The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-02-11
News Of the Farm
ABOUT A SMALL GARDEN.

ABOUT A SMALL GARDEN.
To have early vegetables one should
| make a hotbed, but If it is not conven
| lent to have one no difficulty viii be ex
| perienced in purchasing early plants
| such as tomatoes, cabbage, caulihowers
ETC., from the seed stares. A dozen toma-
to plants and half dozen egg plants will
supply a small family. Some plants are
tender, but onions, peas, radish, lettuce
beets, parsnips and carrots may be put
in the ground early-that is, as soon as
the frost comes out Of the soil. A small
garden should be deeply spaded and raked
fine. Well rotted manure should be
worked in, and the seed should be plan
ted with care. Onions are usually grown
from sets, quart of sets being the usual
amount for a small garden. They are
simply pressed into the row of fine earth.
Peas should be covered about half an inch
Always press the earth well on the seeds
after covering. Potatoes. pumpkins and
melons are not considered suitable for a
small garden, nor is sweet corn, unless
one has the room to spare for such crops.
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the ground before it has been warmed,
as they will not terminate when the
ground is cold.
After all danger of frost is over, which
is usually about the time when the apple
trees are in bloom, tomato plants may be
put out. as they are tender and will not
endure frost. Peas for later crop, Lima
beans, string beans, squash, egg plants,
and later cabbage, as well as sweet corn
and melons, may be planted. The gar
den crops that do not take much room to
grow may be planted in rows Of suffi-
cient distance apart to permit of using
a hoe (about Is inches apart, but corn,
tomatoes, egg plants and Lima beans re-
quire from one yard to four feet between
the rows, according to condition of
growth. The most important matter with
the beginner is to keep down weeds and
grass between the rows. To have large
garden on a farm is to extend the bill Of
fare, and it can be arranged to permit of
working with horse hoes, but the subur-
ban garden work must be done with a
hand hoe or with a wheel hoe. There is
more pleasure in working a garden than
may be supposed, and it will promote the
health of anyone who engages in such EN-
ployment.
As there are q. hundred and one details
in gardening, and many different varie
ties OF each vegetables, the beginner
shoul procure books on gardening, which
can be had Of any seedman, and also per-
nit the seedman to select for him the var
ieties most suitable, as an inexperienced
person will easily make mistakes in Sc
lection. The seed catalogues describe
methods of planting, but some varieties
of vegetables are better adapted for stock
feeding than for the table, while others
are early in maturing and some are late.
Frequently two crops may be had on the
same plot during the year, such as early
peas followed by late cabbage, or turnips
follow onions, but the soil must be rich
and well supplied with manure or ferti-
lizer. One advantage with small garden
is that during very dry periods some of
the crops can be watered by the use of
hose and sprinkler. inexperienced per-
sons should not expect complete success
the first year but there is nothing difficult
to learn, and the second season will prove
satisfactory if the weather does not be-
come too dry.