El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-02-06

-HE home garden should be planned
with q view to furnishing a
large assortment and continuous
supply Of vegetables throughout the
year 1t is not necessary to have a
large piece Of ground or a great many
gardening tools 20 DO rear gardening. A
piece of land containing a few square
yards is large enough TO admit one to
the contest Of the Texas Industrial
Congress and the plot may range
from this size 20 half an acre or more.
In towns and cities where cuiuNaDle
land is scarce the garden must OF
necessity be small. In the rural com
munities the garden may be made as
large as one desires A number OF
things should determine the size Of the
home gafden in the country. The
size Of the family. the nearness TO
market. the market demands, and
many other factors should influence
its size. Every garden should be large
enough to keep the family supplied
with good fresh vegetables through
out the growing season and should
produce a surplus large enough to
furnish the home with wholesome
home-canned product throughout the
remainder of the season.
Tools for Gardening.
a large assortment Of tools is not
necessary for gardening purposes.
good spading fork q hoe n rake, and
shovel are all the tools required.
garden pillow. a trowel and a dibble
may be found helpful but they are not
necessary.
Selecting Plot.
Select the best spot available for the
garden. keeping in mind that healthy
plants must have an abundance Of
sunlight and cannot grow and produce
well in shady places See that the
plot is wei drained Sufficient water
ifs absolutely necessary for the pro-
duction OF large yield Of vegetables
Of first quality, but plants do not
thrive when the water stands around
their roots They cannot stand wet
feet" Furthermore. if water stands
on the plot for some time after a rain
the vegetable may be drowned, or If
it does not filter down through the
soil readily il may smother the roots
OF the plainly as mentioned above
Plants feed, drink. and breathe in
very similar manner to animals and
anything that interferes with these
processes in injurious.
Best Type OF Soil.
A sandy loan soil is best for gar
dening purposes. Tt is open and porous,
drains well, warns up early in the
spring and is easily cultivated. When
sandy loan soil is not available,
however we use the type Of soil that
is available. Black WaXy soils and
heavy clay soils are as hard to work
perhaps as any soils in Texas. They
are heavy have poor texture, as a rule,
and are not well adapted to gardening
purposes. The structure of these soils
may be greatly improved by proper
tillage methods and by manuring. as
viii be noted in the following para
graph.
Munures and ManurinE.
One Of the most important things I
that can be done in preparing the plot |
10 insure a large yield is to apply a !
liberal amount Of manure. On most I
Texas towns and cities manure may
be obtained from livery stables for the
cost OF delivering it to the garden.) !
This may be applied at the rate of
eight or ten tons per acre. one ton is
usually considered equal to one wagon /
load. The structure of heavy soils
may be greatly improved by mixing I
manure with them. The manure /
loosens the soil, makes il more porous.
liberates heat and aids in warming it, /
and increases its water holding capaci- !
ty. in addition TO improving the ply
steal properties OF the soil, manure in ,
creases the fertility and productivity /
TO marked degree. Since the plant /
ing season is so near at hand this I
year, no manure other than that which
is well rotted should be used. Fres-I /
manure, unless applied early enough /
TO allow it to ret is liable to injure the 4
plants. Poultry manure is always safe |