The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-03-11
The Vegetable Garden.

In these days of scant supply of labor
and high prices for it, economy which
does not approach meanness, is one of
the fine arts. For instance, it is econ
omy to hire only good, well-rained farm
hands, but it is not economy to set them
down to a meanly-furnished table. 1t is
economy to feed your people well, but it
is far from economical to have to pur-
chase all they eat. A farmer is expected
TO have something besides salt pork and
potatoes on his table, and variety is
more economical than meat, wheat flour,
canned goods and store truck generally.
Vegetables are so healthful, so econom-
ical and so Indispensable that it is q sign
of poor farmer if his table lacks them
at any season of the year. There is no
land on the most productive farm in the
country which pays one-third as well as
well laid out vegetable garden, prop
erly planted and cultivated. As hand
labor is costly, it is both wise and eco
nomical to dispense with it whenever
possible. My experience IN market gar
dening has proved that all kinds of gar
den truck can be grown and cultivated
by man or boy, with one-horse single
shovel cultivator far more successfully
and at far less expense of time and wages
than by the employment of any three
good men with hoes. A garden for veg
etables should have no bushes. trees or
perennial plants in it, but should be con-
venient for the pillow and teams at all
times. 1t should be long, to save time
in turning, and wide enough to supply the
family demand. 1t should be covered
with good, old well-rotted manure six
inches deep plowed under twelve inches,
then it should be covered again with
manure three inches deep, and this last
coat should be first buried out of
sight. The ground should then be har-
rowed and cross-haTowed till fine,
marked in rows twenty-eight inches
apart, and left to stand three days before
planting. | never plant for succession;
but plant early sorts for early use, medi,
UNI sorts for later use, and late sorts for
fall use and for storing away for winter.
This gives variety for use through the
season, and we do not have the monotony
of the same flavor throughout the season.
plant as early as the soil will permit
hardy sorts in March or April; tender
ones in May; but | get everything as
early as possible. | am particular in
having pure, true, fresh seeds; this is an
absolute necessity, and if ii farmer is not
a Judge, he must avoid "box seeds and
buy direct from some house of estab-
lished character, if it costs five times as
much. Never let poor crop be laid to
bad seed, because that is a sure sign of
a bad gardener.
The time to plant seeds is, as a rule,
when apple tree leaves are as big as a
mouse's ear. The depth to plant is as a
rule, about three times as deep as the
size of the seed. As soon as they are
planted walk along the rows flat-footed,
treading in the seed quite hard, then draw
the rake over the row to break up what
would become hard crust after few
heavy dews or light shower. Cabbages
and tomatoes are, in the hands of most
farmers, best planted at once in the
ground where they are to grow, as house.
grown plants are usually SO badly grown,
so long-legged as to be unable to stand
the change to hot days and cool nights,
SO that they do not recover till the sea-
son is half over, and never are SO fruit
ful.
Having got thus far, and the plants
all showing above ground, pay no more
attention to them for the season, but
attack the weeds with all possible vigor;
don't allow one to grow quarter of an
inch high, and if the seed was put in
properly the crops will not even need
thinning. But every plant must have
room to grow, both roots and tops. One
horse to cultivator may be run between
the rows as often as every four to six
days to advantage, and in gathering the
vegetables always pick the finest; this
will allow the smallest to grow 1t will
surprise novices to find how this simple
mode of managing vegetable garden
will produce the finest, earliest and most
succulent products. The faster the
growth is made, the better they are.
Never let the ground bake, and if heavy
rains beat the soil down hard, run the
cultivator through as soon as the storm
is over, to let the roots have air, or the
plants will stand still as to growth. Cor.
RIrat Nea0 Yorker.