Evening star., 1919-04-13

The best word Of advice to the home
gardeners now is: Keep things gong
With some of the plants already se'
out in the open and with the seeds OF
other plants in the ground. keep the
ground in proper condition. do not lei
ment which belongs to the little plants
tina: are trying to get a start in life
and begin to prepare early in the
growing season to ward off any COM
ing attacks from plant insects or dis
ease. Victory gardening is intended
for human beings. not for bugs and
insects.
| Keep this in mind as the big factor
in good gardening. that hoeing is the
| great secret of success. Frequently
hoeing will save much watering 1 ana
is better for the plants. The dust
cover or mulch" which is formed on
the surface by no ing keeps the mois-
| ture which is down in the grouno
around the roots of your plants from
being absorbed into the atmosphere.
1t is not necessary to hoe deeply
| About an inch is enough. Hoelng
should start as soon as the eye can
follow the green rows. Sometimes II
can be started before. particularly II
rain and sun have caked the dirt over
/ ;he seeds before the sprouts get to the
surface In that case break the crust
carefully with the garden rake. DO
! this in the orning when the ground
is moist with dew. Hoe every seven
days at least. and always after RAIN
| or watering of the garden to brea
up the crust which forms.
! Remember you are growing victory
bonds in your garden and that every
plant you raise means that much more
saved toward the purchase of one OF
Uncle Sans gilt edged securities.
Your mouth waters at the thought
bers. They must not be planted until
all danger of frost Is past. About
apple blossom time. when the ground
, is nice and warm. is the right period
| Cucumbers like rich, light. warm
| soil and may be planted either in
hills or rows. with single plants is
| close together. You can start them in
seed box. hotbed or coldframe about
| three weeks before setting them in
the open garden, which Will probably
| be about May /. If planted in hills
| they should be five or six feet apart
each way. with two or three plants to
a hill. If planted in rows they should
| be five or six feet apart and a single
plant for every two or three feet OF
row. AS they take up considerable
| amount of room. they . cannot be
| recommended for a small plot which
| can be used to better advantage for
more staple vegetables. One-half
! ounce of cucumber seed will plant loo
| feet of row and produce as many as
| ten dozen cucumberS.
| Asparagus is permanent crop and
t1I
| But it is a longtime crop and must
be growing a couple Of years before
the first crop is obtained. Two-year-
old plants, however, can be secured
to start with. They can be set along
| one side Of the garden, out of the way
of most of the more ordinary vege-
tables: but this does not mean that
| the asparagus plants can be ne
elected and left to drift along by
| themselves. They must be kept free
| from weeds and grass and the ground
cultivated to hold the moisture. A
| liberal supply of manure should be
| used in planting them. In setting out
| the plants open a trench eight inches
deep and about the same width and
set the plants about eighteen inches
apart. Cover with couple of inches
| of soil and as the shoots grow fill in
| the trench.
Horseradish can be allowed to grow
year after year in some corner Of the
garden, the roots being dug whenever
needed. To obtain the best results
however, new "sets" should be plant
ed each spring. For straight, thick
roots the soil should be deeply pre-
pared. This plant likes moist soil
Half . dozen plants will make q fam
lily supply.
Eggplant should be put out into the
garG IN after the ground is warm and
all danger of frost is past. If you
have not started any of these in q
seed box. buy a dozen plants from a
| scotsman. The ground should be gooe
and rich. The plants should be set
about two feet apart in the row. Cul-
tivate often and keep the plants grow
| ing vigorously. If the plants are pro.
| tected while they are young against
| insects by covering them with pro-
| tectors, they are not in much danger
Peppers are not difficult to grow
They are a warm-we Gather pant like
eggplants and are grown in about the
same way. There is a fine choice oi
| varieties Of peppers which may bt
grown.
Pumpkins and sQuashes are grea
vegetables for the large garden. but
have no place in the small garden,
unless they can be grown along one