The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-11-12
No. 40

But If you have perfection in either
you must keep the weeds out One
thing more and then we will setrOut
some cabbage plants. In hoeing
bring the runners fyour strawberry
plants into row about two and q
half feet wide. This will give you
good chance to mulch with straw for
winter covering and raking between
the rows for summer.
We will now set out ten rows of
your early cabbage It will take
about 1850 plants, as you will set
them about IA or Is inches apart.
Take that stick you made for press
ing the dirt against the strawberry
plants and make hole for each cab
bage. Give that same quick pry
movement and the plant is set. Now,
this setting wants to be done just as
early in the spring as possible. The
plants will stand lots of frost. ]
have seen them buried in snow and
come out smiling. After they aTB
set take hoe and hoe them. Why
hoe them 80 quickly? Because when
you were down on your knees you
didn't have time to snoothe the dirt
properly. In week hoe again, and
if any plants are missing reset, The
more you keep the soil stirred the
faster they grow. Remember, =
week in advance of others means q
double price for your market cab
bages. If it rains stir the ground
as soon as it is dry enough. Heavy
rains pack the ground and if it comes
on dry the ground gets hard and
dries out faster. Top dust will
actually keep moisture in and pre-
vent the terrible effects of the
drought. I had a little experience
of that last summer. My brother
had a cabbage patch containing
about 1000 plants. Sickness in the
family prevented him from setting
them out and I volunteered to take
charge of them myself Well, you
know how dry it was. A good many
plants died, but kept the ground
cultivated and hoed. They were set
in rows three feet apart, so it was
not much of job to cultivate. They
grew in spite of the terrible heat
and drought. Gardens ar ound Muk-
wonago, in fact everywhere, were
shy of cabbage, so we had the whole
market on early ones. Most of his
sales we're made at S. per 100. The
last were down to 50, but they were
the scrubs.
Now, raising early cabbages for
market will depend upon three i'm
portant particulars. First, are you
located 80 you can get them to ma1-
ket? Second, get early plants all set
early. Third, do not let the weeds
grow, which means keep cultivating
and hOeing, 80 as to force an early
maturity. Of course, your ground
is rich, for you made it extra nice
by putting the manure on extra
thick. The secret of good gardening
is rich soil and a good hoe with =
willing hand to guide it, Let me tell
you how to hoe. learned of an
Englishmen when was q boy, and
to tell you the truth that English
man was the only man ever saw
who knew how to hoe. Most people
pick up the weeds and then set them
out again by stepping on the moist
earth. To hoe scientifically (now
don't laugh, boys, when I say hoe
scientifically, for it is just as much
a profession to hoe good as to plow
good or to do anything good) take q
clean, bright, sharp hoe always have
your hoe clean), put one hand down
half way, or a little more, on the
handle, the other on the end, hold it
stiff in the hands and draw the blade
through the top of the ground about
an inch deep. This outs every weed
off and the dirt slides over the hoe
and itllooks as though weed had not
been disturbed, but you have done
the whole business at one sweep. and
you take a step forward. Now, do
you see the science? One motion
swept through the ground the dis
tance of two feet, the ground was
stirred and the weeds fixed for good.
1t will require practice, but when
acquired will be very useful art.
It is little hard on the arms when
there is a crust, but it is so much
faster and better than picking that
you will not care.