Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-06-07
Your War Garden

The last week the elements have
made war on the war gardens. The
past week or ten days has been the
most disastrous to gardens Of any
similar period since the gardening
season opened. This has especially
been true of the gardens at the out
skirts OF the city In all directions
where low land bordering on the
valleys of the Iowa river or Linn creek
were planted to garden truck. These
gardens. If not actually flooded or
partly covered with water have been
so water soaked that they could not be
cultivated. In fact this condition holds
true In most Of the gardens Of the city
except those perhaps in the sandy
soil of the First ward, where garden
ers have been able to get into them be-
tween rains.
Right now. following the period OF
rainy weather, Is going to be the criti-
cal time Of the season in many gardens
of the city. The owners will either
hurry to do their work in them as soon
as the soil will permit or they will be
delinquent and delay Of few days
will turn the gardens into weed
patches in which the vegetables can
not be found. Gardens In low ground
that arc not given immediate attention
will go back to weed patches.
Unless gardens in low ground were
exceptionally clean OF weeds they will
be found badly infested by the time
the surface soil Is dry enough to work.
The damage to- low ground gardens
will vary. depending on the extent to
which they were flooded. The more
deeply they were flooded and the
longer they were covered with water
the more extensive and general will
be the damage. Vegetables that have
been entirely covered with water since
the first Of the week are probably de-
stroyed.
Cultivation OF water soaked gardens
becomes now Of first Importance, for
under bright sun weeds In such gar
dens will grow like the bean stalk in
the fairy tale. The first cultivation
after such q flooding 10 the important
one, and the gardener is Justified in
this emergency by beginning cultiva-
ton little before the ground Is really
dry enough. A second cultivation
should follow the frst without delay.
and If we'll done the garden will be
again under control Gardens that
have been the wattest, will or course,
be the slowest to dry ana when dried
will bake the hardest. If SLOWED TO
bake, especially If weed infested. 1t
will be next to Impossible to cultivate
them properly. Cultivation Just now Is
more than the ordinary routine pro-
cedure Of gardening, It Is q most
go, o01yiyowr "a
that alone will rescue many gardens
from being entirely destroyed.
In gardens that d1ave been partly or
entirely flooded, and in which part or
all Of the crop has been destroyed. It
will be necessary perhaps to substi-
tute other crops for those drowned
out It is by no means too late to plant
crops, but before doing so the ground
should be stirred and the weeds killed.
otherwise the seed planted now will
be choked by weeds before the plants
really get started.
Sweet corn can stu be planted up to
as late as June IL, or even q little
later. While it is true that sweet corn
planted later than the middle Of the
month may be stunted II hot weather
comes on hetoee It has attained growth,
still q fair yield may be expected.
Late potatoes may still be planted. The
plant crops that may still be set out
are late cabbaSe. celery, tomatoes esq
plant, and peppers. Other crops that
can sttll be planted are melons. and
both navy and lima beanR
The gardeners Of the city will now
show their quality and rise to the
emergency. Those who are 30 dis
couraged by this reverse that they
will lay down on the Job will not be
of much use either to themselves or
the war garden movement.