The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1910-02-25
PLANNING A GARDEN AHEAD NO
EASY TASK.
Advice by NurSeryman On Crops That
May be Raised ON Small Plot

Omaha, Neb., Saturday. Winter is
the best time to plan your garden and
order your seeds both flowers and
vegetables" declared a nurseryman
"The smaller the garden the more
carefully it should be planned and
thought out if the best results are to
be had. have the plot of each gar
! den in my care drawn out on
paper the rows spaced and numbered
and the proper position assigned to
each vegetable.
Seeds should be ordered in January
or as early as possible thereafter SO
as to start the plants of the tender
vegetables indoors in February and
the hardy ones in hot beds or cold
| frames I'm March. When such plants
are to b. bought of a gardener instead
Of being raised at home they should
| b. ordered ahead to make sure OF hav-
ing them at the right time
| When such plants are to be bought of
a gardener instead Of being raised at
home they should be ordered ahead
to make sure Of having them at the
right time.
fOne of the most important points
in laying out your garden is to have
your rows run as nearly north and
south as possible, so that the sun may
shine on both sides. There is no ex-
ception to this rule, and the smaller
the garden and the greater the va
riety of vegetables to be planted the
more important it is. The rows
should always be as straight and as
long as possible.
Where there are permanent vege-
tables, such a. asparagus and rhubarb,
they should be planted at one end OF
the garden 20 that they will interfere
as little al possible with the cultiva-
ton of the balance of the land. III
there should be small fruits, such as
raspberries, gOoseberr1es and cur
rants, the bushes should be planted
at the same end as the permanent veg
etables and between them and the
fence or outside boundary.
Strawberries should be planted be-
tween the garden proper and perma-
nent vegetables. This arrangement
will enable the gardener to work them
in with the succession and rotation
crops. Where there are many small
vegetables planted together in close
rows there should be a path about q
foot wide left every five rows to pre-
vent tranlping Of the narrow rows
when gathering.
"Of course the amount OF space al
lowed to each vegetable and the va
rieties OF the vegetable planted must
depend on the taste OF the family.
Taking row OF 100 feet az the basis
and allowing that the soil Is up to
the standard In fertility and IL well
prepared and fairly well tended the
yield in turnips will approximate 2
bushels; potatoes 11s bushels; onions,
l bushel; beets, 2, bushels; carrots, 2
bushels; corn, from o12 dozen ears;
cucumbers, from 25 to so on a hill;
peppers, from 10 to 20 on each plant;
radishes, from 80 to 100 punches; to-
matoes, from IL to so on each plant;
peas, from TX to 2 bushels; lettuce,
from 1 to 200 heads, and spinach,
about 1 bushel.
Several of the gardens which tend
are only so by rs feet, and by planting
for succession crops they are made to
supply families of as many as six,
with their guests. Those gardens un-
less planned before hand would hard
lily be worth planting.
Not fO0t7Of land should be left
idle for as much as two days. People
who know nothing of gardening ex-
claim when I tell them this. They
say it will require constant work and
consequently be expensive.
''The expense of a garden comes in
preparing the land for the first crop.
is then that the heavy work and the
bulk of the fertilizer have to be sup
piled. If the first work is not proper
ly done it will not produce even good
G,cf hA ga FOL
little additional fertilizer and an aver
age of less than two hours work a
day.
"Of course the saving depends on
the vegetables which the family wish
grown in the garden. Large growing
vegetables, such as corn, pole beans
and vines, give smaller returns for
space occupied than small vegetables.
by small vegetables I mean lettuce,
radishes, onions, beets, carrots, spin
ach, tomatoes, egg plant, &C.
when I get an order to plant a
garden for people who can't tell me
just which vegetables they prefer
put in what I call my we'll balanced
garden. Taking space of 75x50 feet
IL would be about as follows EARLY
potatoes 200 feet; radishes, $50 feet;
peas, 200 feet; bush beans, the same
amount; pole beans, 100 feet; cabbage,
100 feet; beets, the same; carrots, the
same; onions, 200 feet; lettuce, the
same; turnips, the same; corn, 600
feet; celery, 100 feet; tomatoes, 40
plants on trellises against the fence;
cucumbers, hills; squash, hills in
the corn; peppers, 10 plants; parsley,
10 plants and okra, SO feet
with such garden the first year
it i easy enough for me to find out
what the family prefers. The next
year lessen the amount of those veg
etables OF which they eat sparingly
and increase those of which they are
more fond.
lin such a garden as I have given
it is not often that | have to cut out
anything entirely, excepting the okra.
This is new vegetable in this part of
the country, and many people don't
care enough for it to make it worth
while when they have only small
space. If, however, they should be
Southern people you would have to in
crease the amount and cut out or less
en- the onions and potatoes.
In such garden, of course, close
attention must be paid to the catch
crops. Lettuce, spinach and radishes
are the best Of these. 7 always plant
these vegetables between those that
mature more slowly They mature
and are cleared away before the stand
ard crop needs the space they occupy.
These three catch troopers, as
call them, can be used between rows
of any vegetables planted two feet