Part 10

Cucumbers are a crop that requires a fair amount of room for proper development. They should be planted in hills five feet apart each way, with four or five plants in each hill; or in rows five feet apart, with the plants standing about one foot apart in the rows. The seeds should not be planted outdoors until all danger of frost is past. An early crop can be obtained by raising the plants in a greenhouse by sowing the seeds early in berry-boxes and transplanting outdoors when the weather is warm enough. It is a good plan, when planting outdoors, to sow the seeds rather thickly, about ten seeds to a hill, so as to get a good stand and lessen the risk of losing the plants by insect attacks.

The soil most suitable for cucumbers is a sandy loam that has been well enriched with decayed stable manure. They will succeed admirably on newly broken sod land.

The best cucumbers for outdoor planting are those belonging to the “white spine” type, of which Davis Perfect is a good example. For supplying small cucumbers for pickling, Fordhook Pickling is one of the best varieties to grow.

Egg-plant is a tropical plant which will not mature its fruits in the Northern states unless its season of growth is lengthened by starting the plants in a greenhouse or hotbed. It is very susceptible to cold and it is scarcely safe to set the young plants outdoors until June in the latitude of New York. Egg-plant requires a sunny position and a warm, light, fertile soil. It can be planted in rows two and a half to three feet apart, two feet being allowed between the plants in the rows. Black Beauty is a standard variety. Early Long Purple is a quick-maturing kind.

Kale.—The cultivation of kale is practically that of late cabbage. It is an extremely hardy vegetable and will stand a great deal of frost.

Kohlrabi is another member of the cabbage group. It is desirable to mature it quickly, as slow-grown plants are woody and inedible. This quick growth is effected by planting in rich soil and by giving top-dressings of nitrate of soda at the rate of one ounce to ten feet of row. The swollen stems should be eaten when they are about two inches in diameter. Early Vienna, either white or purple top, is a good variety. The seeds may be sown in the spring just as soon as the ground can be worked, in rows from fifteen to eighteen inches apart. When the young plants are large enough they are thinned to stand six inches apart in the rows; if so desired, the thinnings may be used as “greens.”

Lettuce, the most important salad crop, requires a rich, sandy soil. It is seldom that it will “head” properly in city backyards, because of unsuitable soil and other adverse conditions. Lettuce is a cool-weather crop, and during the hot days of summer the greatest difficulty is experienced in growing it. There are several different types. The loose-leaf kinds, those that do not form a head, are the easiest to grow. The other forms are the Romaine, or Cos, which makes a columnar head, and the ordinary kind, or cabbage lettuce.

The seeds should be planted shallowly in rows a foot or eighteen inches apart, and afterward the young plants must be thinned to stand ten or twelve inches apart in the row. A row twenty feet long is enough to plant at one sowing. Other plantings should be made at intervals of two or three weeks, so as to provide a succession. During hot weather the plants are benefited by being shaded with cheese-cloth screens. These can be conveniently made by tacking cheese-cloth on lath frames of suitable size, which should be supported on stakes driven into the ground.

Quick growth is essential to obtain crisp, well-flavored lettuce. This can partially be brought about by the use of nitrate of soda, as recommended for kohlrabi. Avoid getting any of the nitrate on the leaves of the plants, as it will burn them.

Good varieties of lettuce are May King and Hanson, belonging to the cabbage-head type; Grand Rapids, a loose-leaf variety; and Paris White Cos.

In cities sparrows are frequently troublesome to growers of lettuce, as they are fond of picking off the leaves of the young plants. Protection is effected by stretching several strands of strong thread a few inches above the rows. The sparrows become very suspicious of an arrangement of this kind, and it is usually efficacious in keeping them away from the plants.

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.