Good natural drainage of the garden area is of prime importance. The land should have sufficient fall to drain off surplus water during heavy rains, but the fall should not be so great that the soil will be washed. The surface of the garden should not contain depressions in which water will accumulate or stand. Waste water from surrounding land should not flow toward the garden, and the fall below should be such that there will be no danger of flood water backing up. The garden should not be located along the banks of a creek or stream that will be liable to overflow during the growing season.
A good fence around the garden plot is almost indispensable, and it should be a safeguard against all farm animals, including poultry, and should be close enough to keep out rabbits. A tight board fence will accomplish, this result and also serve as a wind-break.—(F. B. 255.)
PLAN AND ARRANGEMENT.
The garden should be planned with a view to furnishing a large assortment and continuous supply of vegetables through the entire season. Its size will depend primarily upon the amount of land available. On the farm, where any amount of land the owner desires can be reserved, for a garden, vegetables to be stored for winter as well as the summer supply, should be grown. On the village lot, space may be insufficient to grow more than the summer's supply, and it may also be necessary to leave out certain vegetables that require a large amount of space. On a city lot, the space available for growing vegetables is necessarily small, and plantings must usually be confined to those vegetables which produce a large amount of edible product for the space occupied.
Whether the garden is on the farm, in the village, or on the city lot, the principles governing its planting and care are the same although the distances of planting, methods of tillage, and intensity of cropping may differ widely. On the farm, the saving of labor is more important than the saving of space; even the small vegetables are planted in long rows rather than in beds; and horse power is substituted for hand power wherever possible. In the village and the city, the vegetables must usually be planted as closely as the nature of their growth will permit, and hand tillage employed almost exclusively.
Much loss of time in planting a garden can be avoided by making a definite plan of the garden several weeks or even months before the planting is to begin. After measuring the area to be used for the garden, the next step is to decide what vegetables are to be grown. If space is ample, this will be determined primarily by the personal tastes of the gardener and his family. However, if only a limited amount of time and attention can be given the garden, it may be wise not to undertake the growing of some of the more exacting crops. Whatever the space to be devoted to gardening, the crops to be grown should be decided upon long before the time of planting.
In planning the garden, it is well to arrange the vegetables in the order in which they are to be planted. This facilitates the preparation of the land for planting, and makes it possible to maintain the unplanted portion in a good friable condition with the least expenditure of labor. In order that the vegetables may be so arranged, it is necessary to know the proper time for planting each crop. This depends primarily upon the temperature and moisture requirements of the particular crop in question.
If any of the small fruits, such as raspberries, currants, and gooseberries, are to be planted within the garden enclosure, they should be included with the permanent crops. The area devoted to the hotbed, cold frame, and seed bed should be decided upon, but these may be shifted more or less from year to year or located in some convenient place outside of the garden. Where there is any great variation in the composition of the soil in different parts of the garden it will be advisable to take this into consideration when arranging for the location of the various crops. If a part of the land is low and moist, such crops as celery, onions, and late cucumbers should be placed there. If part of the soil is high, warm, and dry, that is the proper location for early crops and those that need quick, warm soil.
In planning the location of the various crops in the garden, due consideration should be given to the matter of succession in order that the land may be occupied at all times. As a rule it would not be best to have a second planting of the same crop follow the first, but some such arrangement as early peas followed by celery, or early cabbage or potatoes followed by late beans or corn, and similar combinations, are more satisfactory. In the South as many as three crops may be grown one after the other on the same land, but at the extreme north, where the season is short, but one crop can be grown, or possibly two by some such combination as early peas followed by turnips.—(F. B. 255.)