Part 3

The CULTIVATOR is the most important and most frequently used tool in the garden, and should be of the best make obtainable. I consider the IRON AGE or PLANET, JR., the best, they having a light iron frame which is very strong without being clumsy; the spreading bars close inward, so that they do not catch or interfere with the plants in narrow rows, and admit of working rows not more than two feet apart, so that the ground can be cropped to its full capacity. They have a variety of adjustable and reversible teeth, including plow, shovel and cutting teeth, which will throw the soil to or from the row, or leave it loose and level; in light soil this cultivator will loosen and let in the air seven or eight inches deep. These adjustable teeth are all sharpened at each end so that they can be turned around, so saving the number of times that they will need grinding, as both ends can be used and one grinding suffice where it would take two in the ordinary style of teeth. When worn out, the whole set can be taken off and new ones purchased at a very moderate cost. This part of the implement should be well watched and the teeth kept in good cutting condition, as it will not only kill the weeds a great deal more thoroughly when sharp, but will also be much lighter of draft.

Next to the cultivator comes the WHEEL HOE or hand cultivator. By the use of this implement, roots and small growing vegetables, such as onions, beets, parsnips, lettuce, radishes, parsley, etc., may be planted and thoroughly worked in rows from six to twenty-four inches apart; thus more than doubling the amount that can be raised by horse cultivation. A good implement will not throw dirt over the small plants as the larger cultivator does, so that the rows can be worked closely enough to avoid having to be gone over with the hand hoe after the thinning out has been done. In my experience, I have found that a man can hoe more ground and do it twice as deep and well in one hour with one of these implements than he could do in a day with the old style hand hoe. There are numerous styles of wheel hoes on the market, but the only good one that I have ever seen is “Lee’s Wheel Hoe,” which is made in Philadelphia under the patent of the inventor, who is himself a prominent trucker. It is strong, light and well built; it has five sharp, finger-shaped teeth back of the wheel, which loosen and pulverize the soil, and a broad hoe blade behind, which travels beneath the surface, turning the soil over and cutting off under ground any weeds which may be in its track. When the soil is in good order, it leaves it as smooth and fine as would a steel rake. To obtain the best results with this tool or with the cultivator, you should go through each row three or four times, so as to pulverize and work over the soil thoroughly. The hoe blades are of different widths, for working rows of different widths, a set of three going with each implement. These hoes can easily be sharpened by any blacksmith. Keep them well sharpened, and it will be surprising to note how much less muscle it takes to push them and how much better the work is done. I have tried several different makes, as I work an acre or more each year with one of these hoes and a “Fire-fly” hand plow, which is run before the wheel hoe when the ground is very hard, and Lee’s is the only one that works satisfactorily. When the ground is in the best condition a man can hoe the acre in a single day, so that it will readily be seen what a labor saver it is.

The FIRE-FLY HAND PLOW just spoken of is a very convenient tool for making drills, and will plow out a furrow from one to four inches deep, for sowing peas, corn, beans, etc., and coming back alongside of the open furrow will cover them nicely, not taking one-quarter of the time necessary to make the drill with a hoe and cover with a rake, as it is ordinarily done. It is also very handy to strike out a furrow in this way when planting strawberries, cabbages, tomatoes, etc., especially where two are employed on the same work, as one can strike out the furrows, and drop a plant where each one is to stand, while the other, following, sets the plant with one hand and with the other pulls in and places the loose covering dirt, and finally tramps the soil firmly round the new-set plants with his feet. These two last-mentioned tools are very useful in the ordinary small garden; they enable the work to be done much more quickly and very much more thoroughly than is often the case, the spring spading being generally the only good stirring the soil gets in the season.

A SEED DRILL is a very handy tool, but it is quite expensive. In the kitchen garden there is seldom more than one or two rows across the garden to be sown with any one kind of seed, and this can be done almost in the time it would take to adjust the drill, although the drill works a great deal more evenly than the seed can be sown by hand. On a farm where root crops are raised for soiling, the drill will be a measure of economy, even for a single season, and can readily be used in the garden. The combined implements, with plowing and hoeing attachments, are “a delusion and a snare;” if you want a tool that will do good work, and will not get out of order or break, do not have it “combined” with anything else.

Of HAND-HOES, STEEL RAKES, TROWELS, SPADES, SHOVELS, ETC., there should be enough to furnish each man employed, as it is frequently desirable to have all hands working on the same job. Of these, the hoes, spades and trowels should have an intimate and frequent calling acquaintance with the grind-stone. It is much easier to work with a _sharp_ hoe or spade, and the work is much better when done.

There should be a good stout cotton LINE, long enough to reach across the garden, and a reel to keep it on is a great convenience, as it takes such a short time to wind it up that there is not the same temptation to leave it out all night. A good cotton line, carefully housed, will last for years, and is one of the most important requisites in the garden. Neatness is one of the essentials of good gardening, and I have never known a gardener successful who was “hit or miss” in laying out his rows; every plant must be squarely in the row to admit of close working with the cultivator. If it is necessary to keep a few inches away from the row to avoid cutting the stragglers, either the soil is not loosened around the plant as it should be, or it has to be gone over with the hand hoe, which consumes time in a large garden.

PLANTING THE GARDEN.

It is common in most gardens to plant blackberries, raspberries, currants, etc., around the fences. This is not only a waste of half the fruit, as it can only be borne on one side, but involves much needless labor in keeping the plants trimmed and worked, and unless hoed frequently the plot becomes a harbor for weeds. The only advantage in so planting is the protection the fence affords in winter, as it catches the flying leaves and weeds in the fall, and these with the shade afforded by the fence and drifted snow make a natural protection for the roots and canes. It is not the severity of the frost which determines the hardiness of a plant, so much as its ability to withstand freezing and thawing in rapid succession. For this reason I would have the small fruits planted at the north side of the garden, especially if it be the highest part, and if there is some kind of wind-break or protection, as this will cause the snow to drift and lie longer, making a natural covering, while the slope will drain the surface water quickly away, so that it does not form hard ice around the crowns.

If it were possible, I would prefer to have no fence around the garden, as it makes it much easier to keep clean. A fence is always a nuisance and waste of ground unless absolutely necessary; but if a fence is needed, have one that will not only keep out stock, but also the gardener’s most aggravating enemy, the poultry. A scratching hen seems to have an instinct which tells her as soon as the seed has been planted, and which are the hills containing the choicest varieties.

In plowing the ground in the early spring, I think it is best not to plow more than is needed for the first planting, and to plow the remainder somewhat later, when it has become more dry and friable, as it will not then become packed and hard again by the heavy spring rains. For the first planting the ground should be plowed and planted as soon as it can be got in order; the hardier vegetables will even stand a light frost, and while adapting their growth to the weather, will be ready to take advantage of the first warm spring days. I shall speak of the time of planting and sowing in the chapters devoted to the separate treatment of the different vegetables.

The following simple test will be of use to the novice in determining not only when to plow, but also when to cultivate and hoe the ground. Take a portion of the soil in the hand and try to press it into a ball; if it makes a ball and sticks to the hand it is too wet, while if it crushes hard it is too dry. In both cases, if worked in this condition, it will be left in a hard and lumpy state, that will take a long time to bring into good order. To be in good working condition the soil should crumble easily and finely in the hand, and should leave no dirt adhering to the fingers. It will not only give the best results when worked in this state, but it can also be done in half the time. Sometimes we cannot wait until the ground is in the very best order, as in a drought in summer, when it is needed for the second crop. In such a case it must be brought into as fine condition as possible by repeated harrowing and rolling; the latter is an operation too frequently neglected in the ordinary garden; every farmer knows the value of having the soil firmly compacted round the fresh-sown grain, and it is of equal value in every variety of seed sown in the garden. Where there is not room for the roller to be used after sowing a row, I always have it pressed in by the broad sole of the gardener’s boot, which nature usually provides shall be of generous size. It is even more important that the soil should be firmly pressed around the roots of newly-set plants, as if this is not done the first heavy rain uses the roots as water courses, and deprived of contact with the soil, the roots rot off and the plants are stunted or die.

Among the first things to be planted in the spring are the small fruits, such as grapes, blackberries, raspberries, currants, strawberries, etc. These should all be in the kitchen garden, and with them the rhubarb and asparagus beds, where they can and will be cultivated as well as the vegetables, the soil kept loose and free from weeds, that they may devote their energies to making strong canes and bearing fine fruit, instead of wasting their strength in a continuous battle for life with grass and weeds, leaving them an easy prey to insects and disease. Those who have never given them this thorough cultivation will be surprised at the large crops and superior quality of the fruit that can be raised under these favorable circumstances. These fruits, when once planted, with the exception of strawberries, last for many years if well manured, trimmed and cultivated. They should all be at one side of the garden, where they will not be in the way of working the garden with the large plow in the spring and fall, but should have their own plowing with the small plow, two to four inches in depth, spring and fall. In the fall plowing the furrows should be turned toward the row, which will bank them up slightly and afford additional protection through the winter. In the spring this ridge can be worked down level again with the plow and cultivator, the dirt from around the crowns being drawn away with an ordinary hand hoe.

In planting the rows in the spring, the width of the cultivator and swingle tree must be taken into account. If the ground has been heavily manured the vegetables can be planted as closely as will admit of working, and allowing a good supply of light and air to the roots, excepting melons, and other vines, which should have plenty of room in which to spread and sun themselves. Thus, peas, beets, bush beans, etc., can be sowed as closely as two and one-half feet apart, while corn, pole beans, etc., which grow as high as the horse’s sides and the cultivator handles, should have the rows four or four and one-half feet apart, not only to allow of working but to admit of the sunshine and air penetrating to the roots.

WHAT TO GROW.

ASPARAGUS.

This is the earliest vegetable to be ready for use in the spring, excepting those that have been forwarded under glass. While it is quite hardy and withstands much ill treatment, nothing will better repay careful culture and generous feeding. One row across the kitchen garden would make a liberal supply for an average family. The seed should be sown where the row is to stand, and the young plants thinned out until they stand one foot apart in the row. This should be done as soon as they are three or four inches high and well started; if left longer it will be a very troublesome job. These young plants should have every encouragement of manure and cultivation, to make as strong a growth as possible; the stronger and faster they grow the better will be the size and quality of the shoots when old enough to cut. No shoots should be cut until the third spring after sowing, and then should not be cut too long the first season. The fourth and succeeding seasons it may be cut from the time the first shoots appear until the first peas and lettuce are ready to take its place on the table. Then it should be well worked and allowed to attain its full growth, that strength may be stored in the crowns to furnish the shoots for the next season’s cutting. As soon as the tops begin to yellow, and the berries to ripen in the fall, it should be mowed off close to the ground and the tops burnt, taking care that all the seeds are consumed; if left on the plants all winter the seed becomes scattered, and, owing to its capacity for sending up shoots, it is a very difficult weed to exterminate. If you do not wish the labor of sowing the seed and tending the young plants, a year can be gained by purchasing the plants. The one-year old plants are preferable unless the older ones have been transplanted each year, as they are gross feeders, and become stunted if allowed to crowd each other while young. To produce the large, fat shoots, it is necessary that the seed shall have been saved from the strongest shoots obtainable, and the plants fed constantly. The best way is to cover the crowns, after the ground is frozen in the fall, with as much manure as can be spared, and work it down to the roots in the spring as soon as it can be forked in; or, if there are several rows, the manure could be placed on them thickly and the soil ridged over it for the winter by throwing up a couple of shallow furrows with the plow; this to be worked down with a sharp harrow in the spring. As soon as it is dry enough in the spring, the soil and manure of the bed should be lightly forked over with a manure fork and the surface raked fine; the reason for using the stable fork is that the tines are slightly curved, and if the handle is held in a nearly horizontal position the bed can be dug down to the roots, and the fork will slide right over the tops of the crowns without injuring them. Where more than one row is desired they should be planted about three feet apart, to admit of cultivation and free access to the beds for cutting. An advantage in sowing the seed is that the crowns are naturally established at a proper depth. In planting the crowns obtained from the nursery-man they should be set at a depth of three or four inches at the most; not one foot under the surface, as is the common practice of truckers. Market gardeners cut the shoots as soon as the tips appear above the surface, so that their shoots are blanched for their whole length; but they do this at the expense of the table quality, as only the tips are edible in this way, and even these taste very much like old hay to any one who has been accustomed to the richness and delicate flavor of shoots cut at the surface when they are from three to four inches in height; this method has also the advantage of not destroying the young shoots just coming up, as the stalks are only cut an inch or so underground, and the knife only reaches the one intended to be cut. If the appearance of the blanched asparagus is desired, it can be much better obtained (that is, with less sacrifice of quality) by placing four or five inches of hay, straw or other litter over the crowns, which can be pushed away from the stalk when cutting and easily replaced. There is another strong reason for not following the deep planting, as usually practiced, and that is, in having your crowns so much nearer the surface they feel the warming and growing influence of the sun sooner in the season, and you are able to have your asparagus for cutting a full week earlier than your neighbor who plants deep.

VARIETIES OF ASPARAGUS.

As mentioned above, this succulent is capable of great improvement by careful selection of seed from the best stalks. The old Purple Top variety is no longer grown, its place having been taken by the larger shoots and better quality of the variety known as Conover’s Colossal. This latter, however, has been propagated so extensively and with so little care that it is now almost impossible to obtain seed or plants that will produce the splendid shoots of the original stock. Of the new varieties Barr’s Mammoth seems to be the most promising, and as grown in some fields in the vicinity of Philadelphia produces shoots which will average nearly an inch in diameter.

BEANS.

The first planting of snaps or dwarf bush beans can be made when the first planting of peas and beets are sown, but will not do as well nor produce beans of as fine quality as those planted about two weeks later, when the weather has become warmer and more settled. These yield very abundantly, and a drill fifty feet long will produce as many as can be used in a large family. While planting in a drill, for the sake of convenience and quickness in planting, the seed should be dropped in hills about ten inches apart and five seeds to a hill. If the beans are kept picked closely, the plants will continue longer in bearing, and they may be had throughout the season if successive plantings are made, though the pole snaps are to be preferred through the summer and fall, for their greater bearing qualities and the ease of gathering them. In both the bush and pole snaps, care should be taken to secure varieties that are entirely stringless, as they are not only much easier to prepare for use, but are much more tender. The different “Wax” varieties are very fine, but the bush beans of this class have not done well in this locality for the last three seasons, the pods being covered with a species of black spot or rot that spoils fully two-thirds of them.[1]

The pole beans should not be planted until the ground is thoroughly warmed in the spring, or until the thermometer stands over 60° all night. It is quite common to plant these with poles 8 to 9 feet in height. I think this is a mistake, as no ordinary picker can reach higher than about six feet to advantage, and as the vines grow to the tops of the poles before commencing to fruit, both beans and time are lost. The poles should be set in rows four and one-half feet apart and two and one-half to three feet apart in the rows. Two hundred poles of Limas will furnish an ample supply throughout the season, and will ripen a bushel of dried beans for winter use as well. Twenty-five poles will furnish an ample supply of snaps, though we allowed one row across the garden in the diagram given, the surplus being allowed to ripen for winter use. Where the saving of room is an object and the ground has been well manured, these pole snaps can be planted in the hills of corn, and allowed to use the stalks as poles; they will produce a good crop, but not nearly so many, nor are they as easy to pick as when grown on the poles. For this purpose they should be planted with some strong growing variety of corn, such as Stowell’s Evergreen or other late variety.