The Washington times., 1917-03-30
''WINTER GARDENS"
SHOULD TITLED
Government Experts Urge
Washingtonians to Raise
Products for Canning.

Experts Of the Department of Agri-
culture are particularly anxious to
impress upon Washingtonians who
intend to grow summer gardens the
Importance of a winter garden" By
winter garden" they mean growing
summer garden truck to be canned
by the Department of Agriculture
method SO the vegetables will re-
main fresh and crisp through the win
ter.
The department has sent The Times
an article telling what vegetables
should be planted in the summer to
be preserved for winter.
There are a number of vegetables
which, though grown in the summer,
are usually planted for use in the
following winter. An adequate sup
ply of these produced in the home
garden will do much to make the
family's winter far more attractive
and more economical. Among garden
products OF this type may be named
cabbage, carrots, parsnips, turnips,
and rutabagas.
Cabbages OF Sorts.
Both early and late varieties of
cabbage are grown extensively. In
the North early cabbage may be
planted in the hotbed during Febru-
ary and transplaDted to the open
ground as soon as the soil is ready
to be worked. For late crop It is
customary to plant the seeds in q bed
in the open ground In May or June
and transplant them to the garden
in July. For cabbage of this char
acter the soil should be heavier and
more retentive of moisture than for
early cabbage, which requires a rich,
warm soil in order to reach maturity
quickly For the late variety IL is
not desirable to have too rich a soil,
as the heads are likely to burst. Cab
bages should be set in rows thirty to
thirty-six inches apart, the plants
standing fourteen to eighteen inches
apart in the row.
To store cabbage, the heads should
be buried in pits or placed in cellars.
One method is to dig a trench about
eighteen inches deep and three feet
wide and set the cabbage upright,
with the heads close together and
the roots embedded in the soil.
When cold weather comes the heads
are covered lightly with straw and
three or four inches OF earth put in.
Slight freezing does not injure
cabbage, but is SHOULD not be sub
jected to repeated ffeezing and thsw-
ing. Early cabbage can not be kept,
as It does not stand hot weather
well. 1t should be used soon after
1t has formed q, solid head.
Light Hurts CaulihoweS.
Caulinower is cultivated in much the
same way as cabbage, but when the
heads begin to develop the leaves may
be tied over them in order to exclude
the light and keep the heads white.
Caulifiower requires a rich. moist soil
and thrives best under irrigation The
tender heads of this vegetable are
boiled with butter or cream, and also
used for picking.
The roats Of the parsnip are dug late
in the fall and stored in cellars or pits.
much as cabbage Is. or else are allowed
to remain where they are grown and
are dug as required for use. All roots
not dug during the winter, however.
should be removed from the garden, as
they will produce seed the second sea-
son and become Of a weedy nature.
Wien the parsnip has been allowed to
run wild In this way tne root - CON-
sidered to be poisonous.
The seeds OF parsnips should be
sown as early as convenient In the
spring in rows eighteen inches to
three feet apart The plants should
later be thinned to stand three inches
apart in the row. A rich soil, with
frequent cultivation, is necessary for
success with this crop. The roots
are boiled until tender and then cut in
slices and Drowned in butter or
roasted with meat in the same way
that potatoes are
Carrots Grow Thickly.
Carrots are cultivated in practically
the same way as the parsnips, but are
not thinned so much, and are allowed
to grow almost as thickly as planted.
Those not used during the summer
are dug ii the autumn and stored in
the same manner as parsnips or tur-
nips. II there is a surplus, It may be
fed sparingly to horses and mules or
cattle.
Turnips are used largely in COM
binatkpn with potatoes, cabbage and
meat In boiled dishes. They are also
mashed like potatoes and are a de-
sirable addition to the ordinary win
ter fare. They require a rich soil
and may be grown either as an early
or late crop For a late crop IL Is