Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-06-01
Suggestions For
Vegetable Growers

early beans have been very badly de-
layed because of the adverse weather
conditions during the spring. Tomato
plants all over the state are beginning
to grow nicely and prospects are excel
lent for a splendid crop.
CUcUMBERs
Cucumber seed planted at this time
usually come right up and grows nicely
because the soil Is warm and growing
conditions are ideal. When the seed
lings fret come up the striped cucum-
Der beetles are generally quite bother
come. To avoid this trouble the home
gardeper may push a little stick into
the soil near each hill. If the top Of
this stick is four inches high a piece Of
cheese-cloth a foot square may be laid
over 1t and have the edges of the cloth
covered with soil. Thus, a perfect little
tent is formed over each hill. The
beetles cannot enter and the little
plants will come up and grow undis-
turbed by beetles or cut worms until
they are large enough to be past the
danger period when the tent is removed.
This recommendation lie very fine for
the home gardener, the commercial
grower had better use repellent is, such
as air-slaked lime, tobacco dust and
pulverized sheep manure when the
seedlings are just breaking through the
ground. After they are up, powdered
arsenate of lead and sulphur is very
effective, or a solution containing ar
senate of lead may be used as these
latter methods are more economical OIL
a commercial scale.
TESTING SEED BEFORE PLANTING
AT THE time of the year the planters
realize the value of knowing what the
termination OF their seed is before they
plant it. Many paintings have not
come up because the seed was very
poor. Had the grower tested his seed
he would have been saved the trouble
of planting that which would not grow.
The seed analyst of the New Jersey
Agricultural Experiment Station at
New Bruins wick, N. j., has tested thou
sands of samples of seed free Of charge.
When we realize what seed testing
means, we will either learn to test 1t
ourselves or have the state seed analyst
Test and report upon 1t for us.-R Bean
seed especially should be tested i'm
mediately.
Elephants
Many gardeners refuse TO consider
e%ggplants because they may have been
unsuccessful with them. Perhaps they
set them out too early, perhaps soil was
sour, devoid of organic material or de-
icient in plant food, especially phos-
phorus. Therefore, as it Is just the
right time now to set eggplants the
State Agricultural College recommends
that they be set in a sweet, rich soil,
full of organic matter and therefore re-
tentive of moisture. Each plant should
yield from six to twenty eggplantsdu r-
ing the season.
HEAD LETTUCE IN Hot WEATHER
Attempts are often made to partially
shade lettuce during hot weather with
cheese-cloth, netting or lattice SO that
the plants and the ground will keep
cool and moist, and permit the develop
ment of fine large heads. This idea
sounds plausj BILE and it is often exploit
ed In agricultural literature, but in act
uaI practice 1t does not materialize. The
fact is that for a time the lettuce which
is partially protected from the heat of
the u will develop larger, more tender
leaves of finer quality and lighter color,
but the plants will not form heads so
as those in the open, and besides
they will shoot to seed quicker. 1t
is quite impossible to develop head let
tuce during hot weather. Seed for the
fall crop is planted during the last part
of July and in early August.
SEAsoNABLE REMINDERS
Cultivate the potato patch as fire.
quently as possible. The prices of all
polsons containing arsenic, such as Par
is green and arsenate of lead will Don
begin to advance rapidly. When the
beets from seed are four inches high
they may be thinned out to stand two
apart in the row. The trimmings
may be used as spinach for greens. Do
not eat all the onions growing from sets
they are large enough to amount
to anything. Let a few grow and de-
velop into large onions. Keep the
ground full at all times by planting
especially those things which may be
canned, preserved, dried or stored for
next winters use so that Uncle Sam
may have az much of the staple foods
as possible to meet the international