I shall describe, as briefly as possible, forms of the planting plan, planting table, check list and record, which I have found it convenient to use.
To make the Planting Plan take a sheet of white paper and a ruler and mark off a space the shape of your garden—which should be rectangular if possible—using a scale of one-quarter or one-eighth inch to the foot. Rows fifty feet long will be found a convenient length for the average home garden. In a garden where many varieties of things are grown it will be best to run the rows the short way of the piece. We will take a fifty-foot row for the purpose of illustration, though of course it can readily be changed in proportion where rows of that length can not conveniently be made. In a very small garden it will be better to make the row, say, twenty-five feet long, the aim being always to keep the row a unit and have as few broken ones as possible, and still not to have to plant more of any one thing than will be needed.
In assigning space for the various vegetables several things should be kept in mind in order to facilitate planting, replanting and cultivating the garden. These can most quickly be realized by a glance at the plan illustrated herewith. You will notice that crops that remain several years—rhubarb and asparagus—are kept at one end. Next come such as will remain a whole season—parsnips, carrots, onions and the like. And finally those that will be used for a succession of crops—peas, lettuce, spinach. Moreover, tall-growing crops, like pole beans, are kept to the north of lower ones. In the plan illustrated the space given to each variety is allotted according to the proportion in which they are ordinarily used. If it happens that you have a special weakness for peas, or your mother-in-law an aversion to peppers, keep these tastes and similar ones in mind when laying out your planting plan.
Do not leave the planning of your garden until you are ready to put the seeds in the ground and then do it all in a rush. Do it in January, as soon as you have received the new year's catalogues and when you have time to study over them and look up your record of the previous year. Every hour spent on the plan will mean several hours saved in the garden.
The Planting Table is the next important system in the business of gardening, especially for the beginner. In it one can see at a glance all the details of the particular treatment each vegetable requires— when to sow, how deep, how far apart the rows should be, etc. I remember how many trips from garden to house to hunt through catalogues for just such information I made in my first two seasons' gardening. How much time, just at the very busiest season of the whole year, such a table would have saved!
——————————————————————————— 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 ——————————————————————————-| 0| |PA| | | | RHUBARB-2 |RS| | SEED BED | | |LE|??| | 5| |Y | | | |————————————————————————-| | ASPARAGUS-2 | 10|————————————————————————-| | | | POLE BEANS-2 | 15|————————————————————————-| | TOMATOES-1 | |————————————————————————-| 20| CABBAGE EARLY-1 | | LATE -1 | |————————————————————————-| 25| BROCCOLI-1 | BRUSSELS SPROUTS-1 | | PEPPERS-1 | EGG PLANT-1 | |————————————————————————-| 30| CELERY-1 | |————————————————————————-| | | 35| ONIONS-5-1/2 | | LEEKS-1/2 | |————————————————————————-| 40| | | CARROTS-4 | |————————————————————————-| 45| | | BEETS-4 | |————————————————————————-| 50| TURNIPS-1-1/2 | RUTABAGA-1/2 | | PARSNIPS-1 | |————————————————————————-| 55| | | | | | 60| CORN-4 | | | | | 65| | | | |————————————————————————-| 70| | | | | | 75| PEAS-4 | | | | | 80|————————————————————————-| | | | BUSH BEANS-3 | 85|————————————————————————-| | | | LETTUCE-2 | 90| ONION SETS-1 | ENDIVE-1 | |————————————————————————-| | MUSKMELONS-6 HILLS | CUCUMBERS-7 HILLS | 95|————————————————————————-| | | | | PUMPKINS-4H | WATERMELONS-5H | 100| | | |————————————————————————-| | | SUMMER SQUASH, BUSH-8H | 105| WINTER SQUASH-5H | | | | SUMMER SQUASH, VINE-5H | | | | 110|————————————————————————-|
A typical Planting Plan. The scale measurements at the left and top indicate the length and distance apart of rows. [ED. Distances are approximate, due to typing line constraints.]
The Planting Table prepared for one's own use should show, besides the information given, the varieties of each vegetable which experience has proved best adapted to one's own needs. The table shown herewith gives such a list; varieties which are for the most part standard favorites and all of which, with me, have proven reliable, productive and of good quality. Other good sorts will be found described in Part Two. Such a table should be mounted on cardboard and kept where it may readily be referred to at planting time.
The Check List is the counterpart of the planting table, so arranged that its use will prevent anything from being overlooked or left until too late. Prepare it ahead, some time in January, when you have time to think of everything. Make it up from your planting table and from the previous year's record. From this list it will be well to put down on a sheet of paper the things to be done each month (or week) and cross them off as they are attended to. Without some such system it is almost a certainty that you will overlook some important things.
The Garden Record is no less important. It may be kept in the simplest sort of way, but be sure to keep it. A large piece of paper ruled as follows, for instance, will require only a few minutes' attention each week and yet will prove of the greatest assistance in planning the garden next season.