The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-03-25
EARLY SPRING FARM TALKS.
THE VALUE OF A KITCHEN GARDEN.
How to Cultivate CGeumbers and Melons
The S.ze of the Garden-Among the
POuItry-Farm Notes-Hints for
the Kitchen.


says a correspondent of the st. Louis Re
pubic. Roast turkey, large rounds Of beef,
great slices of ham and things of this sort
pale on our taste and we long for some
thing fresh from the garden. Radishes,
lettuce, cucumbers, melons. strawberries,
cherries, are in demand. We like the
pungency of the radish or salads with vim
egar, OF the milder acids of the fruits.
Cucumbers raised under glass are more
or less insipid. The real crispness and
perfection are only attained when raised
in the open grounds. Bnt, says one, we
cannot wait so long, we want them earlier
than that. Well, there is a happy medi-
um. If you have a hot-bed, or only cold
frame, the process is easy. Cut out sod
of grass four inches thick, invert it, place
upon this five or six cucumber seeds and
place tiff in a -bed-right between
the cabbage or tomato plants; cover the
seeds lightly with earth and water with
the plants. In a little while, when the
plants have been removed, you may allow
the cucumber vines 10 occupy all the bed,
two in hill, leaving the sash open, except
when threatened with frost. You will
be astonished at their growth. If. after
the cucumbers have set, the vines make
too free with space, pinch back. If you
have only cold frame you can easily take
I'D the sOds with the seeds, or rather
plants on, and transfer them to the open
ground without IOOsening the roots; earth
up over the sods with rich soil and you
can thus gain two or three weeks in the
Al. -. - T. -,
early frame aud improved long green are
GOOD varieties.
The souashes are of tropical origin and,
therefore. it is useless to plant them until
the soil is quite warm and all danger OF
frosts or cold nights is over. As they
make a very rapid growth there is no ne
cessity for haste in getting the seed into
the ground. Squashes are good feeders
and ike a rich soil. This can be concen-
trated in the hill. They need very lite
ii any more space than the cucumbers.
he SORTS maturing early must be picked
'rhen ready for use or else the vines will
ease bearing. Winter va ieties and long
Aeepers need more territory and need a
rich soil all around them. All sorts are
benefited by an occasional dOuche of
LIQUID manure well reduced by water.
If the squash bugs trouble treat the
vines to busting of unleached wood ashes
and repeat ii necessary. There will be no
need alter a second repetition. The sum-
mer crockneck and the bush escoliop for
early, the marblehead, turban and Hub
bard for later fall and winter. When we'll
grown and baked the last is quite equal to
a good sweet potato.
All persons cannot with impunity
partake argely of melons This is not
constitutional, but climatic, as it seems to
us. Some seasons one can eat half wat
eTmelOn and at others a thin slice Will
disagree with The digestive organs. Wat
ernie On5 are made u profitable specially in
the south, m counties Of our state and in
Illinois Some portions of Iowa raise
large quantities for the northern markets
alter those OF Missouri will have become
overripe. Ihave counted thirty-fve freight
cars on the Iron Mountain road in one
train all loaded with watermelOns, and |
believe this is an everyday thing when
the melon season is on. This shows
plainly that the Ethiopian is not the only
consumer OF the melon, but that the fruit
is universal favorite. Ice cream, noun
tain sprOut and Cuban queen are among
the favoriLe sorts OF Watermelons.
The prolific nutmeg, golden-netted gem
and champion market are in high esteem !;
also the Bird cantalOupe. All cucumbers
so wide apart that they cannot get mar
ried with each other or with the vines of
gOurds. They are very apt to do this.
Last season found three very hard gourds
IN my pumpkin patch, evidently hybrid
with cantaloupes of the some round growth,
but where they came from / cannot tell,
as had 10 gourds in bearing on my place.
This inter-marrying or cross fertilization
does effect the fruit and for certainty all
the seeds, and thus makes both valueless.
Very often we hear a remark like this:
What can one Go with a half acre of
ground? Except when devoted to pota-
toes or sweet corn it will hardly yield a
dozen meals for famii y in a whole season.
l know of no better way to answer such
cavillings than by copying from the Amer
tcdn AgricutturiSt. January, 1891, the fol-
lowing. by W. L. Foote of Connecticut:
"Last spring, having been in poor health,
yet feeling the necessity for active employ
ment, my physician advised that | should
take up some outdoor exercise, such as
would, viii not overtaxing my strength,
give me sufficient employment to take nv
mind off myself. Hence, my miniature
farming was decided upon. The 26th Of
March hal my lot OF just one-half acre
in size-which had been in grass for four
years-plOwed, narrowed and freed from
htOltc. i biirH CdIJSu On u lfiuc over Ddll
a cord Ia Pile SKIS feet and feet deep of
manure, using phosphate in addition. On
the Sth OF April / commenced my first
planting by sowing 80 feet of Alaska
pease, and one week later 40 feet of Amer
ican wonder. Planting potatoes (esrly
rose,) which / intended TO make my prin-
cipal crop for early marketing, was COM
menced April IL. averaged 3l2 hills per
day until April 10, when had completed
the p auting of .642 hills or about one
half OF nv ground. On April p planted
AS hills of corn of two varieties, Concord
and Hiscock- Sixty-one cabbage plants
were set out on May and also one row Of
tomato plants (27), an additional row con-
tanning twelve p ants OF a different variety
being planted twelve days later, on which
date was also sown one row OF string beans
20 feet in length.
The record Of planting after this date,
in brief, Is as follows: May Is, 70 hills of
lima beans; June 10, bills of squashes,
8 hills OF canta onpes and an equal num-
Der OF waternelons July 8, lob hills of
cucumbers; August 3, 70 feet of celery.
thus completing my planting Up to this
date L had carried on my work without
assistance, except one day when felt too
far behind with my hoeing. My expenses
were, therefore, the greatest in the pur-
chase of seed, tools and fertilizers. The