In laying out the garden we should bear in mind that hand labor is the most expensive kind of labor. Hence we should not, as is commonly done, lay off the garden spot in the form of a square, but we should mark off for our purpose a long, narrow piece of land, so that the cultivating tools may all be conveniently drawn by a horse or a mule. The use of the plow and the horse cultivator enables the cultivation of the garden to be done quickly, easily, and cheaply.
Each vegetable or fruit should be planted in rows, and not in little patches. Beginning with one side of the garden the following plan of arrangement is simple and complete: two rows to corn for table use; two to cabbages, beets, radishes, and eggplants; two to onions, peas, and beans; two to oyster-plants, okra, parsley, and turnips; two to tomatoes; then four on the other side can be used for strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, and gooseberries.
Fig. 224. Where Delicious Garden Vegetables grow
The garden, when so arranged, can be tilled in the spring and tended throughout the growing season with little labor and little loss of time. In return for this odd-hour work, the farmer's family will have throughout the year an abundance of fresh, palatable, and health-giving vegetables and small fruits.
The keynote of successful gardening is to stir the soil. Stir it often with four objects in view:
1. To destroy weeds.
2. To let air enter the soil.
3. To enrich the soil by the action of the air.
4. To retain the moisture by preventing its evaporation.
| corn | |||
| corn | |||
| cabbage | beets | radishes | |
| cabbage | beets | eggplants | |
| onions | peas | beans | |
| onions | peas | beans | |
| oyster-plants | okra | parsley | parsnips |
| oyster-plants | okra | parsley | parsnips |
| tomatoes | |||
| tomatoes | |||
| strawberries | currants | raspberries | blackberries |
| strawberries | currants | raspberries | blackberries |
| strawberries | currants | raspberries | blackberries |
| strawberries | currants | raspberries | blackberries |