The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1882-03-30
FIELD, HOUSE AND GARDEN.
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.
SomelTimely Talk About Seeds and Guilty.
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somelTimely Talk About Seeds and Cultivs
toy.
So indispensable and withal so econom-
ical are vegetables for table use that their
careful cultivation should be a matter of in
terest to every ono who owns a garden plot.
Yet on many farms we find the garden is
wofully neglected after the seeds are plant
ed. and from springtime to autumn almost,
the weakly "straggling" plants have to
struggle for life among noxious weeds, and
instead of a rich and bountiful supply for
the table, only meagre pittance is obtain
able. All this is not mere guess work, but
what the writer has many times seen on
farms otherwise we'll titled and productive.
The first thing necessary is to have will to
remedy the evil; the second is to know
what to do and when to do it. The latter
on.
Soil and Sowing-The four cardinal vir-
tues of good garden soil are that it should
be loose, mellow, rich and we'll drained.
Good seed sown in such soil and properly
cultivated will (droughts and insects OK.
cepted) produce abundant)y. While the
quality of the soil is not Of SO great import
ance in the raising of the coarser vegeta-
bles-as peas, beans, potatoes, and the like
it is important in the raising Of the
finer kinds-as celery. parsnips, cabbage,
etc.
Vegetable seeds should be sown in long
drills, if possible, at such distance apart
as to permit the use of a horse hoe be-
tween them. If new garden is to be laid
out. let it be long and narrow, so as to
make as little turning about of the horse at
the end of the rows as possible. The COM
mon practice of sowing in beds or plots
do not favor, as it requires much more
hand labor, and admits of less or, in fact,
no use of the horse. AS to the depth at
which to SOW the seed, the old rule of thu 60
times as deep as the size of the seed may
lie observed for general use.
Vitality OF seeds--The various kinds Of
vegetable seeds differ largely as to the
length Of time they retain vitality. While
it Is always we'll to SOW new seeds. if they
can be procured, it is not always absolutely
necessary. Those of the tomato. pumpkin
squash, cucumber, melon and beet retain
their vitality longest, probably from five to
ten years; turnips, celery, cabbage and
radish, asparagus, lettuce and parsley for
three years; while the beans, peas, carrots,
pepper, satisfy and rhubarb should not be
planted when over two years old. A knowl-
edge of how long the various vegetable
seeds will produce their kind is greatly
beneficial to the gardner, as on the selection
Of Door seed failures often depend.
When to Sow or Plant--For the latitude
of New York the seeds Of the following
named vegetables may be sown in the open
ground from the middle of March to the
last of April: Beet, carrot, celery, cab
bage, caulitlower, lettuce, onion, parsnip,
pea, radish and turnip; from the middle Of
May to the middle of June: Beans, sweet
corn, melon, pumpkin, cucumber,
squash and tomatoe. South of this lati.
tude oil these may, of coure, be sown or
planted earlier; north later.
Varieties-I do not recommend the use
of many varieties. For the ordinary farm
err, who cultivates only for table use; one
good variety is rs good as dozen. For
general cultivation the following. named
varieties are probably, the best, though it
would be difficult to give list Of good Cor
all parts Of the country.