The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1910-04-09

Raising a Few Veg
etables One of the
Best Antid0tes For
the Present High
Cost of Living e
Almost Half of the
Family Living Dur
ing the Summer and
Autumn Months
May Thus Be Se-
cured @ - -
Copyright. 1910, by American Press
: Association
Copyright. 1910, by American Press
-; Association

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was not plowed in the fall the manure
should be applied before blowing In.
the spring. There is no fertilizer SO
good for the garden as we'll rotted sta
BILE manure. The average livery sta
BILE manure should be avoided, how
ever, as it is usually coarse and strawy
and full of weed seeds. Liberal
quantities should be used, as it is all
most impossible to make the garden
too rich.
Where manure cannot be obtained a
commercial fertilizer with a guaran-
teed analysis Of 10 per cent potash, 8
per cent phosphoric acid and 3 per
cent nitrogen may be used instead.
One thousand pounds of this mixture
to the acre will be about right It can !
be scattered over the garden after |
blowing and narrowed in, or the plan !
of hill fertilization may be followed. |
In this plan the fertilizer is mixed
with the dirt in the bottom of EACH
hill or furrow. Where this is done it
would be well to add a little nitrate of
soda for such plants as asparagus,
rhubarb and lettuce, as nitrogen pro-
notes leaf growth.
The garden should not be worked in
the spring until the ground is thor
Oughly dry, as otherwise it will be
cloddy all summer. The blowing, disk
ing and narrowing should be thorough
~ done, so that by planting time the
garden is in as fine a condition as it
can be made This thorough prepare
ton will help warm the soil, and a
warm soil means an early garden. If
the soil Of the garden is heavy and not
naturally we'll drained it should be
thoroughly tiled. -.
Tho Hotbed and Cold Frame. =.
With many vegetables it is a great
advantage to start the seed in hot
bed early in spring. Hotbeds are of
many kinds. The simplest is wooden
frame Of any convenient size with the
back side about eight inches: higher
than the 'front.' This can be covered
with a storm window or even with a
frame covered muslin. The heat r.
usually furnished by fermenting horse
manure. This should contain enough
straw so that it will be rather springy,
but not enough SO that it will be too
loose. The manure should be mois-
tened with warm water and piled up in
q conical pile after being mixed thor
oughly. After it has started to fer
ment it should be mixed again. After
fermentation starts the second time
the manure can be spread out on the:
south side Of some building in pile
about two feet thick and two or three;
feet larger each way than the hotbed:
frame. The frame should then be set
on the manure and about six inches Of
dirt placed in it.
A necessary adjunct to the hotbed is
the cold frame. This is made the
same as the hotbed, with the exception
that no manure is used and no heat
provided. Plants grown in the hot,
bed are very tender and are likely to-
perish If removed Immediately to the
! garden; consequently the plan Of
hardening off, is followed. After the.
plants get good start they are &C.
customed to outside conditions by
leaving the cover up a. longer time;
each day. After a few days of this
treatment they are transplanted to
the cold frame. This protects them to
some extent, especially at night, while
they are gradually hardened by leav-
ing the cover off as much as possible.
Planting.
As soon as the garden is in shape for
planting seeds of the harder vegeta-
bles should be put in. In this class
will come lettuce, radishes and early
potatoes. A little later the early cab
bage plants can be set out and the
onion seeds planted. Then come the
early peas and beans, carrots, parsnips,
beets and other like crops. Crops that
fsare sensitive to frost, such as melons,
cucumbers, squashes,. tomatoes and
elephants, should not be planted until
all danger Of frost is past. Late pota-
toes and sweet corn should be planted
I about the same time. In order to ex-
tend the season of crops like peas and
| sweet corn fresh paintings should be
made at intervals of about week and
half up to the latter part Of June
To secure early vegetables early varie-
| ties must be used for the first plant
1ngs, but the bulk of the planting had
better be done with late varieties, as
they are better yielders and ara usual
~ of better quality. ,.'
In planting the garden a string and
a couple of stakes should be used to
insure straight rows. The aim should
be to put the seeds in just deep enough
to get them in contact with, moist soil.
Small seeds especially should not be
planted deeply. Potatoes. which are
not really seeds, should be planted
deeply enough to make killing unnec-
essary. After the seeds are planted
the soil above the, rows should be
compacted. A light, garden roller is
handy for this purpose. A, loose mulch
should be provided to prevent evapo-
ration by going over the rows with 4
rake OF BY giving the garden 4 light
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