Vegetable garden

“ CHAPTER III REQUISITES OF THE HOME VEGETABLE GARDEN In deciding upon the site for the home vegetable garden it is well to dispose once and for all of the old idea that the garden "patch" must be an ugly spot in the home surroundings. If thoughtfully planned, carefully planted and thoroughly cared for, it may be made a beautiful and harmonious feature of the general scheme, lending a touch of comfortable homeliness that no shrubs, borders, or beds can ever produce. ”

“ The almost universal practice is to have the fruit and vegetable gardens combined; and the flower garden may sometimes be conveniently placed in juxtaposition with them. When the fruit and vegetable gardens are combined, the smaller and choicer fruit trees only should be admitted, such larger-growing hardy fruits as apples, pears, plums, cherries, &c., being relegated to the orchard.
Ground possessing a gentle inclination towards the south is desirable for a garden. On such a slope effectual draining is easily accomplished, and the greatest possible benefit is derived from the sun’s rays. ”

“ A location near big trees should be avoided, for the trees not only shade the crops, but their wide-spreading roots also rob the ground of food and moisture which the vegetables need. The ideal location for a vegetable-garden is one open to the south and sheltered from the north and west winds, but always with this provision—the soil must be of a suitable nature. ”

“ The average gardener doesn't seem to associate the growing of vegetables with an idea of beauty, but he will find, if he looks into the matter, that the vegetable-garden can be made really ornamental. A row of carrots with its feathery green foliage is quite as attractive as many of our decorative plants; and beets, with crimson foliage, are really tropical in their rich coloring. Parsley and lettuce make excellent and ornamental edgings for beds containing other vegetables. Tomatoes, trained to upright trellises, are quite as showy as many kinds of flowers, when their fruit begins to ripen. ”

“ Place others, that are fully developed but not ripe, in straw in the cellar. In this way fresh tomatoes may frequently be had as late as Christmas.
Turnip:—These roots, if desired, can be stored as are beets or carrots.
It is hard to retain our interest in a thing when most of its usefulness has gone by. It is for that reason, I suppose, that one sees so many forsaken and weed-grown gardens every autumn, where in the spring everything was neat and clean. But there are two very excellent reasons why the vegetable garden should not be so abandoned—to say nothing of appearances! ”

“ Attention should, of course, be paid to having a good vegetable garden, in which a good supply of lettuces and tomatoes should form a principal feature, and during the wet weather months, when vegetables cannot be procured on the spot, tinned vegetables should be used. ”

“ Have the permanent vegetables, as rhubarb and asparagus, at one side, where they will not interfere with the plowing or tilling. The annual vegetables should be grown on different parts of the area in succeeding years, thus practicing something like a rotation of crops. If radish or cabbage maggots or club-root become thoroughly established in the plantation, omit for a year or more the vegetables on which they live.
Lay-out of a farm Vegetable Garden
Make the soil deep, mellow and rich before the seeds are sown. ”

“ Vegetable Garden.—Asparagus, rhubarb, spinach, &c., should be uncovered., and the beds hoed or dug lightly. Hardier sorts of vegetable seeds and plants, such as beets, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, lettuce, onions, parsley, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, turnip, &c., should all be sown or planted by the middle of the month if the soil is dry and warm, and in all cases, where practicable, before the end of the month. It is essential, in sowing seeds now, that they be well firmed in the soil. ”

“ In order to have a good garden it is necessary to plant good seeds. It is not alone essential that the seeds be capable of growing; they must be capable of producing a crop of the desired quality, under the conditions existing where the gardening is to be done. Some varieties of vegetables are restricted in their adaptations, while others thrive over a wide range of territory and under widely different conditions of soil and climate. ”

“ Vegetable Garden.—Celery will now be in full growth, and will require close attention to earthing up, and during the last part of the month the first lot may be stored away in trenches for winter. All vegetable roots not designed to be left in the ground during the winter should be dug up, such as beets, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, &c. The cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce plants grown from seed sown last month should be pricked out in cold frames. If lettuce is wanted for winter use, it may now be planted in the greenhouse or cold frame, and will be ready for use about Christmas. ”

“ The various operations of setting out, pruning and spraying will soon become as familiar as those in the vegetable garden. There is no reason why every home garden should not have its few rows of small fruits, yielding their delicious harvests in abundance. ”

“ Even where no orchard has been planted, and where the ornamental surroundings of the home have been neglected, a fairly well-kept garden in which are grown a number of the staple kinds of vegetables is generally to be found. In many cases the principal interest in the garden is manifested by the women of the household and much of the necessary care is given by them. A small portion of the garden inclosure is generally devoted to the cultivation of flowers, and a number of medicinal plants is invariably present. ”

“ The most important factor in the success of the vegetable garden (and, indeed, amongst the flowers too) is that the seed should be quite fresh from England. A small quantity arriving twice a year will give far better results than one of the large ‘collections’ which, moreover, invariably contain many items that are quite useless in this country. I had a huge tin of vegetable seeds given me last year—a precious prize—only to find, to my dismay, that it consisted mainly of strawberries and peas! ”

“ The Advantages of a Vegetable Garden. Notwithstanding their slight fuel value, there are few more valuable and wholesome elements in the diet than an abundant supply of fresh green vegetables. Everyone who is so situated that he can possibly arrange for it, should have a garden, if only the tiniest patch, and grow them for his own use, both on account of their greater wholesomeness and freshness when so grown, and because of the valuable exercise in the open air, and the enjoyment and interest afforded by their care. ”

“ In addition to the filler crops, where the ground is to be cultivated by horse, potatoes may be grown between the rows of trees; or fine hills of melons or squash may be grown around scattered trees, thus, incidentally, saving a great deal of space in the vegetable garden. Or why not grow a few extra fancy strawberries in the well cultivated spots about these trees? Neither they nor the trees want the ground too rich, especially in nitrogen, and conditions suiting the one would be just right for the others. ”

“ Add to it every bit of available vegetable matter during the year, including the annual flowers pulled up after their season of bloom, the tops of such root-plants as Cannas, Caladiums, Gladioli, etc., and you will soon have a supply quite adequate to the needs of an ordinary garden. Where there are water-works the hose may be turned on frequently to hasten decomposition. If it is impossible to replace all poor soil in the garden with better, by the addition of leaf-mould and manure, much may be accomplished in the way of building up the old and rendering it suitable. ”

“ Vegetable Garden.—But little can be done in the northern states except to prepare manure, and get sashes, tools, &c., in working order; but in sections of the country where there is little or no frost the hardier kinds of seeds and plants may be sown and planted, such as asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, leek, lettuce, onion, parsnip, peas, spinach, turnip, &c. In any section where these seeds can be sown in open ground, it is an indication that hotbeds may be started for the sowing of such tender vegetables as tomatoes, egg and pepper plants, &c. ”

“ Any who expect to get early cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce or radishes, while planting or sowing is delayed until the time of sowing tomato and egg plant in May, are sure to be disappointed of a full crop. Frequent rotation of crops should be practised in the vegetable garden, in order to head off insects and diseases; and also to make the best use of the land. Every three or four years the vegetable garden should be laid out in some new place; but if this cannot be done, the crops should be rotated on different parts of the old garden. ”

“ Adjoining the lawn and vegetable garden is "the much-coveted meadow," which the master of Gad's Hill obtained by exchange of some land with the trustees of Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School at Rochester, and in [176] which he planted "a number of limes and chestnuts, and other quick-growing trees." Four grass walks meet in the centre of the vegetable garden, where there is a fine old mulberry tree. ”

“ Keep the young plants moist. About the fifteenth of July, if there are a large number of plants and there be no other place, they should be transplanted to the vegetable garden, where they can follow early crops of peas or lettuce. Have the ground spaded finely, and make shallow trenches, perhaps six inches deep, in which put a good layer of manure and cover this with earth, then set the plants about six inches apart. Keep them well watered when the weather is dry, and the earth thoroughly stirred. ”

“ A tree or a bush sends its roots deeply and widely into the soil, and applies to its uses food that the vegetable cannot send its roots in search of. The roots of most garden plants do not extend far in any direction, nor go very deep; therefore food must be given directly to them if we would secure the best possible result. There are very few gardens in which the natural soil has a sufficient amount of nutriment to produce the effect we aim at without the addition of some kind of plant-food. ”

“ Most of the vegetables consumed in the large cities are transported a considerable distance, and if those people who eat these much-traveled vegetables raise their own, the transportation system will be relieved to that amount.
The raising and caring for plants is certain to broaden one’s interest. Very few people who cultivate a vegetable-garden, or any other kind of garden, for that matter, are likely to be satisfied until they know something of the physiology of plants, how and why they grow, and the principles underlying successful plant culture. ”

“ Throughout the newer parts of the country it is seen that the conditions governing the maintenance and use of the vegetable garden are somewhat different, and, while a number of vegetable crops may be grown somewhere on the farm, there is wanting that distinction so characteristic of the typical New England kitchen garden. ”

“ Sweet peas often find a place in the vegetable garden; start a few early, to set out later; they will do better than if started outside. Start tomatoes for growing in frames. For early potatoes sprout in sand.
Planting, outside. If an early spring, and the ground is sufficiently dry, sow onions, lettuce, beet, radish, (sweet peas) , smooth peas, early carrot, cabbage, leek, celery (main crop) , and turnip. Set out new beds of asparagus, rhubarb and sea-kale (be sure to try a few plants of the latter) . Manure and fork up old beds of above.
Fruit. Prune now, apple, plum and pear trees. ”

“ For weeds left to themselves, even late in the fall, grow in the cool moist weather with astonishing rapidity, and, almost before one realizes it, transform the well kept garden into a ragged wilderness, where the intruders have taken such a strong foothold that they cannot be pulled up without tearing everything else with them. ”

“ One is strictly limited if the available ground is shaded. All the vegetables need sun for the greater part of the day. Those kinds which are grown for their leaves are more satisfactory in a shady garden, and if the soil conditions are favorable the following may be tried: beet, cabbage, lettuce, and Swiss chard. ”

“ Some quite artistic effects can be secured in the vegetable-garden by the exercise of a little thought. The large-leaved beet has foliage of a dark, rich crimson quite as ornamental as that of many plants used by gardeners to produce the "tropical effects" [82] which many persons admire. When planted in the background, with fine-foliaged plants like carrot or parsley in front of it, the effect will be extremely pleasing because of the contrast of color, and also of habit. ”

“ Throw the tops of the sods in a heap in some out-of-the-way corner and add the rakings of the yard in fall and spring, all weeds pulled during the summer, all vegetable refuse, potato-parings, apple-peelings, corn-husks, and berry-hulls—anything that has vegetable matter and will decay. All dish-water and slops that are not needed on the garden may be thrown on the pile, which should be turned over occasionally during the winter. By the following spring you will have the finest kind of leaf-mould. ”

“ Good plants are, in proportion to the amounts used, just as important as good seed—and of course you cannot afford losing weeks of garden usefulness by growing entirely from seed sown out-doors. Beets, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, egg-plant, and for really efficient gardening, also onions, corn, melons, celery, lima beans, cucumbers, and squash, will all begin their joyous journey toward the gardener's table several weeks before they get into the garden at all. ”