Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1868-04-02
farmers 9spartmsllt,
Early Gardens.


1t is common fault with farmers
to neglect their vegetable gardens.
These must be made at q season
when great amount of heavy work
is required on the farm; and as the |
care of the garden is accounted
small work and not so likely to pay
in money, it is left either to take care
of itself or to take up with an occa-
sional stroke now and then, which
serves as an apology for the actual
work required to make it Of any real
account.
This is grand mistake on the
part of those who commit it. The
garden may not pay in money SO
manifestly as the field; and if it is the
only object of the farmer to lay up
dollars, he may as well let the gar
den run to waste and spend all his
time in other work, and live on pork
and potatoes and keep his family on
the same rigid diet all the year round.
But in real comfort, in the true en-
joyment of the fruits of the garden,
there is no part of the farm that will
pay larger dividend than the vege-
table garden; and it may be made to
pay abundantly with no great amount
of wsrk, if it be only done in time
and at proper intervals. There is a
great advantage in the way of health,
as well as in comfort, in having early
vegetables. 1t is a laudable ambi-
tion, and one which affords much
pleasure to all concerned, for each
one to seek to get ahead of his neigh
bors IN having peas, potatoes, sweet
ccrn, &c; and although each one can
not be in advance of all the rest,
every one may be in advance of or
dinary cultivation if all will strive for
precedence. We wish to make some
suggestions for securing early gar
den crops.
1t is no advantage to make gar
den toe early or to put seeds into the
ground before it is in fit state to
receive them, and to make them ger
inmate. The ground should be well
settled in the spring, and measurably
dry, before it is disturbed; and the
time for doing this will differ ac-
cordlng to the nature of the SOIL A
heavy, wet, cold soil may require to
lie even weeks longer than dry,
light, warm soil that is well drained.
The comparatively heavy soil may
have its advantages later in the sea-
son, and especially in very dry sea-
son; but it must wait, in order to be
cultivated to advantage.
And then in regard to planting:
1t is better to keep seeds dry in the
house, In the spring, than to put |
them into the ground when it is cold
and wet, and the atmosphere is in the
same state. In the latter case they
will either rot, or, if they come up
at all, will be SO stunted as to preE
vent their ever attaining to full
growth. When the season is cold
and late, seed planted even q month
later may overtake that which was
planted too early. Plant as soon as
the weather and soil are in the proper
state, but not too soon, lest the labor
be lost.
Great care should be'exercised in
the selection of seeds. 1t is better
for every gardner to save his own
seed for most of his crops, unless he
proeures them from a more northern
climate fer early vegetables. When
gardner saves his own seeds one
season and plants them the next, he
knows what he is planting; but when
he purchases his seed every spring,
he may be planting that which has
been raised years ago, and which is
OF no value. If he buys garden seed
he should buy those which he knows
to be put up BY an honest and relia-
BILE person, and which were raised
the previous season. There are
many reliable seedsmen, but there
are others who either mix up with
the new all the old seed that remains
unsold from year to year, or who
sell the old by itself.
A great gain in time may be made
by getting seed from a northern
climate, where the season is shorter
and where the crops, by that wonder
ful arrangement of nature which
prevades all departments of animal
and vegetable life, have adapted
themselves to their circumstances
and learned to grow more rapidly In
order to avoid the early approach of
cold weather in the fall. By getting
seed corn, for instance, from Canada.
and as far north as possible, one
may have green corn for the table
two or three weeks earlier than by
planting that which is grown farther
south. In the course of two or three
seasons this seed will have learned
to take advantage of its new locality
and to lag behind, and it should be ,
procured fresh from the north every
spring if one would have an early
crop. We think some good reliable 8
Canada scotsman might make his
fortune by establishing agencies in
the States, and establishing a repu n
tation for supplying our people with e
good, fresh garden seeds every f
spring. P
There are many appliances for an
the season, which are ia !
milliar to our readers and which NAV I
be easily resorted to, in getting
early vegetables; such as hot beds,
planting in boxes in the house, plant.
ing on inverted turf and replanting
without disturbing the soil, &c, DC. O
But we cannot now po into tbio s,h m