The Mary Frances Garden Book; or, Adventures Among the Garden People

by Jane Eayre Fryer

The Earliest Vegetables to Plant

The following vegetable seeds are not very delicate, and can stand a good deal of frost.

Plant as soon as the ground is warm, about the first of April.

Peas Plant seeds 2 inchesapart, 2 inches deep,1½ feet betweenrows.	—		The new early “Lactonia” peas are to berecommended, because it is not necessary touse brush for them to climb upon. Buy onepint. Sow peas every week for a month to havethem ripen from time to time(“successively”).
Lettuce Plant seeds ½ inchdeep, broadcast, or 3inches apart, in rows 1foot apart.	—		“All Heart” is very delicious. Remember thatlettuce will be much more tender and crisp ifgrown very quickly in beds rich in manure.Over it, a shade frame should be used inmid-summer and hot weather. In transplanting to rows from the hotbed,put plants 6 inches apart. Cos, or Romaine, or Celery Lettuce is veryeasily grown. The heavy ribs of the leavesare crisp and good. It grows quite well inhot weather.
Onions Cover the onion withsoil. Leave 2 inchesbetween onions; 6 inchesbetween rows.	—		Buy yellow onion sets—one pint. It takes twoyears to raise onions from seeds. When readyto pull, take every other one or so, leavingthe smallest to grow larger.
Radishes ½ inch deep, about 2inches apart. Rows 1foot apart, orbroadcast.	—		The best are the little red globe shape.Sow some in early Spring in hotbed. Sow everyweek to have “successive,” crops. They willbe ready in about four weeks. Radishes likea sprinkling of lime in the soil.
Beets Seeds 1 inch deep, 2inches apart, in rows 1foot apart.	—		Buy five-cent package of Crosby’s“Egyptian.” Seeds may be sowed thick, fornot all germinate. Thin the rows by pullingthe weakest plants. The young leaves may becooked as “greens.” Never cut the tops off ofbeets when cooking. Cut off only the leaves.Beets may be sowed again in June for a latecrop.

The Second Early Vegetables to Plant
(About ten days after the first)

Carrots Sow ½ inch deep, 3inches apart, in rows 1½feet apart.	—		Buy one package “Sutton’s Red Intermediate.”Carrots do not like new rich soil. Radishes may be sowed between the rows; forthey will be pulled before the carrots need muchroom. Sow carrots rather thick, and thin outweak plants.
Leeks Sow seeds 1 inch deep,2 inches apart, in rows 1foot apart.	—		Buy one package “Prizetaker Leeks.” Sow inMarch or April, and when they are about half afoot high, transplant to deep, rich soil, 6 inchesapart, in rows 1 foot apart. Plant deep, to“blanch,” or whiten the tops. Leeks may be sowed in September and transplantedin the Spring.
Parsley Sow ½ inch deep, about4 inches apart, in rows 1foot apart.	—		Buy one package “Dwarf Perfection” or “MossCurly.” Soak seed over night in water. Parsleymay be broadcast if space is limited. Add anequal quantity of sand to the seeds to helpsowing. Throw sand and seeds over the seed bed.Cover by using a toy rake. When 4 inches high,it may be transplanted to rows. “Winters over”in cold frame, and in some localities outdoors, ifcovered with leaves.
Thyme and Sweet Basil Broadcast.	—		Buy one package each. Broadcast and rakein the seeds. Sweet Basil grows tall. Thymeonly about four inches high.
Peppers	—		Sow broadcast in March in flats (shadow boxes)in hotbed, or under glass. When 2 or 3 incheshigh, thin out. When ground is really warm, setout 15 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart. Childrenwill not need more than half a dozen plants oflarge sweet peppers. Buy “Chinese Giant.” Little red peppers are particularly pretty in thegarden, and are useful for flavoring soup—useonly a half or a quarter of one, though. Buy“Small Chili” or “Red Cherry.”
Cucumbers	—		Sow about a dozen seeds in late March or earlyApril in strawberry box filled with rich soil, andplace under glass. Some warm day in May, makea hill about eight inches high, and after tearingoff the bottom of the box, plant it in the hill.After a few days, thin out the weakest plants,leaving three or four standing. Two or three mothballs in the ground, when the leaves comethrough, will keep bugs away.
Corn	—		Sugar Corn takes up so much room in thegarden that only a very few hills should be plantedby a child. When the weather is very warm,make little hills 3 feet apart. Drop 6 corn kernelsa little distance apart into the hole. Cover withabout an inch of soil. Shallow cultivation helps.Buy one package “Stabler’s Early” for earlycorn; one package “Stowell’s Evergreen” forlater crops.
Beans 2 inches deep, 6 inchesapart, in rows 18 inchesapart	—		Lima Beans. Buy “Bush Limas,” because itwill not be necessary to set poles for them toclimb upon. Wood ashes mixed with the soilhelps them grow. They do not like damp, heavysoil. Do not plant before warm weather, becausebeans are tender. Plant in warm weather, edgewise,with the “eye” down. String Beans. Buy “Stringless Green Pod.”Plant every week after all danger of frost is past,2 inches deep, 6 inches apart, in rows 18 inches or2 feet apart.
Tomatoes Plants, 2 feet apart,in rows 3 feet apart Tomato Trellis or Support	—		It is best for the small gardener to buy theplants and set them out in rows when the weatheris really warm. “Earliana” is the best earlyvariety. “Ponderosa” is the best later variety. If yousow seeds, start them under glass in March oreven earlier. When plants are about 3 inches high,transplant to strawberry boxes. Break bottom ofbox and transplant box into the open groundwhen it is really warm. Tomatoes need supportsto rest or climb upon. The simplest support isa stake driven down near them, to which thestems are tied as they grow. Stakes driven atintervals with heavy cords running from one tothe other make another good support; but thebest is a slat frame. If grown from seeds, they will not be ready for about 18 weeks.
Potatoes	—		White Potatoes. It is best for children not toattempt to grow more than one plant of potatoes,but they may be interested to know that whitepotatoes are grown from the “eye,” cut in a largesquare-shaped piece of the potatoes. The potatoesform on the roots of the bush, and are dugand stored in the Fall. Sweet Potatoes grow on the roots of a very prettyvine which trails over the ground. To get theyoung plants, some sweet potatoes are grown inhotbeds, and the vines are transplanted in hotweather to open ground.

In transplanting, always press with your fingers the soil firmly down around the roots.