Farm Gardening with Hints on Cheap Manuring / Quick Cash Crops and How to Grow Them

y, water cress, cucumbers, egg plants, kale, lettuce, melons, mushrooms, onions, peas, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, sweet pota

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w during freshets, but innumerable spots exist where such meadows could with safety be converted into celery gardens, capable of easy irrigation, either situated above the level of f

s required in the two points of bleaching and storing. But there are no mysterious processes to be learned. The Kalamazoo growers have, it is true, a rare advantage in their deep muck soil, with a permanent wat

e for plant food, more likely to produce rust, and more liable to open the soil and render it too dry. Commercial fertilizers are not infrequently used, but t

upon the land per year, by a system of planting between rows, but in the operations of farm gardeners not more than one crop per season is grown. This may follow an earlier market crop, such as peas, beans, onio

will, therefore, be ample time for sowing the seed, which should be scattered thinly in rows in finely-raked mellow so

large operations, the plants are thinned out in the original rows, and carried from thence direct to the field. The

-Blanching Celery P

rt, depending on the purpose of the planter, and the plants 5 or 6 inches apart in the rows. If the celery is to be stored for blanching, 3-feet rows m

,500 to 3,000 plants. A half pound is s

t out later than August 15th (in the latitu

s everywhere. Trenching is still followed in some private

hough seed of the giant sorts can still be obtained. The dwarf kinds are large enough for all purposes, however, and are

ued selection of individual plants or sports showing a tendency to blanch easily. For winter keeping, the Perle Le Grand, Winter Queen and Perfection Heartw

le Le Grand for both early and late and Winter Queen for late. The latter

shallow feeding habits. The surface soil should be highly enriched, the stirring of the soil very shallow, and the wa

while with the other the soil is drawn together and packed so as to hold the stalks in an upright, compact position. This single operation will fit some of the early-planted sorts

nly of vegetable matter. They first "handle," as just described, and about five days later draw 6 inches more of the muck about the celery stal

ks in an upright, compact position, so that little or no soil can get into the heart of the plant. The second draws about the plant all the soil that will conveni

, is employed. The boards rest on their edges, one board on each side of the row, the tops being drawn together

y and unfrozen. In fact, celery must never be handled when wet (except

muck soil, underlaid with standing water. This has attracted the best celery growers of the country; men who have small places of from one to three acres, and who work out every detail to perfection, employing little labor outside of their own families and concen

not hard to learn. Both at Kalamazoo and here in the Eastern States there are two methods

Celery w

e Best Late Wint

imes there are glass windows in the roof, provided with wooden shutters. The celery stands upon the floor, which is of loose soil. There is a narrow walk lengthwise in the middle of the building, and boards extending from the central walk to the side walls separate the packed celery into narrow sections. No earth is placed between the celery stalks

, with perpendicular sides, and a foot or less in width. The stalks are set upright in the trench, with all decayed or worthless leaves removed, as closely as they will stand, without soil between them. To keep them in that condition is purely a matter of care. If they are buried deeply and

ards to turn the rain, on top of which a greater or less

stored celery, but are more easily contro

d a foot deep, with damp sand in the bottom. No soil is needed between th

th in the seed-bed and open field. For rust, the Bordeaux mixture is advised. Hollow-stemmed or pithy celer

is quite feasible. The plants stand so close as to blanch each other to some extent, but the system has never at

a first-class article. The cash results may be set at anywhere from $200 to $50

R CR

ity restaurants. It is a much-esteemed winter relish, and is mostly served with every one of the thousands of beef

r Cr

n in the soil of a forcing house under glass, and is

of loam, gravel, or sand, covered with 3 or 4 inches of warm, spring water, will yield great quantities of water cress in early spring; and the use

bunch, or packed in pint boxes, leaves uppermost, and retailed for about 10 cents per box. Th

UMB

but the pickling tub should stand ready to rece

g. At least one shovelful of well-rotted manure is dropped in every hill, and mixed with the soil, and a dozen seeds planted, to

e soil is quite warm. For farm work, the planting season is the latter part of May and the whole of June; and

n all commercial operations, well-known and thoroughly teste

f inverted sod or in small boxes, and set in the open ground on the arrival of settled warm weather;

ood ashes diluted with dry road dust. The best preventive is salt or kainit, used in the hills. The true plan is to have strong, vigorous plants, which, as a rule, will resist and outgrow

t only by cultivation and a sufficient water-supply, but by

seeds, and it will make repeated and long-continued efforts to accomplish this end. In gathering the cucumbers, it is important to

Perfected Jersey

100 to 200 bushels, or even more. When the pickles are pulled while quite small, the number runs up to 125,000 per acre; and the p

gton White Spine. Giant of Pera is a fine table sort. For pickling, plant Johnson

seven applications, at intervals of a week or ten days, to conquer this comparatively new disease. Downy mildew is a fungous trouble affecting the leaves and destroying the further usefulness of the vine. A recent New York experiment showed

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to both the tomato and the potato, but less hardy than either, especially when young. For this reason it is best to delay sowing the seed, even in hot-beds, until cold weather is past, for the tender seedlings never fully recover from a chill or set

d Large Purple Smo

so asks for more water. It is a rank feeder. A good stimulant, if rotted ma

for it is a perishable product. It bears shipment well, but its use is mainly limited to consumption while fresh. It may command

lants will be ready to transplant before the end of the month and large enough for the open field in June. They should be set in ro

it to drop from the stem before reaching maturity. This rot is a fungus, and the Bordeaux mixture is recommended for it. The blight

l-sized fruits, and it is therefore easy to calculate that an

Large Purple Smooth Stem for the use of farm gardeners. For

' Imperial, or L

OR BO

ive over winter in the open ground, with only straw or litter as a protection. If cut for use when frozen it should be thawed out in cold water. The kales are among the most delicately flavored cabbages. Som

h for shipment to the great Northern markets. Where farmers are situated near centres of population where kale is in demand, its culture will be found profitable, as it requires even less labor than cabbage.

rled Scotch; for the North, Johnson & Stokes' New Impe

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ding on the latitude, the seed may be planted from autumn until spring. The plants are usually shelt

y a cool-weather plant,

r or under a frame, and to prick out the plants into more roomy quarters as soon as they are large enough to handle. In a few weeks after transplanting

are varieties well adapted to high temperature, provided good soil and sufficient water be furnished. There is

ig Boston and New Treasure; for the North, New Sensation, Mammoth Salamander and

LO

ing vines. An acre of ground will accommodate only about 450 watermelon hills (at 10 feet each way) or about 1,200 muskmelon

hill is the best known stimulant. All the melons are tender, and are suited only to warm-weather growth, and this fact must be remembered in sowing the seed. Light

eyed Susan

rd rind. It must have a dark pink or red centre and must be a good shipper. It should wei

s a medium-sized variety, which has a thin rind, pink or red f

ure should go into each hill. The planting date is May in this latitude; or

allowed to grow. The end of the main shoots should b

o reach the under side of the leaves. To prevent sunburn on melons, some growers sow buckwheat when the vines are in blossom, and

esale price at Philadelphia, watermelon cul

For home market-Black-Eyed Susan, Florida Favorite, Kentucky Wonder, McIver's W

elon, but being smaller the hills may be closer. It is used in making pres

all. The sorts covered with strongly webbed or netted markings are in high favor for shipping to distant points, as they carry well. Flavor is in p

tted manure. Compost, made of hen manure, is sometimes used in the hill,

The Captain, Champion Market, Improved Netted Gem, Anne Arundel. Late sorts-The Pri

oved Early Jenn

ater; or kerosene emulsion. The latter is made by dissolving half a pound of soft soap in one gallon of water; then adding two gallons of kerosene, churning violently; then diluting with ten or twelve gallons of water. This emulsion is put upon the melon vine

ted Gem Muskmelon

ny part of the country, the farm gardener will

HRO

e requisites are horse manure and a dark cellar, cave or vault. If the manure be available

ms from English

re and loam, three parts by measure of the former and one of the latter, the manure having been somewhat fermented and sweetened by allowing it to heat and turning it several times. A compact bed a

n ten days, more or less, as shown by a thermometer, this danger will be past, and the bed should recei

s sufficiently moist, yet not wet; and that no draft of air has passed over the surface in a way either to reduce the temperature of the bed itself or to dry the soil upon

uare foot. The cash price is from 50 to 75 cents per pound in the large cities; and the crop is sufficiently profitable to warrant

ium being either too wet or too dry; frequent changes of tempe

aper, and carefully covered to prevent evaporation

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t quite as extensively grown as the potato. It is

ders good culture difficult. The best soil for onions is a deep, rich, mellow loam. Soils which afford natur

good top dressing for onion-beds, furnishing the needed nitrogen. Nitrate of soda is a good source of nitrogen, if nitrogen must be purchased. The clovers and other leguminous crops yield the cheapest nitrogen. Wood ashes,

same ground, if well manured. Rotation is necessary only in case of th

per acre. To grow large onions direct from seed, five pounds of seed per acre will be required. To pla

most Popular A

the bulbs have no chance to grow, and the summer weather quickly ripens the tops, completely suspending the growth of the bulb. In s

quite customary in the South to sow onion seed in late summer or autumn; in August or September. This will give early spring onions of marketable size. In the North, within quite recent yea

nches apart, in rows a foot apart, if to be cultivat

er winter, if covered (at the North) with light litter. It is in t

oduce seed the first year, though it often does so. It should, on the contrary, grow to the size of say 3 inches, and then ripen for winter storage. Excessively large on

rable circumstances,

pounds to the bushel) per acre; though 5

ets on our Bucks County Se

y should then be spread out on ventilated trays or racks, or a few inches in depth on a floor, in a dry, shady place, where the air is good, preferably a loft; not a damp cellar. Freezin

f 18 inches on a dry floor or scaffold, and put on a layer of onions from 6 inches to a foot deep, an

d out so as to be perfectly ventilated. Onion sets shrink greatly

Danvers, Southport Globe varieties, Wethersfield, Extra Early Red, Silver Skin, Strasburg, etc.) are usually considered to be the most profitable; but the foreign kinds (Prize Take

iving out over winter. It is sometimes called Egyptian or top

large bulb into numerous small ones, which

er. Earliest Onions are-Extra Early Red Globe Danvers, American Extra Early White Pearl, Rhode Island Yellow Cracker. The best for sets-Extr

the leaves to become covered with whitish or yellowish spots, is best treated by means of kerosene emulsion, used as a spray. The onion fly may, in part, at least, be abated by the use of equal parts of wood ashes and land plaster

an be secured. After curing, as already described, they are usually sold by the bushel

, by the bunch, or by the rope. The latter method

. These tender shoots are washed, tied and sold for 3 to 5 cents per bunch, retail, or half those figures wholesale. Scallions are produced fr

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more ready sale than fresh peas in the summer and autumn markets. Farmers who are near cent

h nitrogen-collecting roots, that it will not well repay the application of manure to the soil. Peas and beans need less a

y enough to receive it, beginning with the smooth, extra-early sorts, which are m

t apart, the intermediate or half-dwarf sorts in rows 4 fee

aken even from the tall-growing vines while sprawling upon the g

ty-five days from germination; the intermediate kinds in sixty-five to seventy days, and the tall and late kinds in seventy-

Giant Podde

unfavorable weather. The weevil often attacks the

t in America. The peas are shelled and sorted by machinery, an

adelphia. The latter price is for the early product. The usual retail price is 15 to 25 cen

Johnson & Stokes' Second Early Market Garden; late-Giant Podded Marrow, Improved Stratagem,

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ut 4 feet apart each way in a permanent bed. The plant is a perennial, lasting for many years. It is a rank feeder, and the more manure given it, the larger and more succulent will be the young shoots. The roots should be divided every five

DI

Olive Scarlet, t

Slow-growing radishes are hot and pithy. The early sorts are best for spring, but the so-called summer radishes are best for warm weather, as they are not so liable as the

se Winte

l are not in favor among radish growers, tending to produce insect attacks. The free use of lime, salt or kainit is recommended as a preventive against insects. Sometimes it is necessary to avoid m

sometimes used for pickling. The pla

er sorts), as they are sweetest and most succulent when compara

shes-Red and White Chartier, White Strasburg, Improved Yellow Summer Turnip. All seasons, radishes which are equally good for summer or wint

IN

weet and palatable even when raw, but it is always stewed for table purposes. It is a cool weather plant, almost perfe

of Parisian Long

is usually grown in rows, but in open field culture it is more commonly broadcasted. Patches of many acres in extent are seen near the

barrelled or crated for shipment. Growers receive from $1.50 to $2.50 per barrel in Philadelphi

emy. The remedy is re

ves. The property of standing a long time before going to seed is desirable, esp

e ground. By throwing it into cold water it quickly thaws, and affords a palatable and healthful food in midwinter. The dead or yellow leaves should be removed before sending it to market, and if carefully prepared

Long Standing; for autumn, American Savoy or Bloomsd

WEET

ed and well manured. It has wonderful drouth-resisting qualities; though, on the other hand, it is quite unable to withstand continued cold, wet weather. Its territorial range may be said to include nearly the whole of the

Bush or Vineless Sweet Potato. For description,

ard manures are used, either in one place or another. There seems to be an almost universal endorsement of well-rotted stable

prepared heated beds. These sprouts produce abundant rootlets while still attached to the parent tuber, and by pulling them with care, great numbers of

quite generally used in Southern New Jersey for obtaining slips or sprouts for spring

dy Bush or Vinel

ace, with flues running out into the air space beneath the bed, but not reaching the chimney or smoke-pipe at the opposite end of the bed. At the hottest end of the bed the soil is over 6 inches deep. At the cool end a depth

ut 3 inches of good soil, and the soil, in turn, covered with leaves or hay, to increase the warmth of the bed. In

er the entire bed becomes evenly heated, and the smoke escapes finally by the chimney. This chimney may be made of

set upon ridges. It requires about 9,000 plants to the acre. The work must not b

ot along their length, but in the South they are sometimes allowed to do so, and additional tubers thus secur

ous enemy. The best treatment for these and other fungous troubles is prevention, and the

frost has touched the vines. The tubers must be exposed to the air for a time, and partially dried. T

g about forty or fifty bushels of sweet potatoes. Straw is used as a covering, with earth upon the straw, the earth to be increased as the weather becomes colder. Ov

ide, with window above, and a stove is placed inside the building, for use when required. The walls are plastered, and the under side of the roof is also covered with lath and plaster, and the place is thoroughly weather-proof. A house of this kind will afford storage room for 3,000 or more bushels of sweet potatoes, and will keep them in excellent condit