Kitchen - Garden and Flower-Garden
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Read about Kitchen - Garden and Flower-Garden in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Kitchen - Garden and Flower-Garden. The kitchen-garden is for the kitchen,—to grow the supplies that are used in cookery and on the table as food. We ordinarily think of it only as a vegetable- garden, yet it may grow strawberries and other small fruits; and in England the melons are classed with fruits even if grown in the kitchen- garden. It is in the kitchen-garden, also, that the sweet herbs and the garnishing plants may be grown; and flowers need be no strangers to it. In fact, some of the best and most attractive kitchen- gardens may be comprised of vegetables, fruit bushes and flowers,—all grown for the table and the home. The essential idea is the home-gardening idea; and therefore it is difficult to separate the home vegetable -garden and the home flower - garden by any hard-and-fast or arbitrary line. If the place is large enough to have been laid out in a landscape treatment, the home-garden area has been set aside in its place, proper both for exposure and convenience. With this landscape plan we have nothing to do at the moment except to insist that the home- garden idea shall not have been overlooked and that it shall form one essential part in an artistic subdivision of the property. The kitchen-garden of vegetables. Human diet consists chiefly of three classes of foods: first, meats, high in protein, useful for structural purposes; second, cereals and other starchy or carbohydrate foods, useful for their high fuel-value: and third, vegetables and fruits. The last mentioned contain but little material for building body or for supplying energy; but they offer other substances seemingly less important, but which are absolutely essential. Most notable among these are the mineral elements. The flavoring and appetizing qualities are scarcely less important, and the requirement for comparatively bulky foods is no more to be neglected in human than in animal nutrition. The truth of these assertions is evident in the fact that no meal is regarded as complete without its vegetarian dishes, and more especially is it emphasized in the intense craving for this sort of food which is experienced in the spring months by those who enjoy but little of it during the winter. Indeed, one can hardly avoid tracing a connection between the meat and cereal diet of the old-time winter and the once accepted notion that one must necessarily be in poor physical condition as spring approaches, and resort to the use of "spring bitters." In fact, certain definite disorders are clearly traced to the lack of vegetable food. More appealing than the nutritional value of the vegetable food is its value as a contribution to good living. No diner is satisfied unless vegetables appear on the menu, and the products of the garden add widest variety in the form of condiment and salad, as well as in the main part of the meal. Paragraph after paragraph might be written m praise of the endless array of delicacies which are offered by the skillful housewife who is in league with the skillful gardener. Vegetable food is procured in two ways,—by purchase and by culture. The former method is not available to many who dwell in the open country. To the townsmen it is open to very serious objection. The cost is usually high, often exorbitant and prohibitive. The varieties are more often selected for resistance to the rigors of shipment and sale than for excellence of table quality. For example, the leading commercial sort of celery is far surpassed by others, and the most widely grown winter cabbage—the best keeper of all— lacks tenderness and flavor. The market watermelon of long experience in freight cars sadly lacks in quality. Even though a product be good when it leaves the farm, the delays in handling to which it is subjected rob it of its freshness and its delicacy of flavor. Lettuce cannot be made to retain its garden crispness, and the sweetness of sugar corn speedily departs. Moreover, market- bought vegetables are often in thoroughly unclean condition. The second source of supply is the kitchen-garden. By this means are the shortcomings of the urban vegetable supply avoided by many townsmen, and a notable contribution to the farm income is afforded. An experiment continued for five years at the Illinois Experiment Station showed an average return of $105 from a half- acre garden. The average cost was $30. Under intensive culture on small areas, each square foot of ground may be brought to yield, for example, lettuce to the value of 10 or 12 cents, followed by tomatoes worth 6 to 12 cents. These figures are offered merely to suggest possibilities and not to form a basis for calculating the value of back-yard gold mines. Perhaps the gold mine is there, but many factors must be considered in figuring its profits. It is safe to say that in the hands of a skillful gardener a city back yard may mean as much to the family budget as a 5 per cent increase in an ordinary "middle class" salary, and a suburban garden offers far greater possibilities. In the door- yards and vacant lots of our cities lie locked up one of the great economic resources of the state. The value of products of the kitchen-gardens in New York alone already runs into the millions of dollars and should be many times doubled. So much for the material gain. No less to be prized are the dividends which are paid in the joys of a variously laden table and in the satisfaction and pleasure of production. The city dweller can find no better means of recreation and exercise. A garden is an ideal hobby. It is impossible to tell in detail how to make a garden. It is possible only to offer certain generalities and suggestions which may be helpful to one who is learning now to cope with a given set of conditions. Circumstances vary so widely that almost any statement may be wrong in some cases, and rule-making is always unsafe. Experience is the best teacher, and one who loves plants and the soil and who is willing to see and to think and to do the best that one knows may be confident of increasing success from year to year. Location. It often happens that no choice is offered as to the location of the vegetable-garden, but when this is not the case, an outline of desirable points may be of service. While one whose domain is measured in feet and inches rather than in rods is forced to utilize the plot which is at hand, the garden factor should certainly be considered in choosing a place for a home. On the farm the garden should be near the buildings, for convenience in working. The distant garden is almost invariably neglected, while the nearby plot offers useful employment for odds and ends of the time of farm-hands which might otherwise be wasted. For example, the cultivation of a corn-field is finished an hour before noon. It is too late to go to a distant field, and the horse is turned into the home half-acre not to browse but to loosen the crusted soil. The garden should be near the home for convenience in gathering the products. If possible, a liberal water-supply should be available. A gentle slope is desirable to insure good drainage. Exposure to the southeast affords the maximum advantage from the sun's rays and consequent maximum earliness of maturity. Protection from severe winds may be gained by placing the garden near farm buildings, wood-lot or hill. At the same tune, the roots of trees, greedy for moisture, should be avoided. Three points are to be borne in mind in the choice of soil. The most important is its physical character, for this is least readily modified. Heavy clay soils are plastic, sticky, and unworkable when wet and are lumpy when dry. They are retentive though not readily receptive of moisture and of plant-food. They are cold and late in the spring. Very light sandy soils are loose and friable and are workable even when wet. They are readily receptive though not retentive of water and nutrients, and are warm and early. The ideal is a well-drained sandy loam of moderate fineness. The second point is that plant-food should be abundant and available. Dark, loose, friable soils are usually, though not always, as in the prairie states, of relatively high fertility, while light-colored soils usually lack humus and will require heavy additions of various amendments. Thirdly, soil that is free of weed-seeds and of disease is to be preferred, and land that has been well cultivated is more likely to offer favorable bacterial relations. Soil management. A good garden cannot be expected on badly drained soil. Artificial drainage is often of great advantage even on soils that are not swampy. It makes for better physical character and earlier crops. If no outlet is available, a pit filled with stone or old brick may be used. City lots frequently offer soils that are very unfavorable for gardening operations. It is seldom that the case is hopeless, even though excavated material, brickbats and tin-cans abound. In some cases it is profitable to haul in good soil bodily, although this material is expensive. Coarse soil should be removed, and improvement brought about, if the soil is heavy, by the use of such materials as ashes, sand, other soil, manure, and lime. A stiff clay which is being broken in for garden purposes should be spaded or plowed in the fall and left in clods, in order that the frost of winter may have its full effect in rendering it workable. A sterile sand may be rendered productive by the liberal use of manure and by applications of lime. In any garden, the main reliance for maintenance of soil fertility should be on stable manure. In this material are added nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash, "the only chemical elements which are often lacking, together with large quantities of humus. Manure that has rotted for some months is better than new manure, especially if it is to be worked into the soil in the spring. However, a heavy coat of fresh material may be plowed under or spaded under each fall. It will be fairly well decayed and ready to aid the plants by spring. In Europe, the process of trenching is frequently practised in intensive gardening. The plot is divided lengthwise, and a trench 2 or 3 feet wide and 1 to 2 ½ feet deep is dug across the end of one of these parts, throwing the soil outside the area to be trenched. In the bottom of this ditch is placed a heavy layer of fresh manure. The soil from the next adjoining block in the same division is turned over upon this, and a layer of manure placed in the bottom of the new ditch. Thus the work progresses to the other end of the division. Here the soil from the adjacent block of the second division is thrown into the last ditch of the first division, and then the work proceeds as before to the starting-point. The last trench is filled with the soil from the first. One or two years later the process is repeated. The layer of manure at the bottom is now well rotted and is thoroughly incorporated with the soil as the work progresses. The soil may be gradually deepened from year to year. This is a very desirable method of soil preparation, when the necessary hand labor is available. Lime at the rate of perhaps a ton to the acre should be added every two to four years. It is useful in making clay soils more friable and in binding together very sandy soils, in correcting acidity, in freeing plant-food, and in rendering conditions unfavorable for certain diseases, although it is favorable to others. It makes little difference which form of lime is used, although quicklime is not conveniently handled. Either ground limestone rock or hydrated lime may be applied. About one-third more of the latter must be used than of the former. The term tillage is often applied to the working of land previous to the planting of crops, and the working of soil after planting is spoken of as cultivation, although tillage properly includes all these operations. Tillage, as used to denote preparation of the land, improves the physical condition of the soil, rendering it more granular; it is useful for the improvement of the moisture relation as regards reception, retention, and transmission of moisture, it makes aeration possible, it assists in the incorporation and freeing of plant-food and in the destruction of weeds. If a soil is shallow, it should not be worked too deeply at first, but each year a bit of the subsoil may be incorporated in the surface soil, thus gradually deepening the root pasturage. The utmost care is necessary to avoid handling soils, especially the heavier sorts, when they are wet. The clayey types may be spaded or plowed with good results only at a certain stage of dryness. Experience only can teach this stage for a given soil. The work should be performed when the lumps crumble readily, as they are turned over. They should be neither plastic nor hard-baked. When the ground is plowed or spaded in autumn, it should, as suggested above, be left rough over winter. In the spring it may be gone over with the disc-harrow or with the hoe. If plowed in the spring, the lumps should be worked down with plank drag, harrow, or rake, according to the circumstances, and a loose soil- mulch should be maintained until planting-time. If this is neglected, moisture may be lost so rapidly as to waste the equivalent of a half inch of rain a week. In very small areas, where these horse toojs cannot be used, the hand implements that accomplish the same results on the soil may be employed. For very early plantings it is well to prepare a few raised beds or ridges in autumn. These should have a southern or southeastern exposure. They will thaw out, drain and become warm much earlier in the spring than soil at the ordinary level, although they will dry out more rapidly in midsummer. Planning. The first task in each year's garden operations is Ereparation of a good plan. This first phase of the n work is often neglected. It should receive care- ttention long before the season opens, in order that space and effort may be economized and that seed, fertilizer and other supplies may be provided. The materials for the work consist of a few good garden books and bulletins, a few catalogues of reliable seedsmen, together with paper, pencil, and ruler. A fund of experience in home-gardening is an asset of incalculable value. The aim should be to produce «m abundance of vegetables of high quality, in wide variety, and as evenly distributed as possible throughout the year with a minimum of unprofitable labor and expense. The first step is to decide what is wanted. Make a list of crops, bearing in mind the likes and dislikes of the family, even distribution through the season, adaptation to climate and soil, and the space available. List too few rather than too many, especially if the garden is small. Avoid an over-large garden. An area 40 by 50 feet, well kept, will give greater satisfaction than a half acre neglected through press of other work. A half acre will yield a full summer and autumn supply for a large family, together with ample quantities for canning and storage. The beginner should avoid allowing his enthusiasm to lead him into deeper water than that in which he can swim. Better begin simply and let experience teach the best lines of development than to suffer failure and discouragement on account of an over- complex plan. No area is too small to be utilized. A plot 2 feet wide and 12 feet long will yield, if well tended, as many as twenty bunches of radishes, thirty heads of early lettuce, and forty to sixty pounds of tomatoes. A fail crop of lettuce and radishes may even be matured in addition. The larger garden should be longer than wide, in order to make the care easier. A ratio of two to one is frequently used. The rows of most crops should be far enough apart for horse cultivation. In a garden of limited area, where small amounts of many vegetables are sought, crosswise rows may be desirable. In such plots rows may be closer together, dependence being placed upon the wheel-hoe and hand-hoe for cultivation. Permanent crops, as asparagus and rhubarb, should be placed at one side to avoid interference with tillage. The hotbeds and coldframes should be in this same part of the garden. Early crops should be kept together, in order that a considerable area may be cleared up at once for later plantings. The same plants should not appear in the same part of the garden year after year. Good taste will suggest a neat arrangement, and some attention should be paid to symmetry and balance of appearance. Three good garden plans are shown herewith, in Figs. 2035, 2036, 2037. They are by Albert E. Wilkinson, Cornell Reading - Course Bulletins. They are intensive plans,—made to utilize the land to the utmost and assuming good care, liberal fertilizing, and other close attention. With larger areas and horse labor, the distances may be greater. The seed. With the general plan completed, the next step is the choice of varieties and the preparation of the seed order. Only experience will offer a satisfactory knowledge of the sorts to be planted under a particular set of conditions. In the meantime, it is well to consult neighboring gardeners on this as well as on many other matters. Seed orders should be placed early to avoid disappointment as to varieties and to allow time for testing. The well-known seed firms are striving to supply good seeds, clean, viable, and true to type. Packet seeds found in grocery stores are sometimes uncertain. Many local seed-houses are thoroughly reliable. The only true test for seed is to grow a crop from it. However, seed that will not establish in the soil a strong, healthy plant will certainly not grow a crop. It is accordingly well to test seed before it is planted. For this purpose, twenty-five, fifty, or one hundred seeds should be counted out and planted in a little box of garden soil in the house. This should be kept moist and at ordinary room temperature. Other methods of testing, by means of blotters, layers of cloth, porous dishes, and the like, afford knowledge only of the ability of the seed to sprout, not of its ability to complete the process of germination, that is, to establish itself in the soil so that it may make progress independently of the supply of food material that was stored within the seed coats. No phase of gardening affords a more fascinating hobby than the selection and saving of seed from one's own plants. Some individuals are always superior to others, and this superiority is inherited to a greater or less degree. In the course of a series of years, remarkable progress may be made in increasing the returns from a given area. The first necessity is to establish in the mind a clear notion of the ideals to be secured. This must be very carefully worked out, for if it is necessary to modify it from year to year no progress will be made. Selections should be made on the basis of individual plants rather than of individual fruits. Every home - garden should be to some degree a plant-breeder. Planting. Each vegetable has its own peculiarities aa to time and manner of planting. These characteristics are considered under each of the various crops. The essentials for germination are moisture, warmth, and aeration. Light is not necessary, although, of course, it is required immediately after seedlings break ground. No general rules may be laid down for the sowing of seed. It is necessary that the soil be in good physical condition if the best results are to be attained, especially for the smaller and more delicate seeds. Seed must be sown more thickly in the case of the smaller and more delicate seeds, as celery and lettuce, in case the percentage of germination is not high, when the planting is made in very early spring, when soil conditions are unfavorable, as in a heavy soil or in time of drought, and in case serious devastation by insects or diseases is feared. Commercial men try to know their soil and their seed and to sow just right. Until one has gained considerable experience, it is better in the home-garden to sow rather thickly, and thin after the plants have come up. Extreme thickness of sowing results in weak seedlings and a very large amount of tedious work to be done afterward. Rules as to depth of sowing may have slight virtue, but they may also be rather seriously misleading. Seed should be sown more deeply in dry or sandy soils than in wet or heavy soils. Soaking seed before sowing is not ordinarily of very great value, although it is practised by some gardeners. Seeds do not germinate until moisture has been imparted to them by the soil. The movement of moisture from soil to seed is a capillary movement and is more complete when there is very close contact between soil and seed. Accordingly, the soil should be carefully firmed in covering. This can hardly be overdone in sandy soils or in those that are rather dry. Clay soils should not be packed so hard. Sowing in drills is usually regarded as better than broad-casting, because it is easier to sow the seed at uniform depth, the seedlings are of mutual assistance to one another in breaking ground, it is easier to thin and to do other work, and the plants can be more easily cultivated. In the small garden most sowing is by hand. Many methods are practised. When the fingers are used, the seed should be worked out by means of the thumb over the second joint of the first finger. Many gardeners like to use an envelope which has been sealed at the side and cut off squarely at the end. A small quantity of seed is placed in this envelope, which is held the flat way, the opening only very slightly spread. It is held with the opening parallel to the rows and is shaken with a motion in the same direction. Mechanical drills are now widely used and are almost indispensable in the larger gardens, the chief advantages being uniformity of work and rapidity of action. A seed-drill is not a cure-all for planting troubles. It requires as much skill as any other method. Since there is such great variation in the size of seed of a given kind, the scales on the machines can be used only as a general guide, and the machine should be tried on the bare road or on a floor before beginning work. Growing early plants. One of the most dearly cherished ambitions of the amateur gardener is to begin the harvest of his products very early in the season. To accomplish this, it is necessary to sow seed long before outdoor planting is possible. Plants for setting outdoors should possess such vigor and hardiness that they will make steady growth in spite of possible unfavorable conditions which they may encounter. Other advantages of starting plants in the seed-bed, either indoors or outdoors, are fuller utilization of space in the garden, greater ease in caring for both the soil of the garden and the plants themselves, better root-systems, and in some cases even greater yield. The specific methods of plant-growing are considered under the various vegetables in this Cyclopedia. There are three ways in which this work for earliness may be managed. Seed may be sown for outdoor transplanting in small plant- boxes in the house. If plenty of window room is available and temperature within the house is under fair control, seed may be started very early and the seedlings transplanted once before they go to the garden. Another possibility is sowing seed indoors, transplanting the seedlings to the coldframe, where they are under protection for some weeks, and then placing in the garden. The next step would be the use of hotbeds and greenhouses (see Hotbed). .The gradation in construction from hotbed to greenhouse is very simple, some houses being constructed with two rows of hotbed sash for a roof and using manure for heat. Other types may be built in all degrees of complexity. Fig. 2037 (p. 1747) shows how completely a hotbed space may be utilized. In plant-growing, relatively low temperatures, free ventilation, sparse watering and abundant sunshine make for stockiness, hardiness, good root-systems, vigor and freedom from disease. Plants should be carefully hardened before they are placed outdoors by increasing the ventilation, lowering the temperature, and keeping them relatively dry. Transplanting. Soil should be in excellent physical condition if plants are to be set in it. A good degree of moisture should be present, and if possible, the work should be performed in cloudy weather or in the evening, in order that the plants may have opportunity to recover before being exposed to strong sunshine. It is not wise to undertake setting warm-blooded plants like the tomato exceedingly early, as they may be severely stunted by cold weather, even though there be no frost. Some gardeners, however, like to set out a few plants very early, expecting to replace them if necessary. Most plants ought to be moved with a good-sized ball of earth. If the soil is in proper state of moisture and is compacted firmly about this earth ball, the plants will hardly be disturbed. Plants should ordinarily be set just a little deeper than they stood in their previous place. Cultivation. By cultivation is here meant the maintenance of a loose mulch of dry soil on the entire surface of the garden throughout as much as possible of the growing season. The maintenance of this mulch is of great value in retaining moisture, in keeping the soil in good physical condition, and in destroying weeds. In the small gardens, the hand-hoe and hand-weeder will meet every requirement without undue labor. A manpower wheel-hoe is useful in medium-sized gardens, usually when the rows are 40 feet or more long. The farm garden should be cultivated as far as possible by means of the horse-cultivator. When wheel-hoe and horse-cultivator are used, it is necessary to go through afterward and loosen the earth and destroy the weeds in the rows themselves. There are many types of weeders, hoes, and cultivators. Selection must be made according to the character of the soil, of the crops, and the individual fancy of the gardener himself. Mulching. The general effects of cultivation may be attained, in the case of thoroughly well-prepared soils, by mulching. A coat of comparatively coarse manure is spread on the soil between rows of vegetables. This practice has proved very satisfactory with celery and tomatoes. It is especially desirable with the latter crop, because it keeps down the weeds and conserves the moisture after cultivation is no longer possible. Watering. Hardly a summer passes in which the garden does not suffer from lack of water, in some month or other, in spite of the utmost care in cultivation. Water may be applied to small gardens by means of hose or by allowing it to flow into the furrows between the rows. Hose irrigation is usually superficial. Gardeners often think that they have watered the garden when they have merely moistened the surface. It is better to water thoroughly and less frequently than to water lightly every day. Of recent years, overhead sprinkler systems of irrigation have been devised. Those that are equipped with whirling sprays are not thoroughly satisfactory because they do not water evenly. Another type consists of pipes supported over the garden in which are inserted tiny nozzles at distances'of about 3 feet. With forty pounds pressure, these nozzles will throw water for about 25 feet. The pipe is supported in such a way that it may be turned to throw a spray far to the side or directly overhead. Thus a belt 50 feet wide will be covered by a single line. The question is raised as to whether this type of irrigation would be as successful in home gardens with their many crops as it is in large commercial plantings of single crops. There seems to be little definite knowledge at present on this point, but the plan would seem to be thoroughly feasible. Nature does not water one crop at a time. Practice in the handling of garden irrigation has not been studied as fully as it should be. See Irrigation, p. 1682. In warm summer weather, it is usually best to water in the evening so that the foliage will be well dried off by morning. It is not likely that watering in midday in the summer does as much harm as is ordinarily supposed. Other work. The summer work of training, pruning, blanching, pest control, and the like, is considered under the different entries in the Cyclopedia and under Diseases and Insects in Vol. II. The last task of autumn is one of the most important,cleaning up the garden completely. Many of the diseases and insects are wintered over in the refuse that is left on the soil. The garden-lover who is interested in making the greatest possible progress from year to year will keep careful record of his operations. He will preserve the plan that he has drawn up for each season's operations, and, while avoiding an elaborate or cumbersome scheme, he will jot frequent notes as to dates of frost and other weather conditions, dates of planting, transplanting, and maturity of crops, behavior of plants from seed from different sources, and countless other points that will occur to him. Such a record requires but little time and is of almost incalculable advantage in future operations. Books and bulletins. There are many good bulletins and books on vegetable-gardening, some of them specially adaptable to the needs of the home gardener. The reader should consult the list on page 1553. The following are useful for the beginner: "Home Vegetable Gardening," by F. F. Rockwell. "The Home Garden," by Eben E. Rexford. "The Vegetable Garden," by Ida D. Bennett. "How to Make a Vegetable Garden," by Edith Loring Fullerton. "Book of Vegetables," by Allen French. "Manual of Gardening, by L. H. Bailey. "The Home Vegetable Garden." Farmers' Bulletin No. 255. "Hotbeds and Coldframes," Cornell Reading-Couree Bulletin No. 30. "Home-Garden Planning," Cornell Reading-Course Bulletin No. 34. "Planting the Home Vegetable Garden," Cornell Reading- Course Bulletin No. 58. "Summer Work in the Home Garden," Cornell Reading-Course Bulletin No. 92; and others. "The Home Vegetable Garden," Illinois Circular No. 154. "The Farmer's Vegetable Garden," Illinois Bulletin No. 105. "Farmers' Home Garden," West Virginia Bulletin No. 122. Tables and lists. The home-gardener will soon acquire sufficient experience to be independent of rules and lists; and yet even the oldest gardeners like to have such lists and tables at hand to refresh the memory. The beginner is likely to follow these tables and lists slavishly and without imagination; but if he uses them as suggestions to be modified and applied in his own work, he should find them much worth the while. The remainder of this article comprises tabular material from Albert E. Wilkinson, Cornell Reading-Course Bulletin No. 34. The suggestions are for the state of New York; the consultant should know how to apply them elsewhere. Time for planting seeds or transplanting plants in the garden (Wilkinson). April 1-15.—Early peas (seeds). April 15 (all seeds).—Early beets, Swiss chard, early carrots, midseason peas, radishes, parsnips, salsify, early turnips. April 15-30 (all plants).—Early brussels sprouts, early cabbage, early kohlrabi. May 1-10.—Early corn (seeds), lettuce (plants), endive (seeds), radishes (seeds), early celery (plants), leek (plants), onions (plants). May 10-20 (all seeds).—Beans, green and wax; late carrots, cucumbers, late peas, early squash. May 20-30.—Beans, shell (seeds); late beets (seeds), late squash (seeds), late turnips (seeds), cauliflower (plants), red cabbage (plants), tomatoes (plants). June 1-10 (all seeds).—Midseason corn, lettuce, winter radishes. June 10-20.—Late corn (seeds), late celery (plants), lettuce (seeds). June 30.—Late cabbage (plants), late cauliflower (plants), late brussels sprouts (plants), late kohlrabi (plants), lettuce, and radishes in vacant places (seeds). The yearly supply of vegetables (Wilkinson). The family should plan to have for consumption, on the dates named, the following vegetables: March 15-20 (from hotbeds).—Radishes, lettuce (leaves). March 20-30 (from hotbeds).—Radishes, lettuce (leaves), spinach. April 1-15 (from hotbeds).—Radishes, lettuce (head), spinach, beet greens. April 15-30 (from hotbeds).—Radishes, lettuce, spinach, beets (small), cress, endive, parsley. May 1-15 (from hotbeds and coldframes, and from the garden).—Radishes, lettuce (head), spinach, beets, carrots, cress, endive, parsley, rhubarb. May 15-30 (from hotbeds and coldframes, and from the garden).—Radishes, lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, cress, endive, parsley, rhubarb, asparagus, cauliflower, turnips. June 1-15 (from hotbeds and coldframes, and from the garden).—Radishes, lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, cabbage, parsley, rhubarb, asparagus, cauliflower, turnips, beans, celery, leek, onions, peas. June 15-30 (from the garden).—The vegetables named above; Swiss chard, potatoes, squash (crook- neck and white), tomatoes. July 1-15 (from the garden).—The vegetables named above; beans (wax and green), cabbage, carrots (half- long), midseason peas. July 15-30.—The new vegetables ready between these dates are: Carrots (long), early sweet corn (outside-grown), kohlrabi, okra. August 1-15.—The new vegetables ready between these dates are: Beans (shell), brussels sprouts, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, cauliflower (from outside), midscason sweet corn, late peas. August 15-30.—The new vegetables ready between these dates are: Late cabbage, cucumbers (outside- grown), muskmelons,peppers, late potatoes. September 1-15.—The new vegetables ready between these dates are: Bur; or globe, artichokes, late corn, eggplant, parsnips, winter radishes, salsify, late squash. September 15-30.—The new vegetables ready between these dates are: Jerusalem artichokes, late beets, late celery, celeriac, turnips. October 1-15.—Pumpkins. October 15-30.—Herbs harvested. The following should be supplied for storage and winter consumption: Jerusalem artichokes, beets, carrots, celery, cabbage, celeriac, potatoes, pumpkins, parsnips, winter radishes, horse-radish, salsify, squash, turnips, onions. Paul Work. The home flower-garden. The flower-garden differentiates itself from the formal plantings which comprise the main landscape gardening features. The landscape design is for general effect; the flower-garden a more intimate, homely affair, the outgrowth of a real love of flowers and their associations. Usually it will lie within the province of the housewife to plant and cultivate the flower-garden and, for this rcason; its location is of first importance. It should be convenient of access, secluded in a measure, that one may work in odd moments and odd habiliments, if convenient, and should be considered from the standpoint of convenience and personal preference. Nothing should be planted merely for show or ornament, although nothing heed be left out because it is ornamental, but the flowers which most appeal to one, either from certain qualities they possess or from sentiment or association, should be much in evidence. The platting of the garden should be on a practical working basis, with ample beds of straight outlines, with broad well-constructed paths that do not end in cul-de-sacs but afford ample room at their angles for the turning of a hand barrow or cart, for paths are not intended merely to separate the parts of the garden or to facilitate strolling in the cool of the evening, but they serve the very utilitarian purpose of a working basis for the beds. Gravel, cinders or earth paths which have been treated with a good herbicide, are preferable; if they are properly treated they will practically take care of themselves from season to season. While the form of the plat and individual preference will usually determine the outlines of the garden, no form is more satisfactory and ample than that of beds radiating from a common center. Such beds provide the greatest amount of growing room with the least waste, and they bring all parts of the garden into view, without the defect of nearby beds shutting out the view of those in the rear. Such a garden is shown in Fig. 2038, with turning-places and outlooks at EE. If the home flower-garden comprises the whole of the floral planting and no other space is devoted to shrubbery and the more robust kinds of perennials, then these radiating beds furnish the very best form in which to combine them with the landscape garden proper. Starting from a central point, A, which may be conspicuous by a pool, a bit of sod with table and seat or any garden furnishing, the beds, which may be as narrow as 1 foot at the point, widen gradually as they recede until, at the circumference, they attain considerable width; these rear parts are excellent for the planting of shrubbery and tall perennials, and shrubs may extend upward through the center of the rear parts of the beds; tall perennials may be massed at the sides and in front, lower perennials border these, and annuals and edging plants fill out the remainder of the ground, in this way furnishing a massed planting which is very attractive and also economical of space. The diagram (Fig. 2038) is a very good example of this manner of platting, and it may be adopted in its entirety or simplified by omitting the outer circle and the two short beds in front. When economy in labor is of moment, it will be well to choose those plants whose manner of growth is clean and neat, rather than those that tend to spread and so require much cutting and restraining. Lilacs, for example, require constant grubbing out, while the lespedeza has an attractive erectness and cleanness of manner and requires no pruning or restraint; this, also, is true of the altheas and spircas in the main, while the deutzia is easily kept to the single plant if desired. Lilies, which do their best when planted among shrubbery and perennials, should be used abundantly in the home-garden, especially the candidum and auratum lilies. For summer cut-flowers, few things equal in effectiveness and usefulness the gladiolus; and as this flower is at its best when interspersed among more generously foliagcd plants, it may be worked in among tall perennials to good advantage. Perennial poppies are one of the valuable garden assets and, once established, continue to give satisfactory returns for years. They combine effectively with the Shasta daisies, and are specially effective against the green backgrounds of taller plants. The dictamnus is valuable and should find a place in the home-garden, as once established it is practically everlasting; and its manner of growth is so erect and neat, its bloom so satisfactory and attractive that it is well worth adopting. A garden laid out as indicated and planted in the rear and central parts with permanent things, leaves abundant room in front and along the margins for annual plants and for experiments in novelties from year to year. It will have its shady and sunny spots which may be utilized for plants requiring special conditions of exposure. Certain old garden favorites among the annuals will be much in evidence, but a study of the catalogues of the leading florists will show vast improvements in type which may be adopted without in any way detract- ing from the old-time sentiment of the flowers. Asters and pansies, especially, show this advancement, and petunias are much superior to the small kinds of a few years ago. In purchasing seed of these flowers it is economy to buy the most expensive, as the results well repay the extra outlay. From 25 to 50 cents a packet for pansies and petunias is none too much if one would secure notable flowers. The home-garden should be beautiful and interesting from early spring until frost, and to secure this result one must plant freely along the margin of the beds of spring-blooming bulbs—crocus, tulips, hyacinths, narcissi and the like. These bulbs do admirably planted in long, triple rows, and the space between them may be filled in summer with candytuft, ageratum, schizanthus, Drummond phlox, verbena, petunia. Sufficient plants that bloom late in summer and in autumn should be supplied to make the garden attractive at this time. Anemones are the most charming of autumn flowers, hardy chrysanthemums bloom well into November, tritomas or kniphofias are a blaze of color for weeks. By judicious planting there need be no dearth of color in any season. Preparing the ground for the flower-garden. The preparation of the ground, especially when the planting is to be of a permanent character,—that is of shrubbery, perennials and hardy bulbs,—is of great importance, as any defects in quality of mechanical condition of the soil will not be easily rectified, once the planting is accomplished. Good drainage is the first consideration, as this must be performed before any platting or bed-making is attempted. When the lay of the land makes for a natural removal of surplus moisture, or the soil is sandy and underlaid with gravel, no artificial drainage will be required; but when the soil is cold and sour and retentive of too much moisture it will be necessary, for the best results, to lay two or more courses of porous drain-tile underneath the plot. If the garden is large enough to admit of an initial plowing, this way of preparing the soil may put it in better mechanical condition than spading, although, of course, after the beds are laid out and paths established, spading will be the only leasable method of working the ground. When the soil is naturally good, as in breaking up a piece of sod land or in a well-fertilized garden spot, it will be necessary only to spade or work up the beds, incorporating a liberal quantity of old well-rotted manure. A very satisfactory way of working manure into beds is to begin at one side of the bed and spade one row, laying the soil one side so as to leave an open trench; fill this trench full of manure and spade the next row on top of this, and so continue till the entire area is covered. This buries the manure well beneath the surface and effectively prevents the germination of weed seeds; at the sum time the manure deep in the soil holds the moisture and brings the roots well down beneath the surface where they remain cool and moist. See p. 1739, trenching. In beds that are to be worked over but not fertilized the second summer, it is not desirable to turn the soil over in spading as this throws the manure back to the surface; but sufficiently satisfactory results are secured by thrusting the spade well down into the ground and turning it around, put not lifting it out. A bed worked over in this way will be in excellent condition and less disturbance and cutting of the roots will result. A garden planted to shrubs and perennials may safely be left undisturbed for three years, providing a good annual stirring of the soil is given in early spring followed by sufficient tillage to establish a dust-mulch throughout the dry weather. Getting down on hands and knees and working around each individual plant with a trowel has many advantages, as it puts one more intimately in touch with the plant than is possible with hoe and spade. Many ambitious little shoots succumb to the onslaught of a too vigorous hoe, that might have been saved by a closer inspection. The presence of insect enemies about the base of the plants is likely to pass unnoticed until much damage is done, when only a standing cultivation is practised; so, one intimate acquaintance with each inmate of the garden is advised at least once a year, preferably in early spring. For the remainder of the summer, dependence may be placed on any one of the various forms of hoes, preferably the scuffle-hoe, as by the use of this tool one can work closer to the stem of the plants, slipping beneath the leaves and recumbent foliage with little damage. It produces the most perfect dust-mulch of any tool and as it is used walking backward no footprints are left on the soil to press a weed back into the ground where it may grow again, as is the case with a wheel-hoe or most hand-hoes, and last, it is the tool best adapted to a woman's use and with it she can accomplish a large amount of labor with little fatigue. A good trowel is essential. In buying this everyday implement, the gardener should choose one in which the blade and handle are in one piece of steel, for a handle riveted or secured to the blade is always unsatisfactory and of short duration. Pruning shears that open easily and fit the hand well are also necessary when shrubs or roses are cultivated. These three articles, together with a spade and rake are about all the indispensable tools aside from a good wheelbarrow and one or more baskets of convenient size. When the garden plat is confined with an ornamental wooden fence, painted white as is so much the custom, a good effect is gained by planting tall-growing shrubs in the rear to reach over the fence, furnishing a charming background of bloom and greenery. Tall-growing shrubs that make their growth mostly at the crown are especially desirable, as for example, the dogwood, flowering thorns, red-buds, tree lilacs and the tamarix. Shrubs which bloom from the ground up are wasted in the flower-garden. Altheas, syringas, deutzias, spireas, symphoncarpos, Tartarian honeysuckles, weigelas, snowballs and the like need an open place in which to display their merits to the best. As the buying of any great quantity of perennial plants calls for a considerable initial outlay, it is both economical and interesting to grow them from the seed. The seeds may be started in hotbeds in early spring and transplanted into the beds where they are to grow as soon as large enough; or, what may be the better way for many kinds, they may be sown in long rows in the vegetable-garden, where they will receive the same cultivation as the vegetables and be transplanted the following spring. Oriental poppies do especially well under this treatment. Shasta daisies and delphiniums should be planted, but physostegias, hibiscus, aquilegias, achilleas, sweet Williams, dianthus, digitalis, gauras, sunflowers, hollyhocks, may be produced by the hundreds at a very trifling expense. Annuals that are desired merely for cutting may also be grown in the vegetable-garden to advantage. Asters, sweet peas, cosmos, arctotis, annual larkspurs, centaureas, cornflowers, gaillardias, all the everlastings, may very profitably be relegated to this economic culture and so leave room for more permanent things in the garden proper. Ida D. Bennett.
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Cultivation
Propagation
Pests and diseases
Varieties
Gallery
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
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