Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-10
ACK-YARD GARDENS
BEST, SAYS EXPERT
Soil, if Not First Class, May
Be Improved at Small Cost
and With Little Labor.
RULE FOR CHOOSING SITE

Have your garden in your own PACK
yard, if possible. urges II. NJ Connolly,
garden expert assigned by the Depart
ment of Agriculture to advise the peo-
pie of the District of Columbia in the
matter of raising their own garden
vegetables. A garden located few
steps from the house greatly simplifes
the problem of producing plenty OF
fresh. appetizing. nutritious food
practically +. o. b, the kitchen door.
Areas that are wholly shaded for
more than three or four hours of the
day by high walls, buildings. etc,
should not be chosen for gardening
purposes, says Mr.. Connolly. Even leaf
crops such as lettuce, spinach, kale,
ETC. will not thrive in such locations.
Ground that is partly shaded as by
small trees, fences and low bulIdlHsS
for more than half the day is likewise
to be avoided in making choice OF a
garden plot.
Soil for the Garden.
Ground that is Uttered with tin
cans, bricks, stones and other rubbish
must be cleared before it can be used,
and this can be done with little
labor. However. if the debris mention
ed is mixed with the soil itself VIII not
usually repay the gardener for the
work of removing the litter. Also,
ground that has had most of the top
soil removed or buried under thick
1ayer of subsoil taken from an eXcaVa-
tion cannot be made cultlvable with
out several years work and heavy fer
tilization.
Soil that is packed hard by long use.
such as old tennis courts, ground much
walked over and the like. will require
winch working to put il in gardening
condition.
The proper soil for gardening is
well drained and slightly sandy loan,
with a slight slope-if it is not per
fectly Ievel-toward the southwest or
south. This gives the best exposure.
If the soil is not especially 1ertiie IL
can be made so with liberal appllca-
tions of old stable manure and some
commercial fertilizer
PREPARING the Soil.
The soil should be thoroughly pre-
pared. as a deep seeded. eight to ten
inches loose and mellow TO the full
depth. is essential. Heavy soil should
be plOWed or Spaueu III Iii' itiA' - -
sibIe. if there is no danger of washing,
and it should be plowed again in the
spring. or at least dug up thoroughly
with mattock and spade.
Land that it is not advisable to plow
in the fall should be plowed as early
in the spring as possible. If there Is
plenty of humus in the soil. or some
green manure crop is turned under, the
soil will crumble and me seedbed
can be easily prepared. II the SOIL Is
heavy and is lacking in humuS. II is IN
cIined to stick together and bake. and
il is a difficult matter to pulverize 1t
sufficiently for gardening work The
addition of large quantities of sifted
coal ashes to heavy soils when prepar-
ing them in the spring will greatly i'm
prove the mechanical condition Coal
ashes contain no plant food and only
very little lime Their use is only ad-
yocated to improve the texture of heavy
clay soils.
Lime added TO the soil will help TO
break up the soil particles and VIII
also correct any acid or sour condi-
ton. Lime is not plant food. but it
aids in making plant food in the SOIL
more available
Lime may be applied to the soil in
the form of burned lime, hydrated
lime or finely ground limestone. Fine
either in the fall or in the spring.
Burned lime or hydrated lime should
not be applied in connection with
stable manure because it liberates
great deal of the ammonia in the ma
nure. The manure may be spread on
the land and spaded or ploWed under
The lime may be scattered over the
spaded soil and worked in by hoeing
and rakine or by narrowing. If the
manure is applied in the fail the lime
may be applied in the spring. Five to
eight pounds per square rod of burn
ed lime or hydrated lime will be a suf-
hcient application. and may be re-
peated every three or four years.
Although a garden soil may be test
ed with litmuS paper to see if it is in
need of lime, a good plan for most
gardeners is to use lime anyway. Lime
is comparatively cheap. and for the
limited areas of most city gardens, the
exAense would be small.