Evening star., 1926-03-13
VEGETABLE
GARDENING.

There are many problems which
confront the city or suburban gar
dener for the City-lot or the back
yard garden in the less thicklv popu
Jated places offers but little choice OF
location or soil. Not only are the gar
uenefs usually handicapped by the
lack of practical gardening experience
bTt they often do not have suitable
tooIS with which to do the work. Hand
labor must be used for the most part
ana then there are the numerous cul-
tural and pest problems which are met
with III nearly every garden. II has
been shown many times. however. in
spite of the difficulties. that it is pos.
Slble to grow certain kinds of vege-
tables under very adverse conditions.
The abundant crops obtained from
these gardens is often remarkable and
il shows that the average man is
often anxious to provide the better
things for his household
DO not locate the garden on land
upon which the sun does not shine for
at least five hours each bright day.
DO not locate the garden on soil where
the rock is but a few inches below the
surface ana where there is insufficient
moisture. Do not attempt to grow a
with Cinders broken bricks or rocks,
or where the original soil has been
buried With materials upon which
weeds Will not grow. If weeds grow
rank and vigorous it is a sure sign
that the soil is good. Do not plant q
garden under or near large trees that
will steal all the moisture and plant
food from the crops. Do not plant q
garden on low land where the crops
are reasonably sure TO be lost from
overflow. Failure to observe one or
more of the above precautions has re-
suited in disappointment on the part
OF many gardeners.
IL there be any choice i'm the selec.
non OF garden. one should consider
VIE following points as Of prime i'm
portance. The land should he nearly
level or gently slopinG to the sun. The
drainage of the soil should be good
and the site should have good air
drainage 10 avoid the dangers of late
Spring and early FAN frosts The best
soil for the garden is a dark sandy
loam with rather retentive subsoil.
The soil should be deep, and when It
Is plowed or spaded it should break
up in a mellow condition. The gar
dener should use plenty Of organic
matter or rotted manure in order 10
give the soil the power to retain large
quantities of moisture to carry the
plants through periods of drought and
TO furnish plant food. The deficiencies
Of plant food can. in part, be aug
mented by the use Of chemical fer
tilizers. The ideal garden spot is a
rare possession. II is often possible
10 select a garden which would EN-.
brace most of these good points, and
then to remedy the faults if possible
\ ri - GySf
year is the hardest. and that the gar
den plot, If properly handled. will i'm
prove with each seasons cropping.
Certain vegetables. such as peas. 20
tatoes, beets. radishes and lettuce. may
he planted in the vicinity Of Washing
Ton by March 20, provided we have a
normal season. The actual frost-free
date for Washington is not until May
IL. but the crops mentioned require
considerable time for the plants to
come up from seed, and with the eX-
ception Of potatoes, they withstand
considerable frost without injury The
main point is to have the ground we'll
prepared, and in the case of both peas
and potatoes, TO cover the seeds
rather deeply. inches for the peas
and to inches for the potatoes
Onion sets can be planted any time
now that the ground is dry enough
FroSt-prOof cabbage plants can be
set just as soon as the ground nc
longer freezes. \ 6-inch board set on
edge along the north side Of the row
Of newly set plants will not only pro
teCt them from the wind, hut will re-
feet the heat from the sun and warm
the soil about the plants. If q freeze
occurs after the potatoes are up, the
plants can be protected by covering
them . or inches deep with loose
soil. The soil should he partly re-
moved after the freeze is over. Con-
siderable time is to be gained by plant
ing the more hardy crops quite early,
provided the soil is reasonably warm
and dry enough to work.
lt is obvious that the many details
Of gardening and specific directions
for the growing of the many vegetable
crops cannot all he given within the
limits of short article. If YOU are
especially interested in this subject,
you can secure upon application to
the United States Department of AGri-
culture one of tho several Farmers
Bulletins written either on city or on
farm vegetable gardensl