The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1913-05-30

Nine really profitable vegetable gar
dens out of ten are made under the
supervision of a woman, II she does
not do the actual work, and the best
gardens the writer ever has seen
were both made and cared for, from
start to finish, by women, and for that
reason the hints to follow are given
with %oman's garden In mind.
1t would be impossible to urge the
small garden and close succession
OF crops too strongly, and 1t is being
urged from a full knowledge Of what
has been done, and not from mere
theory Make the sold rich enough,
and the rows of vegetables may be
30 close together that using wheel cul-
tivators and similar tools will not be
possible; the tops will quickly cover
the soil. and by shading it and pre-
venting evaporation, keep it cool and
moist; the useful plants will crowd
out weeds, or smother them, and the
rich soil not only provides for quick,
tender growths as first crop, but in
sures the same plentiful supply of
plant food for the later paintings.
Because a plain description of work
done is the best way of giving help,
no apology is made for telling how a
near neighbor gets more, and finer,
vegetables from a garden not larger
than twenty-five by fifty feet than
most gardeners get from three times
that space. Her first work Is the
preparation Of the sail.
Using a spading fork, she digs a
deep trench the length Of the garden
and fills in old, thoroughly rotted ma
nure bringing from the barnyard in
wheelbarrow or Cart to a depth of
several inches. This done, she digs
another trench and throws the soil
over from other rows, and what is
thrown from the first one is used
wherever needed around the place.
Should a list of vegetables grown
in this little garden be given, it would
surely be called an exaggeration, II
nothing worse, by those who have
never tested close-cropping on soil
well supplied with the elements need
ed for quick production, and made
available by the underfeed method
Such soil-preparation must be sup
plemented by good selection OF
whatever vegetables are to be grown,
and suggestion or two may help in
choosing them.
For example; Let the first planting
of peas include both early and late
sorts, and as soon as the early ones
are done producing freely, plant more
of the same sort, and they will be
ready for use by the time the later
variety Is gone. The succession is
more helpful to the cook, who is prob
ably the gardner as well, than more
than she knows what to do with at
one period and none later in the sea
son.
Lettuce may be sown every month
from early spring until August, and
the product of different sowings will
supply young and tender leaves all
the season. Sowing less at a time
and oftener is the best plan for the
home garden.
Radlshes, too, are good repeaters,
but rarely do well during midsum-
mer. Earl and late crops are more
enjoyed, because of the intervening
time when they do not appear on the
table. A few hills of cucumbers will
furnish the table with early ones, and
the main crop for pickles can be sown
later.
In my own garden. make the hills
among the early potatoes, and plant
the seed before the potatoes are dug,
which gives them time to get started
and be ready to vine as soon as the
space Is cleared for them. Turnips
may follow an earlier crop and the
list might be continued indefinitely,
but the one general rule that quick
growing, early maturing varieties
may be made to furnish a succession,
Will help each to select for double
cropping the vegetables best liked by
the family.
Some kinds Of seed must be started
in hot-bed, or in the house, and be
transplanted once or twice to get
sturdy plants ready for the open gar
den. and among these we have cab
bage, cauliilower, tomato, pepper and
many others. If. however, early crops