Evening star., 1943-03-14

Spring planting time is here and
the home gardener. especially the
beginner. is being urged to get his
garden started. Reams have been
written about the crops TO be planted
In the victory garden. Emphasis is
given to the selection of those crops
which are high in vitamins and
minerals. The newer varieties-the
All-America Winners - are being
pushed with all the devices sales
promoters can employ.
The home gardener, especially
those who have not gardened before,
are bewildered by this mass of ad-
vice Good gardens are wanted
gardens that produce crops of tasty
nutritious vegetables that the fam
lily will enjoy over a long season
But it is oftentimes hard to select
the kinds and the varieties that may
be counted upon in this area.
Generally speaking most kinds OF
vegetables may be grown in this
area with a reasonable degree OF
success. Some varieties do better
than others. The newer varieties
are more expensive and in many
cases have not proved themselves
IN local gardens. Some of the cool
weather crops cannot be depended
upon unless they are started in a
greenhouse or cold frame, or are
planted very early in the season
Our spring growing season for such
crops is apt to be too short for
them to mature satisfactorily. Some
of these coo& weather crops are best
planted in the late summer so that
they will mature in the fall when
growing conditions are more IA
vorable. Melons do not produce
very satisfactory crops on the
heavier soils.
The following crops are suggested
for the beginners. Old-timers who
have had the benefit of years of
experience and who can give the
more temperamental crops the
necessary care will want to add
their favorites. However, the be-
ginner is in no position to do a lot
of experimenting. Even the ALL
America Winners, in spite of their
reported merits, are best left to the
more experienced.
Onion Sets Recommended
Onion sets should be the No. /
crop in most gardens They are
quite dependable as a very early
crop. If wanted for green onions
they may be planted deeper than
where the bulbs are desired. Deep
planting restricts bulb development.
Onion seed is more difficult to han
ole than the sets. although much
cheaper. The bulbs grown from
sets do not store as we'll as those
produced from seed Onion plants
are considered to be next to sets in
dependability and size of crop.
However, only the sweet Spanish
plants are commonly available for
planting. Onions need a fairly rich,
moist but well drained soil for best
results. The color of sets to be
planted seems to be matter of per-
sonal preference,
Spinach is considered one of the
most important of the vitamin rich
greens crops. Early spinach is best
grown from fall-sown seed. How
ever, seed SoWn very early in the
spring is reasonably dependable, es-
pecially If the soil is well-drained
and rich. Most varieties of spinach
tend to 60 to seed very quickly after
warm weather comes. Bloomsdale
Long Standing seems to be less in
clined to do this than most other
varieties. One or two paintings of
spinach are all that can be depended
upon in the spring Unless the soil
Is rich 1t does not make a rapid
growth and tends to be small, tough
and lacking in flavor.
Swiss chard seed started J. the
cold frame and planted out in late
March Or early April will oftentimes
produce a crop as early as spring.
sown spinach. The chard will con-
tinue to produce useful greens all
season. Old Dominion and Virginia
Savoy are two desirable varieties of
spinach for sowing in late July.
August and September for fall
crops.
Plant Peas Early
Garden peas are another of the
often planted spring crops that do
not turn out too well In this area,
unless planted very early (March)
the crop is usually cut short by hot
weather in May Early planting has
Its drawbacks. The smooth seeded
varieties are rather inferior in quail
ity, although they may be planted
with safety two or three weeks
earlier than the wrinkle-seeded va
rletles. One may get nearly as early