The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-05-22
AN EASY GARDEN.
One That Any Plain, Practical Farm
er May Cultivate With Profit.

One Inat any PAIN, ffoct1c0l FARM
er May Cultivate with Profit.
A good garden. meaning one that
furnishes a supply of vegetables in
abundant quantity and liberal variety
throughout the growing season, with a
final harvest home for the winter
stock, is what everybody who lives in
the country wants. Such garden,
grown and cared for in the easiest and
cheapest way, is what every farmer
might have, but not what every farm
er actually attains. The garden Of
which l see most is very good illus
tration of this kind of garden, the one
that every plain, practical farmer may
cultivate with profit to his own pocket
and much satisfaction for all who eat
ut his table.
This cheap and easy garden is favor
ably situated, to begin with. The soil
is good and the ground free from
stones. 1t slopes slightly toward the
south and is protected from north
winds by buildings, trees and at little
three-quarters of an acre and furnishes
two families with a practically unlim-
tied profusion of fine fresh vegetables
of the best quality and some fruit.
Laid out entirely in long lines, the
rows far enough apart for going
through with a cultivator. horsepower
is relied upon almost exclusively for
the culture of this garden. 1t has the
same good, thorough attention that
the neighboring cornfield gets and lit
tie more. Clean tillage and frequent
stirring of the soil are matter of
course, but with no refinements of
the gardening art, nothing done for
show or mere appearance. A sober
steady old farm horse and an equally
steady plowman march up and down
the long rows often enough to prevent
any big weeds from eXhausting the
fertility of the soil.
After the ground is well MANFRED,
plowed and narrowed in the spring it
is marked Off in long lines and cult
walton kept up. with room left for sue
cessive paintings of the more impor-
tant garden crops. Last year delicious
green peas were picked for thirty sue
cessive days. Green corn lasted still
longer. From the first radish and the
early spinach and lettuce to the last
tomato and last mess of lima beans
the season easily covers more than
half the year, and during all this time
the garden provides a very important
share of the food supply, important
to health and comfort and also from
the point Of view of dollars and cents.
Can as much and as good value be
obtained in any other way?
The garden in question has two
rows Of raspberries and two of straw
berries, productive, though not cared
for in a finished manner, and a row
of peach trees along one side wall
give in favorable years q few bushels
Of peaches. This garden does not
claim perfection. 1t lacks, for instance,
an asparagus bed. Melons have done
fairly well in it, but for some reason
the Hubbard squash has been a fail
ure. The homely cabbage thrives, but
not the more elegant and dainty cauli-
flower. Celery we do have up to late
winter and plenty Of parsnips left in
the ground for the following early
spring.
This garden is not like patent med
icine-warranted to please everybody
Some would not be satisfied without
more. Others content themselves with
much less.
For its planning and general over
sight this garden depends upon wo-
man, concludes Dorothy in Country
Gentleman.