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Manual of Gardening (Second Edition)

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At the end of eight or nine days the mulching should be removed and the
beds covered with a layer of good loam 2 inches thick, so that the
mushrooms can come up in and through it. This gives them a firm hold,
and to a large extent improves their quality and texture. Any fair loam
will do. That from an ordinary field, wayside, or garden is generally
used, and it answers admirably. There exists an idea that garden soil
surfeited with old manure is unfit for mushroom beds because it is apt
to produce spurious fungi. This, however, is not the case. In fact, it
is the earth most commonly used. For molding the beds the loam should be
rather fine, free, and mellow, so that it can be easily and evenly
spread and compacted firmly into the manure.

If an even atmospheric temperature of from 55° to 60° F. can be
maintained, and the house or cellar containing the mushroom beds is kept
close and free from drafts, the beds may be left uncovered, and should
be watered if they become dry. But no matter where the beds are
situated, it is well to lay some loose hay or straw or some old matting
or carpet over them to keep them moist. The covering, however, should
be removed just as soon as the young mushrooms begin to appear above
ground. If the atmosphere is dry, the pathways and walls should be
sprinkled with water. The mulching should also be sprinkled, but not
enough to cause the water to soak into the bed. However, if the bed
should get dry, do not hesitate to water it.

MUSTARD.--Almost all the mustards are good for greens, though white
mustard is usually best. Chinese mustard is also valuable.

Seed should be sown in drills, 3 to 3-1/2 feet apart, and covered with a
half inch of soil. The ease with which they may be grown, and the
abundance of herbage which they yield, mark their special utility. Sow
very early for spring greens, and in late summer or early September for
fall greens.

MUSKMELON.--The most delicious of all garden vegetables eaten from
the hand, and of simple cultivation; but like many another plant that is
easy to grow it often fails completely. The season and soil must be warm
and the growth continuous.

The natural soil for melons is a light, sandy loam, well enriched with
rotted manure, although good crops may be grown on land naturally heavy
if the hills are specially prepared. When only heavy soil is available,
the earth where the seeds are to be planted should be thoroughly
pulverized and mixed with fine, well-rotted manure. A sprinkling of
leafmold or chip-dirt will help to lighten it. On this hill from ten to
fifteen seeds may be sown, thinning to four or five vines when danger of
insects is over.

The season may be advanced and the damage from insects lessened by
starting the plants in hotbeds. This may be done by using fresh sod, cut
into 6-inch pieces, placing them grass-side down in the hotbed, sowing
eight to ten seeds on each piece, and covering with 2 inches of light
soil. When all danger of frost is over, and the ground has become warm,
these sods may be carefully lifted and set in the prepared hills. The
plants usually grow without check, and fruit from two to four weeks
ahead of those from seed planted directly in the hill. Old quart
berry-boxes are excellent to plant seeds in, as, when they are set in
the ground, they very quickly decay, causing no restriction to
the roots.

Netted Gem, Hackensack, Emerald Gem, Montreal, Osage, and the Nutmeg
melon are popular varieties. One ounce of seed will plant about
fifty hills.

OKRA.--A plant of the cotton family, from the green pods of which
is made the well-known gumbo soup of the South, where the plant is more
extensively grown than in the North. The pods are also used in their
green state for stews, and are dried and used in winter, when they are
nutritious, and form no little part of the diet in certain sections of
the country.

The seeds are very sensitive to cold and moisture, and should not be
sown until the ground has become warm--the last week in May or the first
of June being early enough in New York. The seed should be sown in a
drill 1 inch deep, the plants thinned to stand 12 inches in the row.
Give the same culture as for corn. One ounce will sow 40 feet of drill.
Dwarf varieties are best for the North. Green Density and Velvet are
leading varieties.

ONION.--A few onions, of one kind or another, give character to
every good kitchen-garden. They are grown from seeds ("black seed") for
the main crop. They are also grown from sets (which are very small
onions, arrested in their development); from "tops" (which are bulblets
produced in the place of flowers); and from multipliers or potato
onions, which are compound bulbs.

The extremely early crop of onions is grown from sets, and the late or
fall crop is grown from seed sown in April or early May. The sets may be
saved from the crop harvested the previous fall, saving no bulbs
measuring over three-fourths of an inch in diameter, or, better, they
may be purchased from the seedsman. These sets should be planted as
early as possible in the spring, preferably on land that has been
manured and trenched in the fall. Plant in rows 12 inches apart, the
sets being 2 or 3 inches in the row. Push the sets well down into the
ground and cover with soil, firming them with the feet or a roller. In
cultivating, the soil should be thrown towards the tops, as the white
stems are usually sought as an indication of mildness. The crop will be
in condition to use in three to four weeks, and may be made to last
until small seed onions are to be had. Tops or multipliers may also be
used for the early crop.

In growing onions from seed, it is only necessary to say that the seed
should be in the ground very early in order that the bulbs make their
growth before the extreme hot weather of August, when, for want of
moisture and because of the heat, the bulbs will ripen up while small.
Early in April, in New York, if the ground is in condition, the seed
should be sown thickly in drills from 12 to 16 inches apart, and the
ground above the seeds well firmed. Good cultivation and constant
weeding is the price of a good crop of onions. In cultivating and
hoeing, the soil should be kept away from the rows, not covering the
growing bulbs, but allowing them to spread over the surface of the
ground. When the crop is ready to be harvested, the bulbs may be pulled
or cultivated up, left to dry in double rows for several days, the tops
and roots taken off, and the bulbs stored in a dry place. Later in the
season they may be allowed to freeze, covering with chaff or straw to
hold them frozen, and kept until early spring; but this method is
usually unsafe with beginners, and always so in a changeable climate.
Onion seed should always be fresh when sown--preferably of the last
year's crop. One ounce of onion seed will sow 100 feet of drill.

[Illustration: Fig. 310. Bunch onions, grown from seed.]

One of the recent methods of securing extra large and also early bulbs
from seed is to sow the seed in a hotbed in February or early March, and
transplant to the open ground in April. A bunch of onions, for eating
from hand, is shown in Fig. 310.

The Danvers, Prizetaker, Globe, and Wethersfield are favorite varieties,
with the addition of White Queen or Barletta for pickling.

PARSLEY.--This is the most universal of garnishes. It is used also
as a flavoring in soups.

The seed is slow to germinate, and often the second or third sowing is
made, thinking the first is a failure; but usually after what would seem
a long time the young plants will be seen. When sown in the open ground,
it should be thinned to stand 3 or 4 inches in the row, the rows being
10 to 12 inches apart. A few plants in a border will give a supply for a
large family, and with a little protection will live over winter.

Roots may be lifted in the fall, put into boxes or old cans, and grown
in a sunny window for winter use. The Curled parsley is the form
commonly used.

[Illustration: Fig. 311. The Student parsnip, a leading variety]

PARSNIP.--A standard winter and spring vegetable, of the easiest
culture in deep soil (Fig. 311).

Parsnips are the better for the winter's freeze, although they are of
good quality if taken up after the fall frosts and packed in soil, sand,
or moss in the cellar.

The seed, which must be not over one year old, should be sown as early
as possible in well-prepared soil, firmed with the feet or roller. As
the seed germinates rather slowly, the ground often becomes crusted or
baked over the seeds, in which case it should be broken and fined with a
garden rake. This operation often means the success of the crop. Radish
or cabbage seeds may be sown with the parsnip seed to mark the row and
break the crust. One ounce of seed will sow 200 feet of drill. Thin to 6
inches apart in the row.

PEA.--Perhaps no vegetable is planted in greater expectancy than
the pea. It is one of the earliest seeds to go into the ground, and the
planting fever is impatient.

There is great difference in quality between the smooth and the
wrinkled peas. The first are a little the earliest to be planted and to
become fit for use, and on that account should be planted in a small
way; but the wrinkled sorts are much superior in quality.

The early crop of peas may be forwarded by sprouting the seeds indoors.
Soil may be made too rich or strong for peas.

For the kitchen-garden the dwarf and half-dwarf varieties are the best,
as the tall kinds will need brush or wire to support them, causing
considerable trouble and labor and not being as neat in appearance. The
dwarf varieties should be planted four rows in a block, each row being
only 6 or 8 inches apart. The peas on the two center rows may be picked
from the outside. Leave a space of 2 feet and plant the same.

The tall varieties yield a larger crop than the dwarfs, but as the rows
must be made from 3 to 5 feet apart, the dwarf ones, which are planted
only 6 to 8 inches apart, will give as large a yield on the same area.
Always plant double rows of the tall varieties; that is, two rows from 4
to 6 inches apart, with the brush or wire between, the double rows being
from 3 to 5 feet apart, according to varieties.

At the time of the first planting only the smooth varieties should be
sown, but by the middle of April in New York the ground will be warm and
dry enough for wrinkled sorts. Succession crops should be sown that will
come to maturity one after the other, extending the season six or eight
weeks. If a further supply is wanted, the early quick-maturing varieties
may be sown in August, usually giving a fair crop of peas in September
and early October. In the hot weather of midsummer they do not thrive so
well. One quart of seed will plant about 100 feet of drill.

[Illustration: Fig. 312. One of the bell peppers.]

PEPPER.--The garden pepper is not the pepper of commerce; it is
more properly known as red pepper (though the pods are not always red),
chilli, and capsicum. The pods are much used in the South, and most
Northern households now employ them to some extent.

Peppers are tender while young, although they will endure a heavy frost
in the fall. Their culture is that recommended for egg-plants. A small
seedsman's packet of seed will be sufficient for a large number of
plants, say two hundred. The large bell peppers (Fig. 312) are the
mildest, and are used for making "stuffed peppers" and other dishes.
The small, hot peppers are used for seasoning and sauces.

POTATO.--The potato is rather more a field crop than a home-garden
product; yet the home-gardener often desires to grow a small early lot.

The common practice of growing potatoes on elevated ridges or hills is
wrong, unless the soil is so wet that this practice is necessary to
insure proper drainage (but in this case the land is not adapted to the
growing of potatoes), or unless it is necessary, in a particular place,
to secure a very early crop. If the land is elevated into ridges or
hills, there is great loss of moisture by means of evaporation. During
the last cultivating the potatoes may be hilled up slightly in order to
cover the tubers; but the hills should not be made in the beginning for
the main crop if land and conditions are right.

Land for potatoes should be rather loamy in character, and ought to have
a liberal supply of potash, either naturally or supplied in the drill,
by means of an application of sulfate of potash. See that the land is
deeply plowed or spaded, so that the roots can penetrate deeper. Plant
the potatoes 3 or 4 inches below the natural surface of the ground. It
is ordinarily best to drop the pieces in drills. A continuous drill or
row may be made by dropping one piece every 6 inches, but it is usually
thought best to drop two pieces about every 12 to 18 inches. The drills
are far enough apart to allow good cultivation. If horse cultivation is
used, the drills should be at least 3 feet apart.

Small potatoes are considered not to be so good as large ones for
planting. One reason is because too many sprouts arise from each one,
and these sprouts are likely to crowd each other. The same is true of
the tip end or seed end of the tuber. Even when the tip is cut off, the
eyes are so numerous that one secures many weak shoots rather than two
or three strong ones. It is ordinarily best to cut the potatoes to two
or three eyes, leaving as much tuber as possible with each piece. From 7
to 10 bushels of potatoes are required to plant an acre.

[Illustration: XXV. The garden radish, grown in fall of the usual spring
sorts.]

For a very early crop in the garden, tubers are sometimes sprouted in
the cellar. When the sprouts are 4 to 6 inches high, the tubers are
carefully planted. It is essential that the sprouts are not broken in
the handling. In this practice, also, the tubers are first cut into
large pieces, so that they will not dry out too much.

The staple remedy for the potato bug is Paris green, 2 pounds or more of
poison to 150 to 200 gallons of water, with a little lime. For the
blight, spray with bordeaux mixture, and spray thoroughly. Bordeaux
mixture will also keep away the flea beetle to a large extent.

RADISH (Plate XXV).--In all parts of the country the radish is
popular as a side-dish, being used as an appetizer and for its
decorative character. It is a poor product, however, if misshapen,
wormy, or tough.

Radishes should be grown quickly in order to have them at their best.
They become tough and woody if grown slowly or allowed to stay in the
ground too long. A light soil, well enriched, will grow most of the
early varieties to table size in three to five weeks. To have a supply
through the early months, sowings should be made every two weeks. For
spring use, the French Breakfast is still a standard variety (Fig. 313).

For summer, the large white or gray varieties are best. The winter
varieties may be sown in September, harvested before severe frosts, and
stored in sand in a cool cellar. When they are to be used, if thrown
into cold water for a short time they will regain their crispness.

Sow radishes thickly in drills, 12 to 18 inches apart. Thin as needed.

[Illustration: Fig. 313. French Breakfast and olive-shaped radishes.]

RHUBARB, OR PIE PLANT.--A strong perennial herb, to be grown in a
bed or row by itself at one end or side of the garden. It is a
heavy feeder.

Rhubarb is usually propagated by division of the fleshy roots, small
pieces of which will grow if separated from the old established roots
and planted in rich mellow soil. Poor soil should be made rich by
spading out at least 3 feet of the surface, filling with well-rotted
manure to within 1 foot of the level, throwing in the top soil and
setting the roots with the crowns 4 inches below the surface, firming
them with the feet. The stalks should not be cut for use until the
second year. See that the plant does not want for water when it is
making its heavy leaf growth. In fall, coarse manure should be thrown
over the crowns, to be forked or spaded in lightly when spring opens.

In growing seedling rhubarb, the seed may be sown in a coldframe in
March or April, protected from freezing, and in two months the plants
will be ready to set in rows, 12 inches apart. Give the plants good
cultivation, and the following spring they may be set in a permanent
place. At this time the plants should be set in well-prepared ground, at
a distance each way of 4 to 5 feet, and treated as those set with
pieces of roots.

If given good care and well manured, the plants will live for years and
yield abundantly. Two dozen good roots will supply a large family.

[Illustration: Fig. 314. Salsify, or oyster plant.]

SALSIFY, or VEGETABLE OYSTER (Fig. 314).--Salsify is one of
the best of winter and early spring vegetables, and should be grown in
every garden. It may be cooked in several different ways, to bring out
the oyster flavor.

The seed should be sown as early in the spring as possible. Handle the
same as parsnips in every way. The roots, like parsnips, are the better
for the winter freeze, but part of the crop should be dug in the fall,
and stored in soil or moss in a cellar for winter use.

SEA-KALE is a strong-rooted perennial, the shoots of which are
very highly prized as a delicacy when blanched.

Seed should be sown in a hotbed early in the spring, plants transplanted
to the garden when from 2 to 3 inches high, and given good cultivation
through the season, being covered with litter on the approach of winter.
The young stalks are blanched early the following spring by covering
with large pots or boxes, or by banking with sand or other clean
material. The Dwarf Green Scotch, Dwarf Brown, and Siberian are among
the leading varieties. Sea-kale is eaten much as asparagus is. It is
highly prized by those who know it.

Sea-kale is also propagated by cuttings of the roots 4 or 5 inches long,
planted directly in the soil in spring. The plant being perennial, the
early shoots may be bleached year after year.

SORREL of the European garden sorts may be sown in spring, in
drills 16 inches apart in beds, or 3 to 3-1/2 feet apart in rows. After
the plants are well established they should be thinned to 10 to 12
inches apart in the rows. They are perennial, and may be kept growing in
the same place for several years. Broad-leaved French is the most
popular variety.

SPEARMINT is prized by many persons as a seasoning, particularly
for the Thanksgiving and holiday cookery.

It is a perennial and perfectly hardy, and will live in the open garden
year after year. If a supply of the fresh herbage is wanted in winter,
remove sods of it to the house six weeks before wanted. Place the sods
in boxes, and treat as for house plants. The plants should have been
frosted and become perfectly dormant before removal.

SPINACH.--The most extensively grown of all "greens," being in
season in earliest spring, and in fall and winter.

The earliest spinach that finds its way to market is produced from seed
sown in September or October, often protected by frames or other means
through the severe winter, and cut soon after growth starts in early
spring. Even as far north as New York spinach may stand over winter
without protection.

Spinach is forced by placing sash over the frames in February and
March, protecting the young leaves from severe freezing by mats or
straw thrown over the frames.

Seed may be sown in early spring for a succession; later in the season
seed of the New Zealand summer spinach may be sown, and this will grow
through the heat of the summer and yield a fine quality of leaves. The
seed of this kind, being very hard, should be scalded and allowed to
soak a few hours before sowing. This seed is usually sown in hills about
3 feet apart, sowing four to six seed in each hill.

The spring and winter spinach should be sown in drills 12 to 14 inches
apart, one ounce being sufficient for 100 feet of drill. Remember that
common spinach is a cool-weather (fall and spring) crop.

SQUASH.--The summer squashes rarely fail of a crop if they once
escape the scourge of the striped beetle. The late varieties are not so
certain; they must secure a strong start, and be on "quick" fertile warm
land in order to make a crop before the cool nights of fall (Fig. 315).

[Illustration: Fig. 315. One of the so-called Japanese type of squash
(_Cucurbita moschata_).]

The time of planting, method of preparing the hills, and after-culture
are the same as for cucumbers and melons, except that for the early bush
varieties the hills should be 4 or 5 feet apart, and for the later
running varieties from 6 to 8 feet apart. From eight to ten seeds should
be planted in each hill, thinning to four plants after danger from bugs
is over. Of the early squashes, one ounce of seed will plant fifty
hills; of the later varieties, one ounce will plant but eighteen to
twenty hills. For winter use, varieties of the Hubbard type are best.
For summer use, the Crooknecks and Scallop squashes are popular. In
growing winter squashes in a Northern climate, it is essential that the
plants start off quickly and vigorously: a little chemical fertilizer
will help.

Pumpkins are grown the same as squashes.

SWEET-POTATO is rarely grown north of Philadelphia; in the South it
is a universal garden crop.

Sweet-potatoes are grown from sprouts planted on ridges or hills, not
by planting the tubers, as with the common or Irish potato. The method
of obtaining these sprouts is as follows: In April, tubers of
sweet-potatoes are planted in a partially spent hotbed by using the
whole tuber (or if a large one, by cutting it in two through the long
way), covering the tubers with 2 inches of light, well-firmed soil. The
sash should be put on the frames and only enough ventilation given to
keep the potatoes from decaying. In ten or twelve days the young sprouts
should begin to appear, and the bed should be watered if dry. The
sprouts when pulled from the tuber will be found to have rootlets at the
lower end and along the stems. These sprouts should be about 3 to 5
inches long by the time the ground is warm enough to plant them out on
their ridges.

The ridges or hills should be prepared by plowing out a furrow 4 to 6
inches deep. Scatter manure in the furrow and plow back the soil so as
to raise the center at least 6 inches above the level of the soil. On
this ridge the plants are set, placing the plants well in to the leaves
and about 12 to 18 inches apart in the rows, the rows being from 3 to 4
feet apart.

The after-cultivation consists in stirring the soil between the ridges;
and as the vines begin to run they should be lifted frequently to
prevent rooting at the joints. When the tips of the vines have been
touched by frost the crop may be harvested, the tubers left to dry a few
days, and stored in a dry, warm place.

To keep sweet potatoes, store in layers in barrels or boxes in dry sand,
and keep them in a dry room See that all bruised or chilled potatoes are
thrown out.

TOMATO.--The tomato is an inhabitant of practically every home
garden, and everybody understands its culture (Fig. 316).

The early fruits are very easily grown by starting the plants in a
greenhouse, hotbed, or in shallow boxes placed in windows. A pinch of
seed sown in March will give all the early plants a large family can
use. When the plants have reached the height of 2 or 3 inches, they
should be transplanted into 3-inch flower-pots, old berry boxes, or
other receptacles, and allowed to grow slowly and stocky until time to
set them out, which is from May 15 on (in New York). They should be set
in rows 4 or 5 feet apart, the plants being the same distance in
the rows.

[Illustration: 316. A good form or type of tomato.]

[Illustration: 317. A tomato trellis.]

Some support should be given to keep the fruits off the ground and to
hasten the ripening. A trellis of chicken-wire makes an excellent
support, as does the light lath fencing that may be bought or made at
home. Stout stakes, with wire strung the length of the rows, afford an
excellent support. A very showy method is that of a frame made like an
inverted V, which allows the fruits to hang free; with a little
attention to trimming, the light reaches the fruits and ripens them
perfectly (Fig. 317). This support is made by leaning together two
lath frames.

The late fruits may be picked green and ripened on a shelf in the sun;
or they will ripen if placed in a drawer.

One ounce of seed will be enough for from twelve to fifteen hundred
plants. A little fertilizer in the hill will start the plants off
quickly. The rot is less serious when the vines are kept off the ground
and the rampant suckers are cut out. Varieties pass out and new ones
come into notice, so that a list is of small permanent value.

TURNIPS and RUTABAGAS are little grown in home gardens; and
yet a finer quality of vegetable than most persons know could be secured
if these plants were raised on one's own soil and brought fresh to the
table. They are usually a fall crop, from seed sown in July and early
August, although some kitchen-gardens have them from spring-sown The
culture is easy.

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