Part 5

Muskmelon.—The cultivation of this crop is very much like that of cucumber. Muskmelons are rather more susceptible to cold than the latter, and in consequence the soil and air must be warm before they are planted. The soil must be well drained or they will not succeed. When they have to be planted on land that is cold and poorly drained it is a good plan to plant them on ridges or mounds, about two feet across, raised six inches or so above the general level. This assists the soil in warming up and insures better drainage. A layer of decayed manure about three inches thick, buried in the hills where the plants are to grow, greatly helps this crop and others of a similar nature, such as cucumbers, squash, and pumpkin. Frequent cultivation of the surface soil is necessary to stimulate growth, keep down weeds, and conserve moisture, when the plants are young. Good varieties of muskmelon are _Emerald Gem_, a small or salmon-fleshed form, and _Rocky Ford_ and _Hackensack_, which are of medium size with green flesh.

Okra.—The cultivation of okra is very similar to that of corn, although otherwise they have nothing else in common. It succeeds best in a sandy, well-fertilized loam.

Onion.—There are two ways of producing a crop of onions—from “sets” and from seed. “Sets” are small onions produced by sowing seed very thickly in rather poor soil and allowing the plants to mature as they stand. This results in a crop of small bulbs which are stored over the winter and sold the following spring as onion “sets.” There are two methods of raising onions from seed. The plants may be obtained by sowing the seed in a greenhouse in February, transplanting the seedlings to the open ground in April. The procedure most commonly followed, however, is to plant the seeds in rows a foot apart, in the position where they are to mature, as early as possible in the spring. When the young plants appear they are thinned to four inches apart. If the seedlings are left until they are the thickness of a lead-pencil they may be pulled and used as a salad in the form of bunch onions.

A crop can be produced earlier by the use of “sets.” These are planted in furrows two inches deep, spacing them two inches apart. The soil is then drawn over them and firmed. After some growth has been made, alternate plants may be pulled out and used as salad, leaving the remainder to mature.

Thorough preparation of the soil is essential to achieve success in growing onions. It should be dug up as deeply as possible, thoroughly pulverized, and afterward compacted by rolling with a garden roller or by tramping. Onions succeed best on soil which is fairly retentive of moisture and rich in nitrogen. Top-dressings of hen or sheep manure, or of nitrate of soda, are beneficial to this crop. Remember what has been said previously with regard to taking care not to apply too much of any of these fertilizers. Weeding is a very important operation in connection with onion-growing, and some of it, when the weeds are close to or in the rows, has to be done by hand. If the weeds are allowed to obtain a headway the crop will suffer greatly in consequence.

In wet seasons, and when planted in rich, retentive soils, the bulbs sometimes fail to mature at the proper time. When they show signs of growing too late in the fall, it is customary to go over the plot and break over the tops. This can be done by dragging a board over the onion-bed, or, if the plot is a small one, it may be done by hand. This process arrests growth and causes the bulbs to mature so that they are suitable for winter storage. Immature bulbs will not keep properly.

Standard varieties of onion are _Yellow Danvers_ and _Southport Globe_, which can be obtained in red, white, and yellow forms. _Prize-taker_ is a very large, mild onion which succeeds best when started in a greenhouse.

Parsley succeeds best in a clay loam soil that has been well fertilized with stable manure. The seeds are slow to germinate and it is frequently four or five weeks before the young plants show themselves above the ground. Growth may be hastened by soaking the seeds in tepid water for twenty-four hours before sowing them. They should be planted in rows a foot apart and the young plants thinned to stand six inches apart. _Champion Moss Curled_ is a good variety.

Parsnip.—A long season is required for the development of large roots. The seeds should be sown in April in rows from fifteen to eighteen inches apart, afterward thinning the seedlings so that they stand six inches apart. The seeds are slow in germinating and it is a good plan to sow a few seeds of radish in the drill with them. The radishes germinate quickly and serve to break the surface crust and to mark the row so that cultivation may be performed close to the row without disturbing the parsnip seeds. The radishes are mature and can be pulled and used for the table by the time the parsnips have appeared above the ground.

A deep, loamy soil is most suited for the production of parsnips. In a shallow soil the roots are likely to be stunted and misshapen. The following method of producing extra-large and well-shaped roots is sometimes used by exhibitors of vegetables. Holes about two feet deep and three inches in diameter at the top are made in the ground with a crowbar at intervals of about nine inches. These holes are filled with sifted fertile earth, and three or four seeds planted in each. When the seedlings appear, all but the strongest are pulled out. This method is only to be recommended when it is desired to walk off with the prize for the best parsnips at the county fair or the town vegetable show. _Hollow Crown_ is a good variety.

Peas are essentially a cool-weather crop, and they especially resent hot, dry conditions at the root. For this reason the seeds should be planted just as soon as the ground is workable in the spring. The dwarf varieties can be planted in double rows about six inches apart, leaving a space of eighteen inches or two feet between each double row. The tall varieties, which need support of some kind, may be planted in the same way, but a space varying from three to five feet must be allowed between the rows, according to the height of the variety planted. The taller the variety, the greater is the necessity for ample space between the rows.

It is said to be possible to produce a crop of peas in the fall by sowing the seeds in August, but the writer has never seen much success attained with a crop at this season; at any rate, not in the vicinity of New York. For a late crop of peas it is advisable to dig a trench from six to eight inches deep and sow the seeds in this, covering them with two inches of soil, as usual. Water them thoroughly if the weather is dry. As the plants grow the earth should be gradually drawn into the trench until it is filled up to the surrounding level. This system is adopted so that the roots may be well down in the earth and thus protected from the hot rays of the sun. This is also a good method to adopt for late spring plantings of peas.

A fairly fertile, loamy soil, well drained, but of a retentive nature, is most suited to peas.

_First of All_, thirty inches high, is a good variety of the smooth-seeded type of pea. This type does not possess such a good flavor as the wrinkled-seeded kinds, but the seeds are not likely to rot if planted in cold, wet soil. _Nott’s Excelsior_ is an excellent dwarf variety of the wrinkled-seed type. Of the tall kinds, _Alderman_, five feet in height, _Gradus_, thirty inches, and _Champion of England_, five feet, are to be recommended.

Peppers require very much the same conditions as tomatoes and egg-plant, except that they may be planted somewhat closer together. The rows should be from eighteen inches to two feet apart, with the plants spaced from one to two feet apart in the rows. _Bull Nose_ and _Chinese Giant_ are good examples of the mild, sweet kinds, with _Golden Queen_ to give color variation in the salad made from them. _Long Red Cayenne_ and _Red Chili_ should be chosen if the peppery varieties are desired.

Potato.—The largest crops of potatoes are produced in cool, moist, climates such as are found in Great Britain, parts of Europe, and, in the United States, in Maine and Michigan.

The soils best suited for potatoes are fertile, rather sandy loams which should be fairly retentive of moisture. A soil of this nature which has been heavily fertilized with barn-yard manure the preceding year may be considered ideal for potato culture. The use of barn-yard manure, particularly if it is fresh, is inadvisable if the soil contains a good proportion of humus and is in good physical condition. It is claimed that the practice of using barn-yard manure the current season causes the crop to be more susceptible to attacks of potato scab. Many of the largest growers of potatoes refrain from fertilizing directly with barn-yard manure, but rely instead on the use of commercial fertilizers. These may be applied broadcast over the field in the spring, after the soil has been plowed, and harrowed in. If only a small quantity of fertilizer is available, it is preferable to apply it by spreading it in the furrows, but thoroughly mixing it in the soil before the potatoes are planted. The fertilizer obtainable from most seedsmen under the name of “potato manure” can safely be used in the furrows at the rate of five pounds to a plot of four hundred square feet.

“Seed” potatoes should consist of medium-sized tubers, Northern grown, and free from disease. Although whole potatoes may be planted, the usual practice is to cut them into pieces, each piece containing two or three “eyes,” or buds. When cutting the potatoes for sets make each piece as “chunky” as possible so that there is a good-sized piece of potato for the “eyes” to draw upon for their food supply until they have formed a root system of their own.

There are two methods of planting potatoes—in hills and in furrows or rows. In the hill system of planting, the plants are spaced from two to three feet apart either way, the distance being dependent on the vigor of the variety. When planted in furrows the rows are spaced from two to three feet apart and the sets placed from twelve to eighteen inches apart in the rows. The early varieties may be planted about four inches deep, and the late varieties about six inches.

When the shoots appear above the ground the surface soil should be cultivated to conserve moisture and to keep down weeds. Later in the season when the tubers are being formed it is customary to hill them up with earth so as to cover the tubers and prevent “greening,” and also to assist in keeping the roots cool.

The potato is particularly susceptible to environmental conditions. A variety that may be an excellent cropper in one section may be an utter failure in another. It is thus difficult to recommend any particular variety. The best plan for those who are to attempt the cultivation of potatoes is to make inquiry in the neighborhood with a view to finding the variety that is most successful in that locality.

The following are standard varieties that are widely grown: early varieties—_Irish Cobbler_, _Early Rose_, _Early Ohio_; main-crop varieties—_Carman No. 1_, _Green Mountain_, and _Rural New-Yorker_.

Pumpkins will succeed under practically the same conditions as outlined for cucumber and melon. They are also subject to the same insect pests. This crop is frequently grown in the corn-patch, in hills about eight feet apart each way, planting five or six seeds to a hill.

Radishes are only palatable when they have been grown very quickly. If they are slow in coming to maturity the product is pithy and worthless.

A light, rich soil is most suited to the production of radishes. The seeds should be sown in rows nine inches or a foot apart and the seedlings thinned to about two inches. It does not pay to transplant radishes. Five or six feet of row is sufficient to plant at one time, securing a succession by planting other batches at intervals of about ten days. Radishes are usually not in great demand during the summer months, as the home grower has been surfeited by his spring crop. Those who are so fond of radishes that they want them throughout the whole season should plant _White Strasburg_ or _Icicle_ to mature during the hot weather, and _Cardinal Globe_, _Round Red Forcing_, or _French Breakfast_ for an early crop.

_Winter radishes_, which form very large roots and may be stored by the same methods adopted for beets and carrots, are usually sown about the end of July or beginning of August. They need more space in which to mature—about eighteen inches between the rows and six inches in the rows.

Rutabaga.—See Turnip.

Salsify or _Vegetable Oyster_ is a vegetable that is coming into more general use. Seeds are sown early in the spring on deeply broken ground in rows fifteen inches apart, and the plants thinned to three inches. The roots are dug in the fall and stored like beets, or they may be left in the ground and dug when required for use, if the weather permits.

Spinach is a cool-weather crop that requires a light soil heavily manured with decayed stable manure for best results. The seeds should be planted in very early spring or in September, in rows fifteen inches apart, and the plants thinned to stand four inches apart. Nitrate of soda as recommended for kohlrabi is good for this crop.

Spinach (New Zealand).—Although called spinach, this is an entirely different plant and belongs to another family. It luxuriates during hot weather and will supply the table plentifully with “greens” throughout the summer. Seeds should be planted during April or May in rows two feet apart, the plants later being thinned to one foot. When the plants attain a foot in height picking may begin, using the tender shoot-tips, or leaves, as required. The thinnings, of course, are also available for cooking.

Squash.—Cultivate the same as cucumber. The bush varieties should be planted four feet apart each way, and the vining kinds from six to eight feet.

There are several different types of squash. The summer kinds are represented by the _Pattypan_ and _Crookneck_ types, and the winter varieties by the _Hubbard_.

They are subject to much the same insect pests and diseases as the cucumber and muskmelon.

Sweet Potatoes are not very well adapted for Northern gardens, although they are grown to a considerable extent in parts of New Jersey.

They succeed best in a rich, sandy soil. The “sets” are usually planted on slightly raised, broad ridges about four feet apart. They are spaced from twelve to eighteen inches apart along the ridges.

The production of “sets” is usually effected by placing small potatoes in a hotbed and covering them with sand. This causes them to sprout, and when the shoots are six or eight inches in length they are pulled off with roots attached and planted as described.

_Yellow Jersey_ is a good variety for Northern planting.

Swiss Chard.—See under Chard.

Tomato.—This plant adapts itself to a great variety of soils, and will succeed almost anywhere if it receives warmth and sunshine.

It is seldom worth while for any one without greenhouse facilities, unless he wishes to have the experience, to raise tomatoes from seed. Young plants can be obtained at a low cost at planting-time from seedsmen who have every convenience for raising them cheaply.

The distance apart between the plants when they are set out in the garden depends on the method of training adopted. The truck farmers and market gardeners seldom go to the trouble of staking their plants. They are simply set out in the field three or four feet apart each way and allowed to grow naturally. This results in the spoiling of some of the fruit through coming in contact with the soil.

The home gardener can usually afford the time and trouble required to stake his tomatoes, and receives his reward in the shape of more fruit of better quality.

One method of training is to set out the plants a foot apart in rows three feet apart. If this scheme is adopted each plant must be supplied with a stout stake to which it is tied, and the plant must be restricted to a single stem. This last is effected by pinching out the side shoots with thumb and finger as soon as they are formed. Avoid taking off the flowering shoots or you will have no fruit.

Another method is to set the plants three feet by two feet, and support them as described in Chapter X. In this case it is advisable to prune out the thin, spindly shoots which frequently congregate in the centers of the plants. This causes the vigor of the plant to be concentrated in the strong, fruiting shoots, admits light and air, resulting in better ripened tomatoes.

They can also be trained on the south side of the house, supporting them with tape or cloth passed around the shoots and fastened to the wall with tacks.

Favorite tomatoes are _Chalk’s Early Jewel_ for an early crop, _Stone_ and _Ponderosa_ for main crop. In small gardens _Dwarf Stone_ can be used to advantage.

Turnip is a hardy crop well suited for early spring or late fall cultivation. For the early crop such varieties as _Snowball_ or _Early White Milan_ should be planted. The seed may be sown as soon as the ground is prepared in the spring, in rows a foot apart. When they are large enough the young plants must be thinned out to stand about four inches apart.

_Yellow Globe_, _Golden Ball_, or the white strap-leaf kinds may be sown for fall use. They are cultivated in the same way as the preceding except that the seeds are sown in July or August.

_Rutabaga turnips_ grow much larger than the preceding, require more room, and a longer period for development. They can be sown in May or June in rows two feet apart, and the young plants thinned out to stand about ten inches apart in the rows. Treated in this way, they will form large roots suitable for winter storage.

Turnips succeed best in a loamy soil in which there has been incorporated a liberal supply of well-decayed stable manure.

Watermelon.—These plants succeed under much the same conditions, and need the same treatment as muskmelon. They are rampant growers and the hills should be spaced about eight feet apart each way. They are, therefore, not adapted for cultivation in very small gardens.

The striped cucumber-beetle is also partial to watermelon.

For planting in Northern gardens, quick-maturing varieties such as _Cole’s Early_ and _Fordhook_ should be planted.

XIV HARVESTING AND STORING

The flavor and tenderness of many vegetables depend in a large measure on their being harvested at the proper time. The picking of string-beans should be early, constant, and methodical, partly because old beans are stringy and unpalatable and partly because, if picking is neglected and the plants allowed to form seed, production ceases. Peas should always be picked just as soon as the pods are well filled, before the seeds commence to harden. Their flavor deteriorates if they are picked more than an hour or two before they are needed for the table. The same remarks apply to sweet corn. There is an old saying that “the pot should be boiling before the ears are picked from the plant.”

Great care should be taken in harvesting beets. If the roots are bruised or broken, or if the leaves are cut off too close to the root, the color of the beets, one of their greatest attractions, will be lost in cooking. The crispness of salad plants—celery, lettuce, radish, and onion—is enhanced if they are gathered early in the morning and stood in water in a shady, cool place until they are required for use. Such crops as Brussells sprouts, kale, celery, and parsnips are considered to be improved in flavor after they have been slightly frozen. The fruits of tomato, watermelon, and muskmelon should be allowed to ripen on the plants. Muskmelons are ripe when the fruit parts readily from the stem on being lifted in the hand.

Proper harvesting is a prime necessity if vegetables are to be successfully stored for winter use. Bruised, broken or diseased vegetables should always be rejected, as decay is almost certain to take place when they are stored, and this is likely to spread to the sound vegetables.

A cellar with an earthen floor, well ventilated and frost-proof, in which a temperature of from 40° to 45° Fahr. can be maintained, forms a splendid storage-place for potatoes, the majority of the root crops, and some of the leaf vegetables. If there is a furnace in the cellar which raises the temperature too much, the coolness required may be obtained by partitioning off part of the cellar, preferably in a corner containing a window, so that ventilation may be secured.

Quite a number of vegetables can be successfully stored in the open by burying them in pits or trenches and covering with straw, salt hay, and earth. Some of the disadvantages of this method are the inaccessibility of the vegetables when the weather is severe, and the difficulty of looking them over occasionally so that diseased and decayed specimens may be removed. When storing vegetables in this way it is important that the whole of the covering should not be put on at one time, as this endangers the whole pile of vegetables through the possibility of heating.

_Root, Tuber, and Bulb Crops_

Artichoke (Jerusalem).—The tubers of this plant are unaffected by frost and may be allowed to remain in the ground all winter. In those sections where the frost penetrates the ground deeply a supply sufficient for use during the winter should be dug in the fall and stored in sand in a cool cellar.

Parsnip, Horseradish, and Salsify may be treated in the same way as the preceding.

Beets should be carefully dug up after the first frost and handled gently to avoid breaking or bruising them. Cut off the leaves about an inch above the roots and pack them with moist sand or earth in boxes in a cool cellar. Covering the roots in this way maintains their freshness and prevents shriveling.

Carrots.—In the fall large numbers of fibrous roots are produced on the sides of the large tap-root. These roots spoil the symmetry of the carrots and impair their flavor. The crop should therefore be harvested before these fibrous roots form. Observation of the roots is the only way of determining the proper time to dig them up. In other respects they are stored the same as beets.

Potatoes for winter use should be dug on a dry day as soon as possible after the tops have died down. Leave them lying on the surface of the ground for a few hours, so that they may dry properly. (It is inadvisable to allow them to be exposed to the light for too long a period, as it will cause the tubers to become green and unfit for use.) They can then be gathered up and placed in boxes or barrels in a cool, frost-proof cellar, but not exposed to the light. All diseased or injured tubers should be laid aside for immediate use, provided they are not too far gone, in which case they may be boiled and fed to pigs or chickens, or destroyed by burning, so as to avoid the possibility of spreading disease.