The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1921-02-19
HoME GARDEN HINTS.
(By Mrs. t. p. Marshall in
Dallas Journal,

The statement that it does not pay
to plant a garden because vegetables
can be bought cheaper than they can
The statement is made by those who
have never tried to raise a garden or
by those who have tried and failed.
Failure is due to so many causes,
but some of the chief causes of fail
ure will be discussed in this article.
Some fall because they do not have
the ground in proper condition before
the seeds are planted. Any good gar
dner will declare that when the soil
is in proper condition, the garden is
half raised at planting time. The soil
should always be broken deeply in the
fall of the year and left in the rough
throughout the winter months in or
der that the freezing and the thaw-
ing of the soil may pulverize it and
also that the insects may be killed
out. Many injurious insects hiber-
nate in the soil and under debris left
on the ground and when summer
good appetite and devour the plants
intended for use on the family table.
The next step toward success is the
work to be done in the spring. At
ed or spaded and then Immediately
raked as fine as possible. If fertili-
ger is needed, il should be applied
before spading and should be worked
into the soil as thoroughly as possi-
BILE. At this season nothing but well
rotted fertilizer should be used, for,
If not well decomposed, 1t will prove
too heating for the plants and they
will suffer from drouth.
The best prepared soil will not pro-
duce garden worthy of the name
unless good seeds are planted. The
seeds should be selected as early as
they can be procure in the market,
because very often there Is shor-
the wise gardener will buy yearly
to avoid the possibility of disappoint-
ment.
Some amateurs fail in making a
garden because they plant the seeds
too deep in the ground or vice versa.
The best soil for garden is a rich
sandy loan, but many a fine garden
has been made in the blacklist and
sticlkiest land. The treatment of the
soil is different, of course. Seeds
coed well If planted deeply. but If
planted at the same depth in q
tight, black soil they probably would
never come UP at all.
If the ground is rich, well titled
and planted to good seeds, the gar
den may yet be failure unless there
is a sufficient amount of moisture to
make the food supply available. The
water supply determines largely the
available supply of plant food. Thru
the action of frost, moisture, tillage
and the low forms of life the plant
food in the soil is made available. I'm
less there Is sufficient amount OF
moisture supplied the plants will be
other hand. too much moisture Will
drown the plants and they will turn
yellow and, in time, will die.
The normal soil is full of air and
each particle of soil is covered with
a tiny film of moisture. These two
elements are necessary to all plant
growth. The roots, like the leaves,
must have certain amount of oXy-
gen if the plants are to thrive. The
deal condition is found, so far as
moisture is concerned, when the soil
is kept moist. but not wet. This can
be done, except in very hot, dry
weather, by constant cultivation of
the soil.
Unless the soil is kept stirred each
week. the moisture is lost by capil-
larry attraction and watering has to
be restored to in order to save the
plants. This operation in itself may
be Of harm to the garden. If water
is poured on the plants from hose
with a nozzle in such a manner as to
heat the ground down hard around
the plants, an injury has been done.
Watering is best done in the late
afternoon. A rill should be made by
and the water allowed to run slowly
down the row, thus giving it time to
soak into the ground. If watering
must ge restored to, give a great
deal of water at one time. otherwise
the surface of the ground is moist
ened, and the roots of the plants will
seek the surface in search of moist
ure and a shallow root system will
be the result. This is particularly
in Texas, because of the
hot sun. The better plan is to water
very thoroughly and then as soon as
the ground has dried out sufficiently
break the surface of the soil by ralS-
ing it, thus keeping the moisture in
the ground.
Properly managed, $40 worth Of
seeds will produce 500 worth OF food
and no end Of health and pleasure
If you have a never succeeded in
raising a fine garden, you have miss
ed one of life's keenest pleasures.
Ask any good gardener and see II he
does not say So