Evening star., 1915-03-14
TOURS
Garden Hints.

At this time OF year, when not .
great deal can be done about the gar
den, a few minutes work two or three
days a week picking up and removing
stones. etc, from the plot will be time
we'll spent. Much Of the land in the
vicinity of Washington is rather stony.
the quartz and granite fragments OF
varying size making cultivation more
dif1cult than Is necessary. Remove the
stones, big and little. and use them
in edging walks and paths; they will
be worth more that way than as cum
berers OF the soil in the garden.
Raising onions the nrst year from
seed is rather new to most gardeners,
but developments in recent years In
varieties have made this not only pos
sible. but profitable. AS a rule. gar
deners plant onion sets. and in this
way they are compelled to depend on
the veracity Of the local scotsman and
on a supply of rather dubious char
acter. By planting onion seed the de-
sired variety of onions may be grown.
whether this be one OF the big Span
ish type. noted for mildness and rich
flavor, or the smaller and more pungent
kinds. The seed Is to be sown as early
X
fine, mellow condition; late March OF
early April Is about the right time for
this locality. Tho soil must be made
as rich as possible with well rotted
tilizers do not serve the purpose az
well as the old, black manure Addi.
zion of considerable quantities of bone
meal is usually advised. Sow the seed
in drills about six inches apart. COW
ering about half an inch deep. Abso-
lutte freedom from weeds and constant
close cultivation are two necessities:
hand wedding must be resorted to In
order to be sure that not a weed re-
mains. When the onions are up about
two inches. thin them out to stand
three inches or SO apart in the rows.
and continue the cultivation; the little
onions removed in the thinning-out
process may be used as sets in other
rows. Grown this way. onions attain
full size in the late summer or fall.
assuring winter crop of any desired
kind the first season direct from the
seed.
1t is good plan to scatter we'll
:otted stable manure over the space
to be devoted to onions at this time,
the manure to be spaded or forked un-
der in a couple of weeks. Ground on
which radishes or early turnips are to
be grown. however. should not be
manured or made too rich. as this will
make either turnips or radishes strong
should be sown on ground that has
produced an early crop of some kind:
old-fashioned farmers SOW their late
turnips about July rs. on ground where
crop of wheat, rye or other grain
has been produced.
In making the garden this year. en-
deavor to plant an underground crop
on ground where an above-ground crop
grew last season. That is, for In
stance. plant potatoes this year on
ground where corn was planted last
summer. An exception to this, however.
is beans; the leglmes enrich the SOIL
in which they grow by storing up nj
trogen gathered from the air in
nodu!es on the roots of the plants
These roots. left in the ground through
the soil besides leaving this accumu-
lated nitrogen to be utilized by the
following years paintings OF beans
Few amateur gardeners know any,
thing about blanching head lettuce, a
process which adds much to the ap-
pearance and the table qualities of this
vegetable-or salad. as you like. When
the outside leaves until they surround
the heart of the lettuce, and tie them
up with bits of raffia.. being careful
not to bruise the leaves unduly. When
inner leaves will be found to be blanch-
ed to the palest green. while they win
be much more tender and succulent
than they would have been had they
grown naturally. with the head open
to the air and sunshine.
As the garden is "made," leave a shell
tered corner free from planting. and
make the soil there as rich as pos
sible with old. black stable manure or
compost. About mid-May sow tomato
seed in this plot. keeping the soil well
moistened and free from weeds. The
plants grown thus will be ready to set
out in permanent rows by July /, and
will produce late tomatoes clear up to
the time the vines are killed down
by the early autumn frcsts.
The very finest sweet potatoes ara
produced on light, sandy soil enriched
with we'll rotted COW manure. Plow
the ground deeply, harrow IL fine.
and throw UP the ridges as usual,
making them about three feet apart.
When the ridges are made. open them
of the old. black, well rotted COW
manure as you have. Set the plants in
q couple of inches of the sandy soil.
covering the manure, watering them
well when they are set out. Keep
the vine growth well up along the tops
are almost made. lift the vines and
coil them up closely about their own
roots. Dig the sweet potatoes as late
as possible in the fall. but do not wait
so long as to run the risk of having
the vines nipped by frost. Sweet po-
tatoes grown in this manner will be
double the size of those grown in ridges
not enriched with cow manure, and
the flavor and mealiness of the tubers
will be vastly superior to those of po- :"
tatoes grown under ordinary condi-
tons