A location close to the house, more or less secluded6, that one may work free from interruption and espionage7 and where the vegetables may bask8 in the sun from early morning till late afternoon, is desirable, and this is best achieved in a southern exposure with the garden rows running north and south.
If the garden plot is protected by buildings or a high fence, or a wind-break of evergreen9 on the north it will afford a favorable position for the necessary hotbeds and cold frames and the close relationship of the two will work for efficiency in handling.
A warm, mellow10, sandy loam11 is the ideal soil for the vegetable garden, but even a poor soil may be so built up and redeemed12 by proper cultivation3 and fertilising as to make the quality of the soil of secondary consideration, but if one can have both at once then one is happy indeed. Tenacious13, clayey soil or newly broken sod ground should not, however, be undertaken by a woman, such ground is a man's job.
But it is the warm, sunny location that is vital to the successful cultivation of the garden. All the early vegetables—peas, lettuce, endive and the like—call for abundant sunshine in the cool days of early spring, and, as the season advances and the fall chill is in the air at nightfall, then the warm sunshine will hasten the maturity14 of such late comers as tomatoes, winter squash, citron and any late-sown vegetables that are used to succeed the earlier growths. Again in the late days of winter or early spring those vegetables that were left in the ground for early use—the parsnips, and salsify, will be available much earlier if given a warm location where the ground thaws15 readily, rather than a cold exposure that holds frost late in the season.
A piece of ground adjoining other cultivated4 areas is far preferable to an isolated16 plot as it may be ploughed in conjunction with the larger piece and so kept in a better grade and condition. An isolated garden plot, which must be prepared separately necessitating17 a dead furrow18 in the center, becomes, in the course of a few years a dish shaped area very disagreeable to cultivate; an open area, on two sides at least, obviates19 this in a measure and renders the ground more level and easily prepared.
Any garden spot, however, should always be ploughed rather than spaded and as deep ploughing as possible should be the rule. If the soil is good go as close to the bottom of it as possible, the shallow ploughing so universal—seldom more than six inches in depth, does not give a mellow bed for any but shallow rooted vegetables. Carrots, salsify, parsnips and similar long-rooted things must fairly drill their way into the hard ground below the shallow cultivation, this resulting in deformed20, stunted21 or many twigged22 roots, unsalable and of little value for the home table. The long, smooth, beautiful bottoms are only produced5 by deep cultivation to start with and, of course, the subsequent cultivation must efficiently23 supplement this. A very excellent method of preparing the ground would be to turn a deep furrow with the plough and follow this with the subsoil plough, stirring up the subsoil, but not mixing it with the top soil; this would give several inches of loose soil beneath the first furrows24 that the roots could readily penetrate25. So many consider that all the fertility in a soil is contained in the few top inches of soil, and in a measure this is true—the available fertility is right there—but there is a wealth of unused fertility in the lower strata26, but lack of cultivation, lack of moisture and most of all, lack of the humus which makes the soil retentive27 of moisture, render it unavailable, but if it is broken up and gradually mixed with the humus of the upper soil it becomes available and the soil is increasing in fertility instead of growing thinner and poorer year by year.
Following the ploughing comes the smoothing and leveling of the ground by dragging with a6 spiked28 or spring tooth harrow; this part of the work should be very thoroughly29 done; too fine a seed bed can never be produced, whatever the means employed and the use of drags and harrows by no means spells the whole operation of fitting a garden for planting. After the dragging the garden rake is in order and the ground must be raked over and over until thoroughly fine and free from roughage of sticks, stones, clods and the like. If any weeds have been drawn30 to the surface in dragging they must be pulled out and thrown aside. If there is a dead furrow in the middle of the plot then the raking should be towards that from both directions so as to fill it in as much as possible and so restore the level of the ground.
It is not necessary to rake the entire garden at once if time and strength are at a premium31. One may rake a space sufficient for the first planting and when that is done rake another space and so equalize the labor32, but it is easier to rake soon after the preliminary fitting is done than to leave it until a rain has packed the earth and made it7 heavy to move. A good rain, however, should always precede the planting, if possible, as newly worked ground is not sufficiently33 settled for sowing seed and not so desirable for setting out of plants.
The arrangement of the vegetables in the garden has much to do with the convenience of caring for it. It is always a good arrangement to plant the early vegetables, such as lettuce, radishes, beets34, endive and onions at the end of the garden nearest the house where they are most easily available as one has occasion to use them in preparing a meal. Then, too, all these small things are planted a standard distance apart—usually twelve or fifteen inches,—twelve if the gardener is addicted35 to trowsers, fifteen if skirts are in evidence, for it is difficult to work in a narrower space, especially among the tender tops of seedling36 onions, in petticoats. So, with the rows running north and south, that the vegetables may receive the greatest possible amount of sunshine, and the vegetables planted in consecutive37 rows of increasing distances apart, one has a8 planting schedule economical of space and labor.
This order of planting should also be made to include height as well as distance apart of the rows of vegetables. Low growing things should always occupy the front rows of space and not be overshaded by tall growths. For this reason the planting of sweet corn in the garden plot is not desirable; it is best to give this a space by itself—preferably on the north side of the garden. Vine vegetables, too, have little place in the garden proper—a place for them on the south side of the garden should be reserved if possible, for with the best of management they will break bounds and encroach on other plants. I recall a planting of English marrows38 which were placed in the garden next to a row of red peppers. They were bought for bush marrows but proved to be the vine variety and in a month's time had practically taken possession of that end of the garden; peppers and tomatoes were smothered39 under a luxuriant growth of squash vines whose luxuriance was only equalled by the astonishing amount of fruit they bore. In desperate9 effort to check their encroachments great lengths of vines, bearing half grown marrows, were ruthlessly removed with no more apparent result than to encourage a still more luxuriant growth and to increase the gardener's knowledge of the amount of pruning40 a really ambitions, vigorous vine will stand.
The bush varieties of many vegetables are a great boon41 to the small home gardener as most of them are prolific42 bearers and require no more room than a hill of potatoes or an eggplant. Squash, melons, lima beans—all have dwarf43 forms that are preferable to the usual vine varieties.
The home garden should not be too large—a plot forty by eighty feet will grow all the summer and winter vegetables a small family can make use of and a considerable surplus for sale, especially is this the case where the corn and vines are planted outside the garden proper. Potatoes, too, are excluded from this estimate, though a few rows of early potatoes may find room available.
The accompanying planting table, while intended10 to be merely suggestive will be of use as indicating the amount of room required for the several varieties of plants and a convenient arrangement. The amount to be grown of any one variety however, must be decided44 by the individual gardener and it will be time well spent to make a diagram for one's self, based on the amount of various vegetables that experience shows to be needed. To those vegetables to which the family are most addicted should always be added a few that are grown with the occasional guest in mind and the few things that one likes to try from season to season, and that add zest45 to gardening but should never be allowed to occupy space needed for more standard sorts.
PLANTING-TABLE FOR A SMALL GARDEN APPROXIMATELY FORTY BY EIGHTY FEET
Lettuce—May King, 1 row. Transplant from hotbed to 9 in. apart ?
Onions—Transplanted seedlings46 of Prizetaker, Ailsa Craig
or Silver Skin, 1 in. 1 oz.
Parsley—Dwarf Perfection. Transplant to 9 in. apart 1 Pkt.
Endive—One row, Giant Fringed. Transplant to 9 in.
apart 1 Pkt.
Beets—Two rows, Crosby's Egyptian. Thin to 3 in. 2 oz.
Carrots—Two rows, Danvers Half Long. Thin to 3 in. 1 oz.
Parsnips—Large Sugar or Hollow Crown. Two rows.
Thin to 3 in. ? oz.
11Salsify—Two rows, smooth, Mammoth47 Sandwich Island.
Thin to 3 in. 1 oz
Spinach—One row, All Season. Thin to 8 in. ? oz.
Lima Beans—Fordhook Bush. Thin to 6 in. 2 lb.
String Beans—Wardwell's Kidney Wax, or Navy Beans.
Two rows 2 lb.
Peas—Double rows, Senator, Gradus, Telephone. On wire
netting 2 lb.
Peppers—One row, Ruby48 Giant, Bull Nose, or Pimento.
12 in. apart 1 Pkt.
Bush Muskmelons—Three ft. apart 1 Pkt.
Okra—Perkins' Long Pod. Half row, thin to 1 foot ? lb.
Eggplant—Black Beauty. 18 in. 1 Pkt.
Early Potatoes—Dreer's Perfection, Early Ohio. Fifteen
inches apart 1 Pkt.
Cauliflower—Early Snowball. Twenty in. apart 1 Pkt.
Cauliflower—Dry Weather. Twenty in. apart 1 Pkt.
Cabbage—Late Flat Dutch. 2 ft. apart 1 Pkt.
Squash—Delicious, Burbank's Hubbard. 6 ft. apart each
way 1 oz.
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auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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lettuce
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| n.莴苣；生菜 | |
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onerous
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| adj.繁重的 | |
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secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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espionage
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| n.间谍行为，谍报活动 | |
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bask
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| vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于 | |
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evergreen
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| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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loam
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| n.沃土 | |
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redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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tenacious
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| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
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maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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thaws
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| n.（足以解冻的）暖和天气( thaw的名词复数 )；（敌对国家之间）关系缓和v.（气候）解冻( thaw的第三人称单数 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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necessitating
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的现在分词 ) | |
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furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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obviates
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| v.避免，消除（贫困、不方便等）( obviate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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twigged
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| 有细枝的，有嫩枝的 | |
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efficiently
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| adv.高效率地，有能力地 | |
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furrows
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| n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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retentive
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| v.保留的，有记忆的；adv.有记性地，记性强地；n.保持力 | |
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spiked
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| adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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beets
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| 甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红 | |
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addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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seedling
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| n.秧苗，树苗 | |
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consecutive
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| adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的 | |
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marrows
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| n.骨髓（marrow的复数形式） | |
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smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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pruning
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| n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分 | |
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boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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seedlings
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| n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 ) | |
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47
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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