The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-12-21
Gardening City Lots

Back a number of years ago Mayor
Pingree, of Detroit, isprang into ma
tional prominence by advising the
people of that city to grow potatoes
on vacant lots. An unthinking pub
lie was inclined to treat the PROPOSE
ton as a joke, and the newspaper
paragraphers had lot of fun at the
expense of Potato Patch Pingree. -
But Mayor Pingree had given birth
to a great idea, one that could be
put into operation today with highly
beneficial results.
An enormous amount of food
could be grown on the vacant lots,
and even on the back lots, of every
city in the land. The men who grow
it would be benefited, both physical
ly and financially. A number of
cities have taken up gardening on
vacant lots in connection with the
work of public schools, and so far
as, the results are of record they
nowhere have been Disappointing
The children have grown vegetables
for use in their own homes and for
sale, and in doing it both their minds
and their bodies have been i'm
proved. 1t has given them an ap-
probation of nature and an insight
into natures workings than ever
could have been learned from text
books. 1t has taught them the dig
nifty of farming, and they are less
disposed to regard as a "rube' the
man who lives in the country.
For Office employees and others of
sedentary occupations, gardening on
city lots offers splendid opportuni-
ts for both health and profit. Flat
dwellers are barred, unless they can
get the use of vacant lots, but ev-
cry man who lives in a house that
has even a small back yard can
grow something. The doing of it
will give him enjoyment and bene-
ficial exercise, and also vegetables,
the quality and freshness of which
will be a revelation. If his back
yard is 80 to 40/feet deep and IS
to 20 feet wide he can come pretty
near to supplying his table with sew
eral varieties of the best-liked veg
etables. Whatever else he grows, he
should try tomatoes, for they do well
under adverse conditions, and toma-
toes rjpened on the vine are super
ior to the best the market stalls af-
ford. A strip the depth of his lot
and three feet wide would accom-
modate dozen plants, which can
be purchased of any seed dealer in
the spring at Is to 25 cents a. dozen.
The dozen vines should give the av-
erage family all the tomatoes it
wanted throughout the season, with
a considerable surplus for canning.
Then, just before frost, there would
be large quantity of green toma-
toes to pick for preserving.
Two rows of snap" beans 80 or
40 feet long also would supply a
family. Several varieties, of which
the stringless green pod probably is
the best, will bear all season long
and still will be in blossom when
frost comes A couple of rows of
lima beans also would be profitable.
South of the Northern Pennsylvania
line, in favorable season, they will
bear two crops. 1t would pay to
plant as many rows of peas as there
was room for, because their n
is finished cary enough so htaS9s she
ground could be used for some Sec
ond crop. The catalogue of any
seed house will give the necessary
information as to varieties and the
time and manner of planting. Just
what to grow is question each gar
dener would have to, decide for him
self. but cucumbers and radishes are
two highly desirable choices because
of their superiority when fresh.
All the tools absolutely necessary
for such a garden are spade, a
hoe and rake, and the only really
hard work connected with it would
be the spading up of the ground in
the spring. The cost, aside from
fertilizer, ought not to be more than
50 to So. The use of fertilizer would
be benefited by load of good stable
manure or street sWeepings. The
.:.,- WON u,bo will fry gardening on