The Natchitoches enterprise., 1919-08-07
Have You Started Your Fall
Garden7

Many people have the erroneous ide
that the Home Demonstration work i
merely the promotion of the bes
methods of canning, preserving an
picking; but important as that is, it i
only the initial step in the tremendou
effort being put forth by our Nationa
Government for improved living ccndi
tions in the home.
We must get away from the idea tha
because woman has pantry fnll O.
canned vegetables that she is necessa
rily a good manager. Industrious she
undoubtedly is, but she may be usine
very poor judgment. Let us take 9
look at her garden. If she is a gooc
manager, she has, right now, in hel
garden, snap beans, butter beans,
green peas, tomatoes, okra, egg plant,
squash, corn, pepper, and cucumbers.
These she will continue to have until
frost. In addition to this, she is
planting, or has just planted. Irish
potatoes. young tomato plants (or cut
tings from the old plants, turnips and
mustard. Within few days she will
have a finely pulverized seedbed sowed
with cabbage and lettuce seed to be
transplanted in late September for fall
heading. She will also plant beets,
carrots, bush beans, and, little later,
begin series of paintings Of radishes,
mustard, spinach, onions, etc.
The woman who has bushels of beans
for about six weeks in the spring, and
then expends great deal of energy
and money canning scores Of jars Of
them when she could have them fresh
from her garden from April to Novem-
Der is undoubtedly NOT good man.
ager. She cans csbbage, carrots, etc.,
that should be gathered fresh from the
garden almost continuously from Oc-
tober to May. There is not week
in the year (uLless phenomenal weather
conditions prevaiD that we cannot have
several vegetables in the garden. |
What we must do, if we manage well,
is to get the maximum good from the
garden and minimum amount Of can
ming during the sweltering summer
months. Put up plentiful supply of
fruits, preserves, jellies, pickles, etc.,
and can and dry the vegetables that
cannot be had for long winter period.
such as tomatoes, okra, corn, English
peas and perhaps few beans, but 1t
will not take much Of those yegetablesI
y 1hs Eaxian serves it, lest purpose.
OF course, ia many cases, the women.
can't get the help they must have to
be successful, for some farmers think
Eardeciag il rank foolishness and ''pid-
lli work for women and children,
y heath the dignity Of self-respect-i
Ing man. We have taken pote, in our
travels, however. thst the self same
man does not find it beneath his dignity
to devour huge quantities Of the good
things from that garden. The man
who will not give his wife all possible
cooperation in her gardening lfor it is,
or should be, large part of the family
support) should be condemned to eat
bread and fat fried meat until he has
had change Of heart.
Right here in Natchitoches, last win
ter. when lettuce was fifteen cents
. head at the grocery stores, there
were some people who had magnificent
heads of lettuce growing in the open
garden.
We are living in the garden spot OF
the world,-and If we take advantage of
its possibilities, we can be the health
lest, happiest, most thrifty people to
he found in the United States.
This year especially, with the plenti-
full rains, it will be absolutely inexcus-
adle il We do not have magnificent fall
gardens.
Will YOU volunteer to join this gar
den army, that can bring about won
derful revolution in our fair land?
VIRGINIA. T. DoRnoN,
County Home Demonstration Agent