Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-27
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW

garden-especially if they are Just
a little bit nicer than those of our
competing neighbor.
Planting Early Varieties
Then let US have a good row of
garden peas; the dwarf ones for first
early, the half dwarf for second and
the tall ones for main crop. These
with succession planting will give
peas to eat from the time the first
ones are ready to pick in sixty to
slxty-hve days until the heat of sum-
mer makes their growth impractic-
able.
To get the fine results we desire
with garden peas they must have a
mellow, loamy soil, well filled with
humus and enriched with well-rot-
ted manure dug in the trench. and
the situation must be one which
viii drain well, so no peas of any
kind known to our gardens will do
well in Soggy or Swampy soil, even
though they require a large supply
OF water. AS one gardener put it,
They will not stand wet feet"
OF the early peas we have two
classeS-the round-seeded and the
wrinkled. The former are from three
days to week earlier than the tat
ter, and are more hardy. However.
most persons consider the wrinkled
ones so much finer in flavor that they
are willing to await the few days
necessary to get them. The wrinkled
peas Chose which have a wrinkled
seed) are sweeter, have more sugar
in their composition and rot more
easily than the hard-seeded round
ones, on which account the latter
may be planted first.
I would advise the beginner to
await until the soil is we'll drained,
mellow and easily worked, and then
plant the wrinkled peas for first early
unless his space is large and he de-
sires to try both kinds.
Garden peas should be planted in
prepared drills. AS the early peas are
either dwarf or half dwarf, there
will be no need for supports to hold
them. A good plan is to plant them
three drills together, allowing the
vines to mat together. This will pre-
vent the stalks of the dwarf ones
| falling down, which, especially in wet
weather, may cause many of the
pods to rot.
| The early peas, not having the
large mass of roots that the later
ones have, may be planted closer to-
| gether. If you set three rows to-
gether make them six inches apart
/
row. The half-dwarf, which may
reach height of thirty inches, may
| be planted in double row, the same
distance apart, and the vines matted
| together as soon as they throw out
| tentacles. This will obviate the nee
essity for supports.
The aim should be in growing peas
! to get them all cleared off the vines
in not more than two pickings. Most
| of the seed offered for sale to-day is
of strains which have developed this
| quality under selection. This makes
the space occupied by the early peas
available for the use of later crops.
Value of Soil InocuIation
= If your garden is a new one; if il
is a suburban or city lot, and has
never been planted to garden crops
or grown with clover or other lie.
guminous crops, it is just possible
that the soil is sterile of nitrogen.
fixing bacteria and it will pay YOU
| to inoculate your seeds with 6
| culture" made by some reliable
/ laboratory.
This is not an expensive PROPOSE.
ton, enough for an eighth of an acre
costing but twenty-five cents. anC
can be had for all legume crops. II
can be had from any norist or seeds