk should be removed, even 
 though many are too small and poor for use. After 
 the harvest time is over the plants are allowed to 
 grow with freedom and it is the growth that they 
 make during the remainder of the season that en- 
 ables them to store up enough energy in the crowns 
 to make the vigorous growth they do so early in the 
 spring. Without there is a heavy top growth after 
 the cutting season, one cannot expect a good growth 
 of roots and a heavy crop of young stems during the 
 following year. 
 
 Late in the fall, after the tops have died, they 
 should be mowed down, raked off of the patch and 
 burned. If allowed to remain on the ground, al- 
 though they would furnish some winter protection, 
 the berries they contain would find their way into 
 the soil and there would be so many seedling plants 
 as to make trouble. Furthermore, asparagus is at- 
 tacked by a rust disease which thrives on the plants 
 during late summer. Burning destroys the germs of 
 the disease, which would otherwise be left on the 
 ground. 
 
 After the tops are removed the rows should be 
 mulched heavily with old manure, which is to fur- 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 27 
 
 nish winter protection and to add fertility to the soil 
 In the spring the soil should be thrown toward the 
 middle of the row from both sides with a turning 
 plow, or by being drawn up with a hoe. After re- 
 moving the coarser parts of the material with rake 
 or fork the soil immediately over the row should be 
 thoroughly forked up. A little practice will enable 
 the operator to turn the soil over, down to the 
 crowns of the plants without injuring them. Finish 
 the row, which is now a slight ridge, which falls 
 gently towards both sides, with garden rake which 
 will leave the soil in fine tilth. The rows should be 
 tilled occasionally even after the shoots have begun 
 to appear above ground, although these later culti- 
 vations will consist of stirring only the immediate 
 surface of the soil, preferably with a rake, so as 
 not to break off the young shoots. 
 
 It is customary to harvest asparagus by cutting 
 the shoots three or four inches beneath the surface 
 by means of a long knife. Any long butcher-knife 
 will serve the purpose. The blade should follow 
 down by the side of the sprout to the proper depth 
 and by a twist of the wrist force it through the bot- 
 tom part of the shoot, all the while holding the 
 sprout with the left hand. If a careless person 
 should make a wide sweep with the blade through 
 the soil a number of the sprouts not yet visible above 
 the surface would certainly be cut off and ruined. 
 An asparagus planting should bear being cut over 
 each day if there be suitable growing weather, as it 
 is customary to remove the sprouts at their first ap- 
 pearance above ground. The value of asparagus lies 
 in its succulence and tenderness. These qualities are 
 secured by very rich soil and by thorough attention 
 to good tillage. The Conover Colossal and Palmetto 
 are the leading varieties. 
 
28 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 Beans — The common beans are of two gen- 
 eral types — the bush bean and the pole bean. In 
 this country the bush, or “bunch,” bean is by far the 
 more important, since it can be grown without the 
 labor and expense of providing a support upon 
 which the plants may climb. Bush beans are grown 
 both as field and garden crops. In the garden they 
 are used mostly as “string” beans, the pods being 
 picked when they are two-thirds grown and the 
 pods and beans together being eaten. The pods of a 
 good string bean are those which have no “strings.” 
 The pods snap cleanly in two, this giving rise to the 
 common name, “snap” beans. In order for string 
 beans to be of the best quality, they should make a 
 rapid and continuous growth. The soil should be 
 rich and well cultivated. 
 
 The bean is a warm weather plant and therefore 
 should not be planted in spring until after the 
 weather has become thoroughly settled. In late sum- 
 mer plant again for fall use. A succession may be 
 had all summer. 
 
 There are other types of garden bean which are 
 used as “shell” beans. The large, soft seeds are 
 used just before they begin to harden and the pods 
 are not eaten. The well known lima beans belong to 
 this class. Lima beans demand a long season and 
 continuous growth, especially the tall, or true, lima 
 varieties. Since the flowers are sometimes injured 
 by the hot dry weather of mid-summer it is well to 
 get the plants started as early as possible in order 
 that some of the fruit may be set before the hottest 
 weather. These should be grown upon soil that is 
 the richest and which is in the best physical condi- 
 tion. Soils that are light and sandy are usually to be 
 preferred. The tall varieties must have poles. When 
 poles get scarce it is a good plan to set long stakes 
 
FRUIT- GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 29 
 
 ten or twelve feet apart and to run wires or heavy 
 strings from pole to pole, one strand near the top 
 and one within a foot or so of the ground, and then 
 to connect thes-e with strands running from one to 
 the other. 
 
 Beet — The garden beet is easily grown and is a 
 very reliable crop. It prefers a very rich, loose soil 
 and should be given good tillage, especially during 
 the early part of the growing season. For home use 
 the seed should be planted as soon as the ground is 
 in workable condition in the spring, planting the 
 seeds rather thickly in the rows and then thinning 
 later, w r hen the plants can be pulled out and used for 
 greens. In this thinning operation the plants which 
 are left should stand about two inches apart, at the 
 least. This leaves room for the great enlargement 
 of the roots of those reserved for later in the seison. 
 
 In the home garden the rows should be about 
 sixteen inches apart, but where 'greater areas are 
 planted than the garden will accommodate and 
 where horse-power cultivation can be practiced the 
 rows should be two feet, or slightly more, apart. As 
 for all other root crops, the cultivation must be 
 thorough, and especially so early in the season, in 
 order that the moisture in the soil will not be lost 
 through evaporation, but reserved for the use of the 
 rapidly-enlarging roots of the beets. This cultiva- 
 tion in a small plot may be most conveniently done 
 either with a wheel or hand hoe, cutting off all 
 weeds and loosening the soil for an inch or so in 
 depth. In field culture, where horse-power can be 
 used, any good, fine-toothed cultivator, which will 
 stir the soil thoroughly, will answer the purpose. 
 
 Among the varieties for the garden those giv'ng 
 the best results are those having a small top with 
 medium-sized root, of regular and uniform shape 
 
30 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 and fine grained. They are in the best condition to 
 use when about two-thirds full grown, as then they 
 are the sweetest, tenderest and most succulent. 
 
 Beets are easily forced by sowing the early ma- 
 turing kinds in hot-beds, where they should receive 
 practically the same treatment as shall be described 
 later for the radish. 
 
 Cabbage — Cabbage can be grown under a greater 
 variety of conditions and this vegetable will endure 
 more lack of care than any of the other garden 
 crops, but like all other crops it quickly responds 
 to suitable conditions and must be given the highest 
 cultivation for its best development. A good clay 
 loam, when well supplied with barnyard manure, 
 makes one of the best soils for cabbage, and for the 
 earliest maturing varieties the soil must be especially 
 well fertilized. In some of the eastern sections of 
 the country it is occasionally necessary to change 
 the land on which cabbage is grown on account of a 
 disease which attacks the roots. 
 
 The varieties of cabbage are divided into the early 
 and late sorts, and the methods of cultivation 
 adapted to the early varieties are somewhat differ- 
 ent from those followed in growing the late varieties. 
 In growing the early sorts the seed should be sown 
 rather thickly in flats in the hotbed early in the 
 season. As soon as the seedlings have made their 
 first pair of leaves they should be transplanted into 
 other flats and given more room, so as to make 
 strong, stocky plants which will be able to stand 
 alone when set in the field, even if they are some- 
 what wilted. While in the hotbed the plants -should 
 not be forced in the least or they will become too 
 spindling. About five or six weeks after sowing the 
 plants should be hardened off and when they are 
 about six or seven weeks old they are ready 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 31 
 
 to be set in the field. In setting them a hole 
 .should b-e made in the soil with a small dibber and 
 the plants set well down with the soil firmed tightly 
 about the roots. Where cultivation with a hoe is 
 practiced the plants may be set about eighteen 
 inches apart each way, but if a horse-power culti- 
 vator is used the rows had better be two or three 
 feet apart for easier cultivation. 
 
 Cultivation should begin immediately after set- 
 ting the plants, and after each rain the surface 
 should be stirred as soon as the ground can be 
 worked, or at least once a week until the crop is 
 ready to harvest. 
 
 For late varieties of cabbage it is not necessary 
 that the soil be as rich as for the early varieties, the 
 heavier field soils answering the purpose quite well. 
 
 The seed of the late varieties are either planted 
 in a seed-bed in the field or garden, or in small hills 
 about the field where the plants are to mature. The 
 former method leaves the space in the field to be 
 occupied by some early-maturing crop, while the 
 cabbage plants are growing to a sufficient size for 
 planting out, ’but it has the objection of requiring 
 the plants to be set out at a time when the soil is 
 usually quite dry and the plants consequently suffer 
 from lack of moisture. Where grown in hills, only a 
 few seeds are planted in a hill and as soon as the 
 plants begin to crowd each other all but the strong- 
 est are removed. This has the advantage of not re- 
 quiring the transplanting to be done during dry 
 weather and allows the plants to mature at an earlier 
 date than when transplanted. 
 
 Carrot — This is one of the most easily grown root 
 • crops for the home garden, a fact which is not well 
 appreciated, as it should be. The carrot is a rank 
 feeder and does best in a rich upland soil or in a 
 
32 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 heavy clay soil heavily fertilized with barnyard 
 manure. For home use the carrot can be grown in 
 almost any soil which is not too wet. The soil should 
 be put in good condition before planting the seed, 
 and as the seed germinate slowly care must be exer- 
 cised to have the land as free from weed seeds as 
 possible, or else some quick germinating seed, such 
 as radish, should be sown with the carrots so as to 
 mark the rows and allow cultivation to proceed. 
 The seed should be sown in drills about a foot or 
 eighteen inches apart early in May, and should not 
 be planted too thickly owing to the cost and trouble 
 of thinning. Where the soil is very rich the thinning 
 should be done so as to leave the plants about two 
 or three inches apart for the larger varieties, but in 
 the heavier soils, which will not give such great roo: 
 development, the plants can stand closer together. 
 
 The young plants are quite delicate and during 
 the early part of the season especially the cultiva- 
 tion must be verv thorough in order to keep the 
 weeds in check and not allow the young plants to be 
 smothered. 
 
 For a late crop it is not necessary to plant the 
 seed till June or July, but otherwise they are treated 
 the same as the early crop and are gathered and 
 stored for winter use just before freezing weather. 
 
 Cauliflower — Home gardens are seldom provided 
 with this delicious vegetable owing to the supposed 
 difficulties in the way of growing it, but the market 
 gardener finds it one of the most valuable of his 
 garden crops. The first essential in growing cauli- 
 flower is to get good seeds. Buy the best obtainable 
 seeds, as the cheaper grades are bound to produce 
 failures and consequently discourage the grower 
 against trying again. The best seeds usually cost 
 about S3. 50 per ounce. 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 33 
 
 Cauliflower may be grown as a hotbed crop in 
 winter, or as a spring vegetable in the garden. 
 Where it is desired to grow it as a hotbed crop the 
 seed should be sown in early winter in flats (shallow 
 boxes, from one to two feet square), sowing the seed 
 thickly and transplanting the seedlings after they 
 
 fig 4 . 
 
 FIG. 4. Cauliflower heads five and six inches in diameter 
 grown in hotebeds in late winter by the Missouri Experiment Sta- 
 tion. 
 
 have made the second leaf. When about six weeks 
 old the seedlings may be set in the hotbed about a 
 foot or eighteen inches apart. Only enough water 
 should be applied at first to keep the plants from 
 becoming badly wilted, but as soon as they have 
 
34 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 taken hold of the soil water may be applied more 
 liberally. In hotbed culture great care must be 
 given to the ventilation and on every day, when it is 
 possible to raise the sash over the frames without 
 chilling the plants too much, they should be raised, 
 if only a few inches. See Fig. 4 for specimens of 
 cauliflower heads grown in hotbeds. 
 
 Since the roots of the cauliflower run very close 
 to the surface and it is not always practicable in the 
 hotbed to cultivate, it is a common practice to scat- 
 ter a thin layer of rich, friable soil over the surface 
 between the plants. As the plants reach maturity 
 they must be given more air, and it is often advisable 
 to give an occasional application of manure, from 
 either the cow stable or the poultry yard. 
 
 When the heads begin to form, three or four of 
 the inner leaves should be broken, so as to fold over 
 the head. This protects the head from light and 
 keeps it from becoming loose and open. 
 
 In growing cauliflower in the field the seed 
 should be treated in practically the same way as 
 cabbage, and when the seedlings are properly 
 hardened and all danger of frost is over they are 
 ready to be set in the field. The field soil must be 
 of the richest obtainable; a strong loam, having a 
 liberal amount of well rotted manure incorporated 
 with it, is the best soil. The subsequent treatment 
 is practically the same as that given for cabbage. 
 
 In field culture, when the crop is in danger of 
 being injured by an early frost, it is sometimes ad- 
 visable to pull up all of the immature heads, with 
 the roots and leaves, and set them out in a cool cellar 
 or a coldframe, where many of them will develop 
 fair-sized heads. 
 
 No matter whether being grown in the hotbed 
 or garden, two things must be borne in mind regard- 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 35 
 
 ing cauliflower; first, the seed must be the best 
 possible to obtain. The cauliflower is, of all* garden 
 plants, the most liable to deteriorate unless scrupu- 
 lous care is given to the selection of seed, and even 
 the best stock will “run out” unless the requisite 
 skill and care in growing the seed be continually 
 observed. The difference between the very best seed 
 and moderately good seed will usually result in an 
 excellent crop in the one and a complete failure in 
 the other. Second, cauliflower is a gross feeder and 
 the amount of fertility in the soil must be at the 
 maximum for the best results. 
 
 Celery — Celery is a garden crop that is grown 
 principally for the fleshy leaf stalks which, after 
 being blanched, are eaten raw with salt, made into 
 salad, or cooked and served like asparagus. 
 
 The seed are sown thickly in a flat, or hotbed, 
 and covered with a thin layer of sand, after which 
 the soil is well firmed. These are then kept in a 
 moderately warm place until the seed germinate, 
 which will take several days. As soon as the seed 
 have sprouted they should be carefully watered until 
 they have made the second leaf, when they are to be 
 “pricked out” and transplanted to other flats, where 
 they may have more room. The seedlings at this 
 stage are still very small and the pricking out and 
 transplanting must be very carefully done, placing 
 them into new flats in rows about three inches apart 
 and three-fourths of an inch apart in the row. It is 
 necessary now to shade them for a day or so, until 
 they get established, after which they may be ex- 
 posed to the full sunlight and left until they are 
 large enough to set out in the field. It may be nec- 
 essary, if the plants have made a very strong growth, 
 to shear off about one-third of the top of each plant. 
 This causes a greater root growth and makes the 
 
36 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 plants more stocky and better able to fctand the 
 shock of transplanting to the field. 
 
 The soil best for celery is one which has been 
 made very rich with old compost, plenty of nitroge- 
 nous material and abundantly supplied with moisture. 
 It should be made ready to receive the plants before 
 the latter are removed from the flats, or hotbeds. 
 In taking up the celery plants to set out in the field 
 the tops and roots should be slightly trimmed to 
 make the plants stand the shock of transplanting 
 the better. If the weather should fce very dry at this 
 period it is almost absolutely necessary that the 
 plants be watered in some way, either by letting the 
 water flow along the row or by pouring a small 
 quantity of water about each plant just after it is 
 set. Just on this account many persons prefer to 
 have their celery bed located near a well or spring, 
 where it is easiest to get the water. 
 
 Cultivation during the early part of the season 
 should be done often enough to keep down all weeds 
 and to conserve the moisture in the soil; later in the 
 season, as the plants near maturity, cultivation is 
 stopped on account of the blanching process which 
 must bp undertaken. 
 
 As soon the the leaf stalks reach the age at which 
 they become large enough to eat it is necessary to 
 bleach them in some way to make them tender. This 
 is done primarily by shading the leaf stalks. An 
 easy way in a small garden is to gather together the 
 leaf stalks of each plant and tie around them several 
 thicknesses of newspaper, so as it will reach from 
 the soil to the top of the plant, leaving only a few 
 of the topmost leaves sticking out of the paper 
 cylinder. Another way, and perhaps an easier one, 
 is to place wide boards on each side of the row close 
 against the plants and leave it there till the leaf 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 37 
 
 stalks are sufficiently blanched, which will take 
 from two weeks to a month. 
 
 Still another method is to grow the plants so 
 close together in a bed that they will shade each 
 other, making it necessary to protect only the outer 
 rows with boards. Some people prefer to ridge earth 
 up around the plants, as shown in Fig. 5. This, 
 
 FIG 5. 
 
 FIG. 5 Blanching celery by banking the soil around the plants. 
 The tops are covered with straw during cold nights. 
 
 though, is a rather laborious process, since the 
 leaves on each plant have to be drawn up around 
 the crown and the earth packed tightly around 
 around them. Although the most laborious, this 
 method produces the whitest, tenderest and most 
 succulent stems of all. 
 
38 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 If celery is to be kept for winter use it must be 
 removed from the field before severe freezing weather 
 sets in, taking up a large part of the root system 
 with the tops and then setting out again in a box or 
 cellar. By leaving plenty of roots on the plants the 
 tops will continue to grow for some time and the 
 leaves produced at this time are by far the best. 
 
 Com — Corn for table use is more commonly 
 called sweet corn and its cultural characteristics are 
 essentially the same as for field corn. 
 
 Sweet corn does best on a medium heavy loam 
 which has been made rich and warm through liberal 
 application of manure . In manuring a garden spot, 
 where fresh manure has been applied, sweet corn 
 may be very satisfactorily grown, as the corn thrives 
 better in the presence of fresh manure than any of 
 the other garden crops. 
 
 The seed should be planted in hills three and a 
 half feet each way, or in drills, having the rows 
 about the same distance apart. Early in the season 
 the cultivation should be rather deep, but as the 
 plant reaches maturity, only the surface should be 
 stirred, owing to the shallow rooting of the mature 
 corn plant. 
 
 The dwarf, early maturing varieties are the best 
 for home use, and for a continuous supply through- 
 out the season several plantings about two weeks 
 apart should be made. 
 
 Cucumber — This plant does moderately well under 
 rather unfavorable conditions, but does best on a 
 deep, rich, retentive loam which is not extremely 
 heavy or sandy. Soil which is well adapted to corn 
 or wheat makes good cucumber land. The seed 
 need not be planted till the middle of May or first 
 of June, when the ground has become quite warm. 
 Plant in hills, sowing several seed about in the hill 
 so as to provide against the ravages of insects. 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 39 
 
 These seeds should be covered about an inch deep 
 *and the earth firmed well over them. As soon as the 
 seedlings are up, the soil about them in the hill 
 should be loosened up after each rain and the plant- 
 lets dusted with paris green or some substance dis- 
 tasteful or poisonous to the striped beetles, which 
 * attack the plants very early in the season. 
 
 Cultivation should be kept up throughout the 
 season, or until the vines have grown to such an 
 •extent that they would be injured by the work. 
 
 Some persons prefer to start the seed in a hot- 
 bed or cold frame instead of planting in the field, 
 especially for a very early crop. A common practice 
 for this purpose is to sow the seed in an old straw- 
 berry box, tomato can or flower pot and then trans- 
 plant to the field as soon as of sufficient size. An- 
 other plan is to sow the seed on inverted pieces of 
 sod five or six inches square. Whichever method is 
 used, the seedlings must be hardened off before 
 setting in the field, and each piece of sod or the 
 soil from each box set as carefully in the field as 
 possible, for the cucumber plants do not well stand 
 the shock of having the roots injured. 
 
 Eggplant — This plant is quite seisitive to cold, 
 and for that reason is not very extensively grown 
 in the north, but in the warmer climates it can be 
 readily grown in the home garden. It prefers a 
 deep, rich, loamy soil which is quite dry, enduring a 
 greater drought than any of our other garden crops. 
 
 Since it takes about four or five months for the 
 egg plants to reach fruiting age it is necessary to 
 start the plants early in a hot bed or in flats, sow- 
 ing the seed rather thickly and transplanting to 
 other flats when showing the second leaf. When 
 * about six inches high the plants are ready to be set 
 in the garden and should be set in rows three or 
 four feet apart. The cultural directions are prac- 
 
40 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 tically the same as for cabbage, except that it re- 
 quires a much longer season, and great care must 
 be taken that the young plants are not checked in 
 their growth. After setting in the field, however, 
 every effort must be made to hurry the plant into 
 fruiting before the approach of cold weather. 
 
 Ginseng — This plant has created a great deal of 
 interest among all classes of people within the past 
 few years, owing to the large prices which the roots 
 have brought on the market. Ginseng growing can b^ 
 overdone, owing to the very limited market for the 
 roots, they being sold almost entirely in China. Gov- 
 ernment statistics gathered in 1904 seemed to indi- 
 cate that enough ginseng was then planted to more 
 than meet the demand for roots when the beds are 
 old enough to produce the marketable product. 
 
 The plantings are usually started either from seed 
 or from one-year-old plants. For a quick start it 
 is best to begin with one- or two-year-old plants, 
 purchasing them from some ginseng dealer, as it 
 takes from a year and a half to two years for the 
 seed to germinate. The plants must be set no closer 
 than a foot apart and then well shaded with a 
 screen made of lath or branches of trees supported 
 on some sort of framework, since the leaves cannot 
 stand the direct heat of the sun. The soil for gin- 
 seng should be very loose, made almost entirely from 
 leaf mould or very thoroughly rotted manure. Great 
 care is necessary in setting the plants to see that 
 the roots are spread out in their natural positions, 
 otherwise they will not increase in size. When the 
 roots are four years old they are ready for market- 
 ing. The roots should be dug just after the leaves 
 die in the autumn, being careful to not injure any of 
 the roots, as the uninjured or unmutilated roots 
 bring a higher market price. Before putting the 
 roots on the market they must be dried, and this is 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 41 
 
 usually done, where there are only small amounts, 
 by spreading out on a board in the sun till dry, but 
 usually this is too slow a process. A much better 
 method is to place in a box which has had the bot- 
 tom replaced by a screen, and then suspend over a 
 stove where a current of warm, dry air may con- 
 stantly pass the roots. In this way they will dry 
 
 much more quickly and make better products for 
 the market than when sundried. In this drying 
 process the roots as a rule lose about two-thirds of 
 their weight. Good roots on the market bring from 
 40 to 50 cents per ounce, dry weight. 
 
 Besides the roots, ginseng is of marketable value 
 in another way, and that is in the production of seed. 
 A four- or five-year-old plant will produce from 
 
 forty of fifty seeds annually, and these retail at from 
 
 2 to 5 cents each, at the present time, 1905, the 
 buyers, of course, being persons who are starting 
 ginseng beds. 
 
 Ginseng should be grown only on a small scale, as 
 the expense of starting a bed amounts to consid- 
 erable for even a small one, and the ease with which 
 the market can be flooded makes it an unsafe crop 
 to grow in a very extensive way. With the Chinese 
 ginseng has a superstitious value as a preventive or 
 cure for nearly all ailments. In America the roots 
 are regarded as having but little medicinal value. 
 
 Horseradish — This is one of the- “old-fashioned” 
 vegetables which is not as extensively grown now-a- 
 days as it should be. It is so very easily grown and 
 so very hardy that every dooryard should have a 
 clump to furnish this delicious condiment for home 
 use. 
 
 Horseradish is propagated principally from root 
 cuttings, using sections about four or five inches 
 long and from the size of a lead pencil to that of 
 one’s little finger. The top cut from the root is gen- 
 
42 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 erally thrown away, as the roots formed from that 
 portion are generally so small that it does not pay 
 to bother with handling them. The horseradish does 
 well on all soils excepting those which are excess- 
 ively sandy or the very stiff clays. For the longest 
 and largest roots any good deep loam will give very 
 satisfactory results. 
 
 In planting, the cuttings should be placed right 
 end up in holes made with a sharp-pointed stick, 
 setting so that the top is two or three inches below 
 the surface. It is important that the roots be set 
 right -end up, as they do not do well nor make well- 
 shaped roots when set bottom end up. 
 
 Horseradish should occupy a place in the garden 
 towards one side or end where it will not be in the 
 way of cultivation, since it will live for years in the 
 same place. It may be necessary to carefully remove 
 a part of the bed occasionally, especially if the plants 
 are spreading. Where it is desired to grow the roots 
 principally for market, the beds should be made 
 anew each year, planting the roots in rows and 
 growing some companion crop between them. 
 
 Kale — This crop is handled in much the same 
 manner as cabbage, requiring the same kind of soil, 
 
 — a well fertilized clay loam. The plants are very 
 hardy, and except in the extreme northern states 
 may be left out over winter with little or no protec- 
 tion. 
 
 The seeds are sown in a seedbed in the same man- 
 ner as late cabbage, and transplanted, when four 
 or five leaves have been made, into the field. The 
 rows in the field may be as close together as is con- 
 venient for cultivation and the plants pulled for use 
 as soon as they have made sufficient growth. 
 
 Kohlrabi — This plant is a near relative of the cab- * 
 bage, and is grown for the enlarged or swollen por- 
 tion of the stem just above the ground, which is 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 43 
 
 FIG. 6. Heads of lettuce of different varieties grown in hotbeds in late winter 
 at the Missouri Experiment Station. 
 
44 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 used for the same purposes and in the same way as 
 turnips. In some parts of the country it has sup- 
 planted the turnip as a spring vegetable. The seed 
 should be sown in beds where the plants are to 
 mature, and the plants pulled and used when about 
 two or three inches in diameter. Kohlrabi should 
 be grown in a soil containing sufficient fertility to 
 hasten the growth of the plants, as in this way the 
 tubers will be more succulent and sweeter and not 
 become woody or bitter, as do those which grow 
 more slowly. 
 
 Leek — The leek is closely allied to the onion, 
 which it resembles in flavor, and its cultural require- 
 ments are practically the same. The seeds are sown 
 in a bed in light, deep loam which has been well 
 prepared. When the seedlings are about six or eight 
 inches high they are transplanted into rows about 
 eighteen inches apart and eight or nine inches in the 
 row. In transplanting, both the tops and the roots 
 should be slightly trimmed. As the plants grow, 
 the soil should be gathered up about the stems so 
 as to insure blanching, as it is th-e blanched stem 
 which is most desired. It requires the entire season 
 for its growth, and in the fall, as cold weather ap- 
 proaches, the plants are taken from the soil and 
 stored for winter use in the same manner as celery. 
 
 Lettuce — Lettuce is one of the most extensively 
 grown of all garden vegetables, and its ease of cul- 
 tivation makes it one of the most popular. In the 
 home garden it is grown principally as an early 
 spring crop in the open ground, but it is very ex- 
 tensively grown as a hothouse or hotbed crop. For 
 perfection in growth, lettuce needs a cool atmos- 
 phere and a loose, rich soil. The seeds need to be 
 started in flats and transplanted to hotbeds, where 
 they are set about a foot apart each way and kept 
 growing rapidly. The cabbage, or heading, sorts 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO. a ST. JOSEPH, MO. 45 
 
 require a rather long’ season and considerable care 
 * for perfect development, while the looser kinds may 
 be grown more easily. In the home garden the seeds 
 may be sown in early spring in good, rich, garden 
 soil, placing the seed rather thickly in rows about a 
 t foot apart. As the seedlings begin to crowd each 
 other, thinnings should be made. These plants which 
 are removed are usually large enough for table use. 
 With the cabbage, or heading, sorts the bed should 
 be thinned sufficiently to allow the plants which 
 remain to stand about ten inches or a foot apart. 
 These plants will then form large heads and afford 
 the grower whiter, tenderer and more crisp leaves 
 than those pulled earlier in the season. (See Fig. 6 
 for heads of different varieties grown in hotbeds.) 
 
 Lettuce can be grown in the garden as a com- 
 panion crop between cabbages or cauliflower or 
 other slow-growing plants. In such cases the lettuce 
 seed is sown or the seedlings transplanted into the 
 bed containing the main crop. The lettuce will reach 
 a usable size before the other crop is beginning to 
 be crowded. 
 
 When a long season of harvesting is wanted it is 
 necessary to make a succession of plantings two 
 weeks or more apart, but in case the main part of 
 the lettuce comes to maturity before the hot weather 
 of summer §ets in, the late grown lettuce is too 
 tough and bitter to be relished. 
 
 Muskmelon — This crop does best on a clay-loam 
 soil which is well drained. The seeds should be 
 planted in hills in the garden in practically the same 
 manner as cucumber . Where the land has not been 
 well fertilized with manure it is a good plan to 
 remove the earth in the hill to a depth of four 
 inches and put on the bottom two inches of well- 
 rotted manure, fill in an inch of soil and scatter 
 several seeds about over the top. These are cov- 
 
46 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 ered with about an inch of soil and then well firmed. 
 The hills should be about five or six feet apart, and 
 the method of tillage practiced as for cucumbers. 
 
 Onion — For home use and for some market pur- 
 poses, where the succulent, blanched stems are 
 wanted, the onion is propagated by planting small 
 bulbs which are formed on different parts of the 
 onion plants the year before. These small bulbs are 
 obtainable on the market under various names, 
 depending on what part of the plant they were 
 formed, as: sets, top-onions, multiplier or potato 
 onions, scallions, etc. These bulbs are planted close 
 together in rows in good garden soil and in a few 
 weeks will have formed stems of sufficient size to 
 be eaten. 
 
 In growing onions for winter use the seeds are 
 started either in hotbeds or in a seedbed in the open 
 field, and when the seedlings are about a foot high 
 they are transplanted to rows in the field, in which 
 they are set about three inches apart. They are 
 generally planted in long rows and the cultivation 
 done with a wheel-hoe. 
 
 Onion seed deteriorates rapidly, and in buying 
 seed it pays to get the best it is possible to obtain. 
 
 Okra, or Gumbo — This plant will do well on any 
 good vegetable land. The seeds should be sown in 
 the spring, as soon as the soil is workable, dropping 
 the seeds two or three inches apart in long rows, and 
 after the plants have begun to crowd, thin out, 
 leaving the plants standing about a foot apart for 
 the dwarf varieties. The pods should be cut before 
 they get of such an age that they are stringy and 
 tough. For continuous fruiting all of the old pods 
 should be kept removed. 
 
 Parsley — The leaves of this plant are used for gar- 
 nishing and seasoning meats and soups, and it is so 
 easily grown that it should be grown in more kitchen 
 
FRUIT- GROAA r ER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 47 
 
 gardens than it is. Two or three plants removed 
 from the garden in the fall and put in pots or boxes 
 make attractive window plants and will supply a 
 small family with plenty of leaves all winter. 
 
 It is a near relative of the carrot and parsnip, 
 and is grown in the field in essentially the same way. 
 
 Parsnips — These plants need a deep, rich soil, 
 much the same as for carrots. Only the best and 
 freshest seed should be used and should be planted 
 thickly in long rows early in the spring. Since the 
 seed germinate slowly, it may be advisable in land 
 which is weedy to mix the parsnip seed with some 
 quick germinating seed, such as radish, which will 
 serve as a marker in cultivating. The radishes can 
 then be pulled for use as they begin to crowd the 
 parsnips. 
 
 Cultivation should be kept up till the foliage be- 
 comes dense enough to shade the ground. 
 
 Peas — This vegetable, like all other leguminous 
 plants, requires a soil which is not too rich in nitro- 
 gen, but which contains an abundance of potash and 
 phosphorous. The soil should be in good tilth and 
 the seed planted as early in the spring as danger 
 from frost is over. In loose soil the seed should be 
 planted in trenches about four or five inches deep 
 and covered with an inch of soil; then as the seed- 
 lings get large enough the soil should be filled in 
 the trench and firmed about them. In heavier soils 
 the seed should be planted in ordinary drills on the 
 surface and covered about an inch deep. 
 
 Only shallow cultivation should be given, loosen- 
 ing the surface -every week or ten days and after 
 every rain. 
 
 The dwarf varieties may be planted sixteen or 
 eighteen inches apart, but the taller varieties, which 
 need to be staked, should have from two to two and 
 a half feet between the rows. 
 
48 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 Pepper — Peppers require rather a long season for 
 their growth and should be started in the hotbed in 
 February or March, sowing the seed thickly in flats 
 and then transplanting to other flats when of a 
 sufficient size. The garden soil should be light and 
 warm and contain plenty of humus. It setting in 
 the field plants should be set in rows eighteen inches 
 by two and a half feet. Cultivate well throughout 
 the season to keep down the weeds and conserve the 
 moisture. 
 
 In gathering the pods disagreeable burns are 
 sometimes caused by the juice of the fruit, unless 
 gloves are worn. This irritation may be relieved by 
 washing the hands in sweet milk. 
 
 Radish — Radishes and lettuce are the most highly' 
 prized and most extensively used of the spring vege- 
 tables. The radish requires a light, loose, rich soil, 
 in which it should make a quick growth. It can be 
 grown as a companion crop with any of the other 
 spring vegetables, as it is out of the way before the 
 other crops begin to be crowded. Like lettuce, it is 
 quite hardy and can be planted very early in the 
 spring without danger of its being injured by late 
 frosts. 
 
 The seed should be sown thickly and then thinned 
 to about two inches apart. Repeated sowings are 
 necessary in order to have crisp radishes in a contin- 
 uous supply. 
 
 Radishes are very extensively grown during the 
 winter in greenhouses for market purposes and any- 
 one with a small hotbed need not be without a supply 
 during the winter months. The seed are sown in 
 drills six or eight inches apart, either by themselves 
 or between rows of some later maturing crop, as let- 
 tuce or cauliflower. The soil should be especially 
 rich and friable so as to supply plenty of plant food 
 and enable the plant to make a rapid growth. In 
 
FRUIT-G KOWKK CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 40 
 
 forcing, during the winter, the plants should be 
 r rather close to the glass of the hotbed sash and the 
 seedlings thinned to about two inches apart. This 
 will keep the plants from forming too much top in 
 proportion to the root. 
 
 Rihubarb — This plant is a perennial and its place 
 in the garden should be in a long row at one side, 
 where it will not interfere with the cultivation of 
 other plants. For best growth it should have a very 
 heavily manured soil, and have a good dressing of 
 manure spread over the bed every winter. Rhubarb 
 may be grown from seed, but it is more easily and 
 quickly propagated by dividing the roots of an 
 established plant. In the fall, after the leaves have 
 all been killed by frost, but before the ground 
 freezes, the roots should be dug up and divided, 
 leaving one or more good buds on each piece. These 
 pieces then are planted about four feet apart, in 
 rows. As soon as the ground freezes after planting 
 a heavy dressing of manure should be spread over 
 the row and worked in well in the spring. The beds 
 should be renewed every four or five years, and all 
 flower stalks pulled out as fast as they appear. 
 
 Rhubarb can be forced in winter very easily by 
 removing the old roots from the soil after they have 
 been frozen slightly and then packing them close to- 
 gether in a cool cellar, covering up with a few inches 
 of good soil and watering sparingly. In a short time 
 the plants will push out an abundance of leaves hav- 
 ing very thick stalks, but small blades. These stalks 
 are whiter and not so acid as those grown in summer 
 in the field. As soon as the roots have formed all of 
 the leaves they will, they should be thrown away, as 
 they are worthless. Rhubarb is also forced in winter 
 * by placing over a hill a barrel having both head and 
 bottom removed and surrounding the barrel with a 
 cone-shaped pile of fresh manure. The heat fur- 
 
50 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 nished by the fermenting manure will afford suffi- 
 cient warmth to force the plant into growth. On 
 cold nights or days the barrel should be covered f 
 with some boards or old sacks. 
 
 Salsify, or Oyster Plant — The seeds of this plant 
 should be sown in a deep, rich garden soil early in 
 spring, planting in drills two or three feet apart, de- - 
 pending on the manner of tillage. The plants should 
 be thinned to stand two or three inches apart. They 
 require the entire season for their growth, and unlike 
 most root crops need not be dug up and stored for 
 winter use, except in the north, where the ground 
 freezes deeply and remains so for some time. 
 
 Squash — The squash is easily grown in any quick, 
 warm soil, a sandy loam being the best. The seed 
 should be planted in hills as -early as possible after 
 danger of frost is past, so as to give the plants all 
 summer in which to mature their crop before the 
 early frosts in autumn injure the vines. The hills 
 should be from twelve to eighteen inches across and 
 contain from six to ten seeds. Their subsequent 
 treatment is practically the same as for cucumbers 
 and muskmelons. 
 
 Spinach, or Spinage — This crop is used primarily 
 for “greens” in the spring. It is of easy culture and 
 does well in any good soil. The seed should be sown 
 where the plants are to stand, for if transplanted 
 the shock which they receive will usually cause them 
 to run to seed too quickly. For early spring use 
 plant the seed thickly in drills during August and 
 September, the year before, and protect slightly dur- 
 ing the winter with mulch of straw. The plants 
 should be thinned to two or three inches apart where 
 too thick. 
 
 - 
 
 Spring sown seed may be put in as early as the 
 ground can be worked and the plants are ready to be 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 51 
 
 pulled in about six weeks, but, of course, are very 
 much smaller than those sown in the fall. 
 
 9 Sweet Potato — Sweet potato plants are propa- 
 gated from sprouts from the tubers. Sprouts are 
 abundantly formed if the tubers are place in a single 
 layer in a hotbed or coldframe and covered with a 
 *few inches of soil. When they have become three or 
 four inches high the sprouts are carefully removed 
 from the tubers and planted out in the field when 
 the ground is warm and the weather settled. The 
 rows should be four or five feet apart and the plants 
 set two feet apart in the row. They will need to be 
 given good care in setting and carefully cultivated 
 till they get established, after which only an occa- 
 sional cultivation is necessary. The vines should not 
 be allowed to root down at the joints and can be 
 prevented from doing so by moving the vines about 
 during cultivation. The tubers should be pulled as 
 soon as the tops have been killed by frost. In stor- 
 ing sweet potatoes for winter they should be placed 
 in a warm, dry place, and should be handled with- 
 out bruising in any way. 
 
 Tomato — The tomato prefers a sandy loam, a 
 warm position and a long season in wlrch to mature 
 its crop of fruit. The plants should be started in 
 flats early in the spring by sowing the seed thickly 
 and be transplanted as soon as having made the 
 second leaves to other flats, giving each plant about 
 an inch of room on each side. They should not be 
 forced, but allowed to make a slow, steady growth, 
 as much stronger, stockier plants will result. They 
 should be able to stand up when transplanted to the 
 field, even though they be somewhat wilted. A com- 
 mon practice is, when transplanting the first time, 
 # to put them into old tin cans or strawberry boxes, 
 from which they may be set in the field without 
 disturbing the roots at all. 
 
52 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 With the tall-growing sorts the best fruit will be 
 had when the plants are trained to a single stem and 
 tied to a pole. In such cases the side branches 
 should be kept pruned in to about a foot in length 
 and allowed to make only one or two fruits each. 
 
 Turnip — For an early crop the seed should be 
 sown in drills in a rich, mellow soil. The seed should 
 be only slightly covered, but firmed somewhat and 
 the young plants thinned to four to six inches in the 
 row. The turnip rapidly becomes woody on the ap- 
 proach of warm, summer weather, and for a continu- 
 ous supply several plantings should be made and the 
 young plants pulled before they become too fibrous. 
 
 Turnips are more commonly grown as a fall crop, 
 the seed being sown in drills or broadcast over the 
 surface in mid or late summer, after the other crops 
 are out of the way. They are left in the field till the 
 tops have been killed by the frost, when they are dug 
 up and stored in a cool cellar or pit for winter use. 
 
 Water Melon — This plant reaches its highest de- 
 velopment in the warm south, where it has a long 
 season in which to grow. In the north only the 
 warmest and quickest soils should le used. The 
 seeds may be sown in the open field or on pieces of 
 inverted sod in the hotbed and transplanted to the 
 field. The hills should be prepared and planted in 
 the same way as for cucumbers. Where too many 
 plants are in a hill some should be removed, leaving 
 three or four to remain. In cultivating, care should 
 be observed to not injure the vines, as they are very 
 sensitive and where very much injured form only 
 imperfect fruits. 
 
 MONTHLY PLANTING CALENDAR. 
 
 Some of the principal operations of the year are 
 here referred to and are intended more as sugges- 
 tions for the inexperienced gardener rather than to 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 53 
 
 the growers who have had more practice. These 
 remarks should be regarded more as suggestions 
 *than definite statements, since the conditions of 
 different soils and locations as well as the winter 
 weather determine in the greater degree what should 
 be done at certain times of the year. 
 
 * January — During this month we should begin the 
 work of preparing the garden. Manure should be 
 spread over those parts of the garden needing it 
 most, and more should be piled in stacks to rot and 
 be ready for use next year. Get the hotbed ready for 
 •early spring crops. Send for the catalogues of reli- 
 able dealers, and look over any seeds which may be 
 on hand, testing them to see if they are worth plant- 
 ing. Lifeless seeds of cauliflower, parsnip, onion and 
 others means disappointed hopes later in the season. 
 
 February — The hotbeds should be started during 
 this month and the seed of cauliflower, cabbage, 
 tomatoes and egg plant should be sown in flats in the 
 hotbed in order to be ready to set out as soon as the 
 soil is warm enough. The seedmen’s catalogues 
 should be looked over and an order placed early for 
 seeds. 
 
 March — Transplant tomatoes onions, cabbage, 
 radishes and lettuce which were in flats. Harden 
 these off during latter part of the month and make 
 ready to set in the garden. As soon as the soil is 
 workable spade or plow up the garden and sow 
 onion sets, out-door radishes and lettuce. Get the 
 rest of the garden worked up and ready for planting. 
 
 April — This and the month following are the 
 times when the larger part of the garden should be 
 planted. Asparagus roots, peas, beets, celery, cab- 
 bage and potatoes should be planted. By the middle 
 of the month parsnips, carrot^, salsify and egg plant 
 may be planted in the garden seed bed. Tomato and 
 cabbage plants from the hotbeds should be given 
 
54 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 more exposure to the outside air, leaving them out 
 every night that is not too cool. The early planted 
 seeds will need cultivating to keep free from weeds' 
 which will be starting. 
 
 May — Thinning of the early planted crops must 
 be done as well as planting the remainder of the 
 seeds. Tomato and cabbage plants can now be set. - 
 Keep the cultivator going. 
 
 June — Celery from the hotbed should be set in its 
 permanent place in the garden. Begin sowing seed 
 of the late fall crops, and repeat plantings of the 
 early crops which are now being gathered. Cease 
 cutting asparagus toward the last of the month and 
 let the shoots grow. Tomato plants will need to be 
 staked to keep the fruit off the ground. Stir the 
 ground well after each rain. 
 
 July — Cauliflowers which have begun to head 
 need to have a few leaves bent over the flowers to 
 protect them from the sun. Sweet potato tops should 
 be moved about in cultivating to keep them from 
 rooting at the joints. Cultivate now to conserve the 
 moisture and enable the plants to grow continuously 
 throughout the dry period of summer. 
 
 August — Cut all weeds in the fence corners to 
 keep them from going to seed and re-seeding the 
 garden. Thin the late sown crops and thoroughly 
 cultivate the celery. Get the hotbeds ready for early 
 winter use. The onions should be ready now for 
 gathering, and should be well dried and stored for 
 winter use. 
 
 September — This is the month when the celery, 
 cabbage and cauliflower are making their most 
 vigorous growth and they should be well cultivated; 
 the celery will need to have the leaves drawn up 
 about the stem and some shade provided for the 
 lower part of the leaf stalks. Toward the latter part 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 55 
 
 of the month blanching- should begin. Sow the seed 
 ^)f crops to be wintered over for early spring use. 
 
 October — The blanching of celery should now be 
 w^ell under way and the tops will need protection 
 with a covering of straw on cold nights. During the 
 latter part of the month the celery may be dug up 
 ^.nd planted in boxes or in a dark corner of the 
 cellar for winter use. All root crops which have not 
 already been dug up and stored should be looked 
 after this month. Lettuc^ which may be wanted for 
 winter use should be planted this month. Rhubarb 
 and asparagus, if wanted for winter use, should be 
 dug up and either covered where it stands on the 
 ground or stowed away in a shed or cold cellar for 
 a month or two, when it may be taken into a warmer 
 place and will be fit for use in a month or so, accord- 
 ing to the temperature. 
 
 November — The stalks of asparagus should be cut 
 off; and as asparagus sometimes becomes a weed 
 from the seed dropping it is better to burn the stems 
 if there are seed on them. Spread a dressing of old 
 manure three or four inches thick on the asparagus 
 bed. Whenever it is practicable all empty ground 
 should be dug or plowed this month. 
 
 December — During this month one can look over 
 the successes and failures of the season’s work and 
 make plans for next year. Root crops stored in pits 
 will need a thick coat of litter and soil spread over 
 them to protect from the hard freezes. Spinach 
 crop in the ground should also have a covering of 
 litter or straw. Manure and compost heaps should 
 be turned frequently to hasten the process of fer- 
 mentation and be ready for next season’s use. Snow 
 *that accumulates on the hotbed sash should be re- 
 moved, as the plants are deprived of light and the 
 melting of the snow may cause ice to form in the 
 
56 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 cracks between the sash and cause difficulty in 
 airing* the beds. All rubbish in the garden which was 
 left after harvesting the season’s crops should be 
 cleaned up. 
 
 - 
 
FRUIT-GROWER CO., ST. JOSEPH, MO. 57 
 
 * CONTENTS. 
 
 THE SOIL — Page 
 
 In General 6 
 
 ^ Soil Water 8 
 
 Makeup of Soils and Subsoils 9 
 
 Drainage 11 
 
 Fall Plowing 12 
 
 Tillage 13 
 
 Rotation of Crops 14 
 
 Fertilizing 15 
 
 Laying Out the Garden 18 
 
 Hotbeds and Coldframes 19 
 
 GARDEN SEEDS — 
 
 Longevity of Seeds 23 
 
 Testing of Seeds 2 3 
 
 GARDEN CROPS — 
 
 Asparagus 24 
 
 Bean 28 
 
 Beet 29 
 
 Cabbage 30 
 
 Carrot : 31 
 
 Cauliflower 32 
 
 Celery 35 
 
 Corn 38 
 
 Cucumber 38 
 
 Eggplant 39 
 
 Ginseng 4 0 
 
 Horseradish 41 
 
 Kale 4 2 
 
 Kohlrabi 4 2 
 
 * Leek 44 
 
 Lettuce 44 
 
 Musk Melon 45 
 
58 
 
 THE HOME GARDEN 
 
 Page 
 
 Onion 46. 
 
 Okra, or Gumbo 46 
 
 Parsley 4 6 
 
 Parsnip 4 7 
 
 Peas 4 7~ 
 
 Pepper 4 S'*' 
 
 Radish 4 S 
 
 Rhubarb 49 
 
 Salsify, or Oyster Plant 50 
 
 Squash 5 0 
 
 Spinach, or Spinage 50 
 
 Sweet Potato . 54 
 
 Tomato 51 
 
 Turnip 5 2 
 
 Water Melon 5 2 
 
 Monthly Planting Calendar 52 
 
t