Evening star., 1935-04-27
The Home Gardener
Practical and Seasonal Hints for the
Amateur for Beautifying the Sur
roundings of the Home.
s THE days grow warmer

LIE 0hyc SIoW Wo1AIc1
| " plants in the hotbed may
| ~ easily suffer more injury from
4 a too much heat than from cold.
Spindly, soft growth can only
be checked by adequate veutilation
| and the complete removal Of the
glass sash on very warm days. The
ideal is TO keep the plants growing
sufficiently to keep them stocky and
vigorous. Tomatoes, peppers and egg
plants require more heat than do cab
bage and cauliflower and should really
be in separate bed.
The hot weather vegetables gain
little from setting out in the open
soil before the middle of May. What
gardener has not seen early set to-
mato plants turn yellowiSh green and
simply stagnate until the temperature
is right. Such plants never catch up
with others tranSplanted at the proper
season. For the small garden, lima
beans may be profitably started in
small pots placed in the hot bed for
very often it happens that lima bean
seeds decay in the open soil and have
to be replanted. Those who buy to-
mato plants will do well to secure the
wilt-resistant varieties, such as Mar
globe and Pritchard. both of which
were developed by the United States
Department Of Agriculture.
Although straight lines are taboo in
the flower borders except where
strictly formal plans prevail, they are
nevertheless highly desirable in the
vegetable section. Common sense in
dicates the practical value of sys-
tematic arrangement. In cultivation
with a wheel hoe. for example, it is
vastly easier to run back and forth
through straight rows. A line running
the length of the garden and held al
the ends by stakes is very helpful in
laying out the vegetable paintings.
The hoe blade, guided by the stretched
cord, is an effective tool for opening
burrows for peas, beans and large
seeded species
1t is temptation to crowd in more
rows than space provides but expert
ence has taught that yields drop
rapidly with most species of vegetables
If planted too closely. Spacing direc-
tions are generally on the seed packet
In the ordinary Winter. spinach
planted in October makes an excellent
crop in April. Some of the early
round radishes mature rapidly Ind
almost before one appreciates it. the
garden is in producing condition
again.
Fertilizers.
WYNN T. SIMMONS. in his dis
" cuSSion of fertilizers at the
March meeting of the Takoma
Horticultural Club, told the members
that the quality, as well as quantity,
of fertilizer should be considered in
gardening. Nitrogen, he stated, pro-
notes leafy vegetative growth and
should be abundant in fertilizers for
leafy plants, such as spinach, lettuce
and cabbage.
Phosphorus was said to be par
ticularly valuable where seed produc-
tion is the major aim and potash in
the case of roots, such as sweet po-
tatoes, beets and the like. For gen.
eral garden use, Mr.. Simmons sug-
gested the use of complete fertilizer,
that is, one containing all three of
the mentioned nutrients, for with
such a material there is then available
to each species its particular require
ments. Obviously it would be rather
| impossible in the home garden to
give each vegetable a specific fer
tilizer.
Nitrogen is lost most repidly from
the soil as it teaches downward readily
and for this reason there is often
need for later side dressings with
this element. using either nitrate of
soda or sulphate of ammonia. AS a
matter of fact, with most long sea-
son plants, it is advisable to split the
total application into repeated doses
rather than putting it all into the
soil at planting time. One reason
for the superiority of manure over
minerals is its gradual usefulnes.