Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-03-29
BACKYARD VEGETABLES
RAISE THEM AND TAKE THE
BEST SPRING TONIC.
Directions for an Amateur to Prepare
the Ground and Set Out
Plants.

Written l''I L i" i-NtHlIE Sldf.
This is the season when everything that
has life is impeled to activity. and little
later on impertinent signboards will be in
terrogating you as to that tired feeling"
II you possess the smallest possible back
yard, even the ugly, sodden 25XJo little
plot usually consecrated to the family
wash and the neighboring cats. harness
your activity to a hoe or spade, and be-
sides reaping material benefit, you may re-
turn the insolent stare of signboards for
daily exercise in this spring air is moro
fatal to that tired feeling than buckets
of anybody's tonic. Then the joy of bring
ing your own vegetables up by hand.
How to Do 1t.
A fork. hoe, a rake and a trowei should
make satisfactory outfit for the beginner,
and cost about dollar and half Start
in at once with digging fork and turn up
the earth. Don't worry about your lame
BAG; It's the surest sign your muscles
need exercise, and an hour in the air
and sunshine is worth two In a gymnasium
if you don't overdo the thing,
When you have forled up say a square
yard OF your plot, lay down the digging
fork and take up the shovel and the rake
TO pulverize clods of earth. 1ncidentallY
this Will call into play new set of mus
cles. You cannot get your soil too finely
powdered. Get a bag of fertilizer from
your seed man. Full direction are Stumbled
by the manufacturer for its use. so the
novice will find il quite safe. Apply this to
your prepared soil according to directions
and mix well together. Remember that
fertilizer is plant food, and undue economy
is expensive. You can't raise plants with-
out proper nourishment.
When your soil is finely pulverized to the
depth of one foot and thoroughly mixed
with fertilizer, your plot is ready for plants
ing.
You have begun too late this year to raise
all your own plants from seed, so you must
buy plants already started in plots from a
good seed house. We will suppose your
yard to be laid out with a center plot and
a border in the usual way. Your first plant
Ing VIII be a yard of herbs in the center
plot at the end nearest the kitchen door I'm
cheering sight of the cook This will be a
permanent planting, which will come up
next year again of it's own accord. In either
corner, along the edge, you may set three
horseradish roots foot apart Vhree roots
to the yard.) These six roots will supply
a large family. and the foliage is very
luxurious and pretty. Along the edge you
will sets three pots of mint. which grows
very rapidly, and innumerable cuttings can
be made from IT. Besides being an excel
lent flavoring, 1t makes a refreshing table
bouquet. Next to the mint put three TARA
gon plants, which will also spread, and be-
fore fall you will have sufficient of this de-
licous flavOring to make all the tarragon
vinegar you can possibly use. In the last
herb row you will sow a packet of lemon
thyme seed This will make just one yard
in length of herbs, and when they are
watered they will give out grateful scent,
which will be well worth all your trouble.
Now leave your center plot for awhile
and put in shape the narrow border close
to the fence. For this purpose you Will
buy in pots several dozen vine plants,
cucumber, water and muskmeion and to-
mato vines. Be sure to give the melons
the sunniest spot. These plants will climb
all over your ugly board fence and cover
it with living green. Cucumbers and to-
ot,..e f1afr frTrf xrra11 lsaf
the melons will need support. Get some
wire poultry netting at the hardware store
about a foot wide Tack it to the top
of the fence and take it close to the
stone curb Plant your vines six feet apart
and provide one of these wire ladders for
each vine. When the fruit becomes heavy
it can be lacked" on the netting.
Now vines take long time to mature,
so you can utilize the edge of your fence
border by planting some low-growing
green, parsley. lettuce, chives. etc. Buy
your lettuce plants, and buy some seed as
well. Start the seed in box, and when
your seedman's plants are harvested you
will have more of your own raising to set
out in their place.
If lettuce is to be crisp and tender IT must
be grown quickly, and two crops can easily
be grown in your border. Plant your own
parsley seed, soaking ii in warm water
for day or two to give it a start. as it
terminates very slowly. You can keep on
cropping parsley all winter long with O
little covering.
To return to the center plot. of which
you have still three yards to plant Leave
a two-foot space between your herb bed
and your next planting, which should per-
haps be cabbage and cauliflower bought
already started.
Set out two rows each two feet apart
each way, and at the same time start seed
in boxes for late CROP Then you VIII
need six rows of green peas. Plant three
rows at time ten days apart. Next plano
from seed three rows of beets and one OF
carrots. The rest of your space can De put
down to dwarf string beans Your seed
man will provide you with his catalogue.
containing full instructions for the growing
of all these seeds Next year you will be-
gin six weeks earlier and raise your own
plants, and hereafter the dreary month uf
February will be looked for eagerly as the
time of catalogues and garden planting.
This is the merest beginners outline, bus
after YOU have tried II 1t will suggest an.
endless variety of experiments.