The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1918-02-16
GARDENING
(By A. E. Sach)

|
has been accomplished, it is a comparatively
easy matter to raise good crops; even a sea-
son that is too wet or too dry can largely be
overcome by having the land just right and
keeping it So
Those who wish to make truck gardening
speciality and do not know just what their
particular land requires, can send sample of
it to the government department of argicul-
ture at Washington, where it will be analyzed
| in order to determine it's requirements.
| This article is not written to furnish scien-
tiic instruction in gardening, but merely to
give some general information on how to get
the best results from the garden around the
house and from an extra lot or two that may
be owned or rented. 1t has now become more
important than ever to get all that is possible
out of the soil; but let no one think this can
be done without the proper care and ingre-
dients being put into it.
"A Little Farm Well Tiled" is good
motto for us all. Better results with less
work may be attained by doing small piece
well, than by attempting large piece with
scanty fertilization and Indifferent cultiva-
ton. The one great secret of good crops
after the land has been fed or supplied with
sufficient nutriment in the form of manure, is
constant cultivation, allowing no clods or
crust to form after heavy rains. The, finer
or more mellow the soil is kept, the better the
seeds will grow. Especially is this the case
with the smaller seeds, such as carrots
onions, parsely, lettuce, etc.
| A great deal of blame that is given the
storekeeper for selling poor seeds does not
belong to him; neither does it belong to the
seeds. It may be that the ground was too
coarse or that after the seeds were planted
a heavy rain came and encrusted the ground;
or perhaps an extra dry season came and
caused the soil to form in Jumps. Ground
should be cultivated so that the soil lies in
very fine soft molds in order that the mois-
ture from below can rise into it thereby sup
plying the seeds with sufficient dampness to
enable them to take hold and grow. Of
course, however, all young seeds and plants
must have either rain or the watering-can
within a reasonable time. Do not cultivate
too soon after. rain, especially on heavy or
| clay land; the stirring of soil when too wet is
apt to cause it to form it into cement-like
mass in which the plant food is locked and
into which the tender roots cannot penetrate
On sandy soil this would not happen
WHAT is THE FIRST THING TO DO NOW?
| 1t does not look much like gardening
weather yet, but little later there will be so
many things to do all at once that whatever
can be prepared now will be great advan-
tage.
The first thing to do, if you want to have
things early, is to get your hotbed frames
ready. You can order these from the Zion
Building Industry or make them yourself.
A standard size is to have them feet from
back to front and as long as you wish. Have
the sash coverings made feet wide, so that
they can be easily handled. Select sunny
position for them preferably sheltered from
the north, and make the back or north side
OF the frame about IL or IA inches high the
front Or inches lower Dig out the ground
underneath and fill in with stable manure;
but the bin should be drained so that water
will not soak in and keep it saturated. The
fresh manure should be filled in to a depth Of
IL to "a inches. Cover this with about
inches Of fine loam It will then heat and
probably get too hot at first; when it has
cooled off so that the temperature is about
80 degrees, plant the seeds, which should be
done toward the end of February or early in
March. When the plants are few inches
! nigh and the frosts are over, a cold frame
should be ready into which to transplant
them.
The cold frame is just the same size and
is made the same as the hot frame; but it
does not require the manure underneath -
simply a, good thickness of fine rich soil. It
may be covered with muslin frames instead of
glass. In both cases, ventilation should be
given during the sunny days.
Many people cannot have hotbeds or cold
frames, but they want to be early with their
garden and save the expense of buying plants.
This can be done by procuring some empty
wood boxes about 4lz inches deep. Fill them
with fine rich soil or leaf molds, and plant
the seeds in them, keeping them in the house
in warm and light place. By this means,
you will be ready with nice young plants as
soon as the frosts have gone. The seeds may
h0 f0sy I'll