Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1914-06-03
By KArHERrNr A. GR1Mrs1

everyone mas some particular 0ODDy
to work out when 1t comes 70 garden
ing. Mine is pickles. My family is at
the bottom Of this, however. for there
is nothing they will ell relish so much
through the winter as these tart or
spicy appetizers. l know that when
fall comes ! must have cellar-cup-
boardful OF pickles OF every sort and
description, sweet and sour and
chopped. spiced and plain, separate
and mixed. to say nothing of chow
chow, chill sauce. catsup and the like.
So plan my gardening accordingly,
or course l raise other things in it,
too, but pickles are my main crop.
The first thing / plant in the spring
is onions. There are few kinds of
pickles where some member of this
fragrant tribe does not come in
handy. l sow my onion seed thickly
in rows, and do not thin them. Then
when fell comes / have quantities of
onions about the right size for those
kinds Of pickles in which like to use
them whole Or they may be sown
.
harder to keep free from weeds when
sown in this way. From the sets
get plenty of onions to use sliced or
chopped in the various pickle mix
lures
Cabbage is another picking staple
that should be sown early. Those own
cousins to the cabbage caulitlower
and collards, are also invaluable for
use in mustard and spiced pickles, and
should not be forgotten. The late
hard-heading varieties of cabbage are
best for this purpose, as they are
whittier and more tender than the
earlier sorts
There are so many kinds of pickles
that need tomatoes that liberal ar
rangements must be made for these.
For this purpose / like some smooth,
small fruited tree variety. preferably
little on the late order
Yellow tomatoes make the most de-
licious of all sweet spiced pickles;
and il is well to remember that there
is nothing finer than this same fruit
for preserves.
Tomatoes for picking may be sown
in the hills where they are to grow
as soon as there is no more danger
from the frost. They will be plenty
early enough in ripening
OF course, the cucumber is the back
bone of the whole pickle business.
One can hardly have too many OF
them, so they may be planted and re.
planted as long as the season will
allow.
If the bugs get after them, use a
little sulphur to dust them with, and
the pests will leave. 1t Is a good
thing to mix little sulphur in the
dirt around the hill. Unless the bugs
are more than usually troublesome it
is a pretty sure preventive.
There should be at least three kinds
of peppers sown, the "bull-nose, b"
which will be used green for stuflng,
the small podded red pepper, valuable
either green or ripe for mixing with
onions, cucumbers and the like, and
the large red pepper which should
through the sour cucumber pickles to
give them the proper tang"
One does not need more than half
dozen plants Of each variety, but
that number should be provided with
out fail. They may be bought from
a narket-gardener. If one is sure of
getting the right kinds. but the surest
way o get what one wants is to raise
them in window boxes
They should be set out rather early
as they require long season.
How many use the little green seed
pods OF the early radishes for mixed
pickles? They are very nice, having
a slight peppery flavor, something like
water-cress. They should be picked
before they begin to get tough. II not
ready to use them just then, drop
them in a jar of brine and they will
be all right to use any time. let
my first planting OF radishes go TO
seed for this purpose.
Then there are beans. AS a rale
people do not appreciate the value of
these for pickling They are nice used
either by themselves or In mixtures OF
various sorts.
There are several varieties of pole
beans that can be depended on to bear
until cut of by the frost, and so are
ready for use at any time. The two
like the best are the Kentucky Won
der and the Louisiana Cutshort. The
former has a large pod, and is fine to
pickle separately. The latter is small.
tender and fiesny, and is excel.
lent for mixed pickles, especially
those put up IN mustard dressing.
Either Of these may be planted early,
and viii bear steadily hot months,
sending out new runners all the time.
Citrons, watermelOns, cantaloupes.
and beets are other picking possibilI-
ties. No one with an eye to the
future, viii overlook part or all Of
these at garden-making time
In years when fruit is scarce, little
foresight at planting time VIII furnish
many excellent substitutes to I'LL the
otherwise empty cellar.