Middletown transcript., 1914-05-23


nary Rolling CultiVator
1t is a beautiful place in summer,
this kitchen garden of mine in Mis-
souri,, and 1 am going to give you a
pen picture of it, that you may possi-
bly, enjoy it with me.
1t is 80 feet long by so feet wide,
and fenced with eight foot high poul-
try netting. Grape vines are trained
over this fence nearly hiding it.
A few steps from the kitchen door
a wire gate opens into this wall Of
grape vine verdure, and 1 step at once
into my garden.
In the far corner three fine trees are
growing close to the fence. Their
roots run under the fence to beneath
the barnyard, and gather strength
from it, while the trees are in the
garden, and with their fruit are pro-
tected from the stock.
The soil Of my garden is black and
rich, made so by fertilizing from the
poultry houses and by wood ashes.
l never allow fertilizer from the
barns to be spread on the garden, as
it is full of grass seed, and makes
doubly hard the task of keeping the
garden clean.
The garden is always plowed in the
fall, early enough to allow any weed
seeds there may be to sprout and
then freeze in the cold weather In
February it is plowed again, and the
onion-bed made.
l plant the onion seeds in the bed
very thickly. In localities where the
ground will be frozen and cannot be
worked in February, this onion bed
should be made in the fall, late enough
so the seed will not sprout until
spring.
By planting in this way my onion
seed get well soaked, and ready to
sprout and grow ahead of the weeds
in the spring.
After they have been hoed couple
of times, and when the tops are three
or four inches long, l thin out this
bed. and transplant the extra onions
to a larger bed, where they grow to
full size
find that onions raised in this way
from seed are much sweeter, better
keepers, and fully as large as those
raised from sets.
The work is much more easily done
by planting them thickly at first and
transplanting, than it would be where
they spread out over a large bed at
first.
It seems to do them good to trans
plant them, as they grow much larger
than the ones in the first bed. When
hoeing them do not be afraid of break
ing down the tops, as that is neces-
sary to make them bottom well.
On the first warm days of spring
plant my lettuce, radishes, beets, tur-
nips, peas, potatoes and carrots, for
early use, as the frost will not hurt
any of these.
When the radishes are ready for use
and pull one of them, l drop a seed
in the hole. The lettuce break of
so that more leaves grow from the
same root, and thus l keep up the
supply Of radishes and lettuce, while
using only small piece Of ground.
The tomato and cabbage plants, al
ready raised in the house, l, set out
when the time comes, between the
rows of early peas, as the peas will
be out Of the way before the plants
are large enough to need the room.
The tomato plants in this garden
beautiful are kept trimmed and fas-
tened to frames, instead of being al
lowed to fall all over the ground, TAX
ing up so much of the ground, and
rotting the fruit.
The sweet corn is planted across
the far end of the garden instead of
in long rows, because to have the ears
fill out there must be as much of
close field as possible.
The celery plants are set out be-
tween these corn rows later, and the
corn natures in time for them to
make their growth.
When the potatoes have been hOed
once, and are about six or eight inches
high, I plant mammoth Russian sun
flower seeds about twenty inches
apart, between the rows of potatoes,
and SO raise the sun1ower seed for
my poultry. The potatoes and sun
flowers do not interfere with each |
other if the potatoes are allowed this
much start.
AS l use my beets and carrots.
plant the same ground for late fall