Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1918-05-23

Endive should be used as soon as
blanched. Blanching may be accom-
plished by tying the leaves together
as soon as the plants are well grown.
Kohl-rabi must be used while ten
der This may easily be determined
by cutting the tnickened stem which
constitutes the edible portion. If
tough and stringy, 1t is too old.
Muskmelons.-Color, size and gener-
al appearance serve as guides in tell
ing when they are ready to pick. They
should not be allowed to remain on
the vines until dead ripe, as they are
past their prime when fully ripened.
| termelons.-Ripeness is deter
mined by sound, and by the general
appearance. A ripe melon when struck
with the hand gives a dull sound,
which is readily recognized after q
few trials.
Okra should be gathered while the
pods are very young and tender and
while the seeds are still soft.
Onions may be pulled and used as
1
quarter to a half inch in diameter.
| If for boiled onions the bulbs may be
any size.
Parsnips are not used until late in
the autumn when the ground is froz-
en-. Freezing improves their flavor in
fact, it is not considered advisable to
use them as a summer vegetable. Size
is of small Importance, but those from
| " to 2 inches In diameter are consid-
cred best.
Peas are ready for picking as soon
as the pods are well filed and while
the peas are still green, yet before Ell
Their the peas become hard or the pods
whitish or yellowish. Peas should
not be gathered when too young, and
if too old will be of poor quality.
Peppers may be gathered at any
time until they begin to turn red. For
some purposes they are allowed to ri
pen, but usually are picked green.
Early potatoes may be used at any
time during their growth. An old
time rule is to begin digging them
when they have reached the size of a
hens egg. 1t is advisable to begin u.s.
ing them when they have reached this
size, digging the supply from day to
day as needed, allowing the bulk of
the crop to grow until needed or until
they mature. Late potatoes should
be allowed to grow until the vines die
or are killed by frost.
Sweet potatoes are of poor quality
unless allowed to reach maturity. The
simplest test is to break one of the po-
tatoes. If drops of water collect on
the broken surface the crop is not ma
ture This crop grows until frost
kills the vines, but 1t is permissible to
use them quite a while before the
end of the growing season.
Radishes may be used as soon as
. large enough. A common practice is
to begin thinning them as soon as large
enough. They should all be used while
young and tender.
Satisfy is grown and handled in the
, same way as parsnips and the same
rules may be followed in its USE.
Summer squashes are ready for use
as soon as large enough. They how
ever, should not be picked when very
, small, as when young they are watery
= and of poor quality. AS soon as the
shell hardens they are too old for ia
BILE use.
Winter squashes should be allowed
: to grow until the vines die or unit
: frost kills them, but the squashes
should be stored before being frosted
Tomatoes should be picked when full
= ly ripe, but should not be allowed t.
remain on the vines until soft 1t II
: not good practice to pick them while
) partly ripe, as the flavor is injured b,
0 this practice.
y Turnips for green's may be used al
soon as the foliage is large enough t,
l. justify picking; If for the roots. whel
the roots are from ~ to 2 inches II
diameter. When planted as a lat
e summer crop for roots for storage
3 they should be allowed to grow unit
d hard freezing occurs. Those from L
IF 3 inches In diameter are best. Large
ones may be used for stock feed.