St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-02-02
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE FARMERS HOME GARDEN.
u 10 N Indispensable AdJunct t.
Every Well-Regulated Farm
or Plantation.

A good garden is indispensable to q
farmers family. 1t may be made with
q view to profit as well as pleasure.
Its size. of course, will depend upon
The size Of the family, and also upon
the market end its distance.
Not only should the farmer have a
good garden, but also very early
garden. 1t is the early bird that
vegetables. TLey may be little more
trouble than the latter, but we will
re remunera;ed for our trouble
There has been great deal of satis-
| faction to me to be the first one in
This town TO furnish new vegetables.
| Any work we delight in is easy. I
would think it great sacrifice ii
vas deprived of the privilege of gar
dening rs soon as the beautiful spring
| oIens. TO he truly successful one
l.rlst began Preparations in tie fail
zee that your hotbed-frames arc i'll
good shape. Store = lot of rich soil in
barrels or boxes in the cellar. SO YOU
can use i. a. any time for your ear
Isl sowing of tomato. cabba gc. pep
| er and cr,ler seeds. Study you. cli-
| mate, and sow your seeds accordingly
| early or late. Further, study your
| market.
Did you ever try to create market?
| /, or rather my youngest boy, WAS
| very success. ul in creating Il market.
He has sold Ill my vegetables, fruit,
| poultry, ETC., for four years PAST, and
| is now only IL years old. He received
| ten per cent. OF all sales, with the I'M
| derstanding that the money was to be
wisely spent, and not for knicknacks.
He buys mos of his own clothing, tab
iets, paper, pens and other school nee
essarles. / Think he sold ove- seventy
dollars worth one year. Besides, he
does not !csc sny time out OF school.
AS soon as the seed is sown in boxes
in the house in February or March,
and the tiny plants appear above
ground, look ont for mice; they are
fond of them. After the second leaf
appears give them more room, and
continue transplanting as often as
they crowd. Do not set in the open
ground until all danger of frost is
past. In the meantime l prepare o
suitable space in warm spot for my
earliest vegetables. While it is yet
doubtful about frost l sow lettuce,
radishes, spinach, peas and beets; not
too many at time. / also plant some
potatoes and sweetcorn very early.
You may win and you may lose. If
you win it makes you glad, and if
you lose you are prepared for the
disappointment. As the weather
grows warmer you can sow and plant
the foregoing vegetables weekly in
succession.and have tender vegetables
all through the season. In my family
they are fond of green peas, conse-
quently ! sow large patches, as my
market for them is good. For beans
l have little market, but 1 plant an
abundance of fall beans as shell-beans
for winter use. Tomatoes are a staple
vegetable for farmers to use fresh as
well as canned, and for pickle and
catchup. Ny earliest of vegetables are
the winter onions; they are delicious,
and can be sold easily when neatly put
up. Spinach. pie-plant and asparagus
all may be grown very early by using
horse-manure literally.
Right here / want to enter a wedge
for flower-lovers. Early in March |
plant my sweet-peas, if possible to
work the soil. Subsequent frosts will
not hurt them. ! have a bed one hun
dred and twenty feet long along the
public highway, one-fourth of a mile
out of town, and beautiful sight it
is, supported by mesh-wire stretched
on posts Is feet apart.
But to turn to the tomato. Ii you
for you may feed them with profit to
hens or cows. Carrots, beets. mangel-
wurzel, parsnips, ETC., are all very val |
liable vegetables for house use as well
as for milk cows and horses. l usual |
~ grow sugar-beets by the wagon
load, and feed them to my cows and |
hogs, as they eat them as eagerly as
apples.
Farmers around here talk about my
success with hogs-no, it's manage
ment in taking care of them. Mine |
are never sick. Roots give the hogs |
large digestive organs and good |
sound muscles.
Lima-beans are very profitable.
prefer the pole Variety Cabbage |
should be found in large quantities.
and a variety. Do not miss having
little Savoy, for its great tenderness,
and some Red Rock for picking. Flat |
Dutch or Drumhead gives satisfaction
for a general crop. Of course, each
one has his own choice. Where cauli-
flower can be grown it is profitable.
Early sweet-corn sells well and tastes
delicious. The cucumber must be re-
and if rightly managed
may be had very early.
l grow no melons, as live too near
the good town boys, who consider
melons and walnuts common proper
ty. Lettuce! Yes, lettuce we must
have; it can be prepared in SO many
ways for most people, except the
Onions have been very
low in my local market, SO l did not
raise over five bushels. l received q
great deal of satisfaction from the
so easily grown and
saved. put up many gallons. in win
ter. My soil being clay do not under
take to raise sweet potatoes. Radishes,
early and late, ought to be found on
every farmers table. We have many
squashes to-day, and they
are worth the labor; but
with me the squash, pumpkin and po-
tato are more for field culture rather
than garden. Shall forget the tur-
nip? Oh, no. Some are fine for table,
as well as for stock.
The farmers garden ought to be in
ong rows, to save work. 1t should be
rich ground, enriched continuously
year after year, and well drained nat
lrally Or tiled II should ro< vory |