The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1891-10-17
AMATEUR GARDENING.
ATTEMPT OF A CITY MAN TO GROW
HIS OWN VEGETABLES.

tried anything Of the kind before and u
more absolutely ignorant person as To
horticulture and gardening generally
never placed spade in the earth or
turned up grub worm, had no one
to lean upon for instruction and there
fore attempted TO make a vegetable
garden of about half an acre, with no
other assistance than that furnished in
the books ON the subject.
These books utterly fail TO take into
account the fact that city bred people
know nothing whatever about tilling the
earth, sowing seed and stimulating the
growth Of plants was that kind of a
person and rashly attempted to make
my own garden.
am very glad, however, that made
this attempt, for | learned, after the
many grievous failures in the first sea
son, that these books really did have
meaning and that most Of them were full
of sound advice, but they were not writ
ten for absolute beginners, but for those
who understood their technical iargon
and who had also had more or less ex-
perience
For instance, when read in my book
that | should plant this seed in drills
and that in hills | was as ignorant as be-
fore, and did not know what to do. But
did what seemed to me to be intelli-
gent, and in most cases | was wrong
The greatest mistake | made was in
planting everything too deeply and also
In using too many seeds And right
here / had as well give rule about
planting which learnd from Mr.. Bur.
net Landreth, of Philadelphia. There |
may be exceptions to this rule, but for
the moment do not recall any, except
that of green peas, and that exception
is only qualified one.
In planting seeds cover them with
earth to depth equivalent to four times
the diameter of the particular seed plant
ed. In regard to peas, old fashioned
gardeners will insist that they must be
buried very deeply, else the yield will be
poor. This is quite true in regard to
peas planted for very late crops, for the
roots OF such must be deep enough to with
stand the whitening sun of midsummer.
but for the early varieties it is decided
to put the seed down so far
that the heat of the spring sun cannot
readily reach them.
THE GENTLE ART OF HUsBANDRY.
But am way ahead of my story. My
purpose in writing this is to encourage
gentlemen living in the suburbs to cult
late this gentle art of husbandry and
make their own gardens. The first sea-
on nearly everything failed, though |
I'D get some lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes
md cucumbers. Indeed, got all that
We needed of these. During the succeed
ng fall and winter | literally went to
chool to every gardener and farmer |
anne in contact with. From the gar
eners got as a rule very intelligent ad-
ice, and this | put into my book in the
hape of marginal notes
From the farmers got little informa-
on worth the having. They seemed to
link that for the likes of me to expect
nat garden truck would grow was little
'ss than presumptuous. Well, with this
lformation, added to my experience
nd that set down in the books. | made
regular plan for my second garden.
nd very attractive map it seemed
hen it was finished.
did not attempt to economize space.
ecause had more than needed. and /
lerefore laid off beds with paths be-
Veen each and broad paths at either e
ld These beds were thirty feet long )
i'd four feet wide, the paths between |
sing foot and half wide, and those
the ends three feet wide.
BETTER RESULTS.
so apportioned my beds that | should
I'VE all the vegetables | wished in sea-
H. | tried peas, tomatoes, lettuce, -.
inach, radishes, squashes, sweet corn,
ppers, bush beans, lima beans, cucum-
rs, parsley, okra, eggplant, caulifower,
bbage, carrots, celery, onions, garlic,
lslfy, potatoes, musk and water mel
s. | succeeded admirably with all of
ese ventures except with the melons.
ther the ground is not favorable for
growth of these or the season was
d, or what is quite likely, have not
lrned the knack of cultivating them.
The cost was nothing at all. don't co.
unit the labor | put on the garden as spa
outlay at all. 1t was an income TE, fss
her 1t took the place of a saddle
rse, bicycle or a gymnasium, for RA
ring all the time that | was working
rhe garden | put in as many hours at -.
desk as it was wholesome for one to
and this outdoor work was exercise
ich was really needed.
paid money for manure and other
tilizers, it is true, and also for seed,
in balancing my books found that
ten bushels of onions and the twenty
hels of potatoes | sold more than
for my outlay in money. The fact
hat was some six or seven dollars z=z-
ad, besides the summer supplies and
ter stores
ow, what | have done any man can
who can put in an hour and half
ry day with spade and hoe and rake, II,
difficulty with beginners at garden Y
is that they are too easily discour.
!, and give up because they do not
eVe at the first attempt results like n
70 accomplished by the skillful pro- 7
onal gardener. New York Tele-
Il. an