The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-05-27
THINNING
SUCCESS IN GARDEN
Truckers Know It's Full Value. But
II l. Overlooked BY the
Amateur.
MAKES GREATER PRODUCTION
Every Plant Needs its Rightful
Amount Of Space for Proper De-
MISUNDERSTANDING Stunning. Thin
Stalks and Disease

Thinning Of vegetables IL a practice
fully appreciated by successful truck
ers. but Is commonly overlooked by
the amateur. or the farmer who grows
few vegetables for the local market
To the amateur II Is tedious task
to the farmer an expensive one. but to
the trucker despite the expenae and
hackache, II is most profitable The
results are greater production. full ma
turitS and better quality In products
Every vegetable needs its rightful
amount of space for development and
IL matters not whether the plant is
crowded by neighbor OF Its kind. or
weed Normal development is pre-
vented Ia either case by a restricted
food and water supply and by lack OF
room for its foliage AS result the
plant Is stunted. resulting in slender
roots II root crop; in a tendency to
run To seed II head lettuce or spinach,
and IN many cases "A tendency toward
greater susceptibility to diseases
There is considerable variation In
the importance Of thinning with diff
ferent vegetables Head lettuce is Pc
cuiiarly sensitive to crowding: insist
ing on from eight to twelve inches. de-
pending upon the size Of the variety
Sufficient space should be left 30 that
the foliage win not more than touch
when fully matured. Mustard and cress,
II normally seeded. need no thinning
at all.
The usual tendency Is to delay thin
ming too long. IT, even as seedlin"s
the plants are crowded. they tend to
become 'spindly'' and more tender
Then when the thinning and wedding
Is done the remaining plants already
stunted, are given setback because
of the disturbed root systems and sud
den exposure of the previously pro-
tected foliage The first thinning should
be done when the second true leaves
appear. Moist weather and soil are IA
vorable. The seedlings are more easily
removed and those left are less dis
turbed. Particularly in drv weather. It
IL rood practice to cultivate imme-
diately AFTER thinning as some soil Ia
thrown about the plants. protecting
any exposed roots or crowns, and In
surfing greater moisture SIMPLY
Distances between vegetables varies
considerably. The root crops require
the least. particularly those growing
all seasons, such as parsnips and sal
stfy which only require three inches
The foliage crops need conaidera bly,
M ore. depending on the size Of the top
The large plants such as sweet corn
need still, more. A knowledge Of the
variety Of any one vegetable la essen
tiai for most .frectiv< thinning as
Some are much larger than others and
soma more susceptible to any drying
conditions. One fact In indiSputa BILE
The greater the thinning. the earlier
the maturity
Thus a common distance for the
earliest heets IL six or eight inches
white for late ones two to three inches
is sufficient, In no case dies II pay to
delay thinning because ~ a desire to
allow the rfarts to reach a size when
thru .thinn~d plants are disable In
the case of beNis and l"ttuce. the last
thinninrs are usshle. Trimmings from
heets' may re used as Greens The
hest practice is to do the thinning
gradually. leaving the strongest plants
hut never two in the same place AL
iowanee In then made for possible In
jury from insects