The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1879-03-06
for the farmer.
srins. ab.u, n Garden for IN. r.r-.r.


W. NJ. K. writes out few hints in the Farm
and Fireside, relative to the arrangement of o
garden for the farmer:
There ought to be a good garden ON every
farm. Not little space fenced in, with or with.
ont pickets, small that all the cultivation,
except the blowing; must be done by hand.
There should be not less than half an acre. Let
this be long and narrow, that almost all the
cultivation can be done with horse. Set apart
one hundred feet of the end nearest the house
for small fruit. Then q strip four PAGES wide;
also one at the farthest end of the garden, upon
which to turn when cultivating with the horse.
Keep the strips in grass, or plant with potatoes.
Lay off path eight feet in width from the
honse to the main garden. Plant no fruit trees
within the Enclosure.
The asparagus beds which need no after cul-
tivatiOn should be the first ones as you enter
the garden. single row planted eighteen
inches apart in the centre of q bed four feet in
width will be sufficient. Top dress each fall
with four inches of well rotted manure and one
iushel of salt Plant one row of Linneus or
Victoria rhubarb five feet from the row of as
paragus and three feet apart in the row. Top
dress annually with manure only. FOur feet
from the rhubarb plant four rows Of strawbcr-
ries Let the rows be three and half feet
apart aud the plants eighteen inches apart iu
the row. Set only the strong growing varie-
ties, such as Chas. Downing, Downer's Prolific,
Monarch of the West, Springdale, Triumph of
Cumberland, Colonel Cheney, Kentucky, or the
Captain Jack, a Seeding of the Wilson Albany,
and remarkably vigorous growing sort. Five
feet from the last row, set half row of goose
berries and half q row of white currants, three
feet apart in the row. Then, five feet distant
o row of red currants, the same distance apart
in the row. Next set four rows of raspberries
in rows six feet, the plants being three feet
apart in the row. Let one row be Doolittle's
Improved Black Cap, one of the Mammoth
Cluster, or Miami, one of the Philadelphia Red,
and another of the Turner Red raspberries.
Eight feet distant set a row of the Kittatinny
blackberry, placing them three feet apart in the
row. Set four rows of this variety eight feet
apart.
The small fruits will thus occupy space be-
tween the house and the open garden of about
one hundred feet. Such plan would give to
every family of twelve persons an abundant
supply of vegetables and small fruits, aud
enough to can and dry for winter Fonr
inches annually of we'll rotted manure on the
open garden would not be any too much. The
waited, and mulched each fall with good coating
of partly decayed leaves, weeds and other trash.
Care should be taken to cover the crowns of the
strawberry plants very lightly.
Should one prefer TO plant the small fruits so
as to make continuous rows the entire length
of the garden, then One-sixteenth part the gar
den beginning ut one end could be planted, al
lowing proper proportion of space to each
fruit as already Indicated. That is, as the rows
in the open garden would be two and q half feet
apart, the currants, goOseberry and raspberry
plants should he set in rows five feet apart, aud
the blackberry plants seven and a half feet.
After fitting the ground for seeds, and laying
off the row perfectly straight, two and half
feet apart, begin at one end and plant all the
seeds of one kind YOU wish, and continue with
other seeds until the work is done. Planted in
this way, the cultivator will enable one tn do
nearly all the hoeing required. One hours time
each week will be sufficient during summer.
There is nothing to binder any farmer from
having lettuce, asparagus radishes and rhu-
barb by the last of March or the first of April,
followed by gooseberries, currants, strawbe
ries, raspberres, blackberries. and early toma-
toes and other vegetables. If desired, the ex-
pense of q four-wir picket-fence is inconsidera-
BILE when compared with what would be likely
to be paid out for medicine during the year,
where large family attempts to live on too
limited supply of fruits and vegetables.