The Busy Woman's Garden Book

by Ida D. Bennett

If it is desired to grow pole limas set the poles four feet apart each way and plant five or six beans to each hill and thin to three when the plants are up; when the plants have reached the top of the pole pinch out the top; add a spadeful of well-rotted manure to each hill before planting, mixing it thoroughly with the soil. Carpenteria is about the best of the pole limas and Early Leviathan Lima is another good sort. Wire netting may be used in place of poles and will be found more convenient and economical. Treating the beans with farmogerm, Mulford or other culture is advisable.

CABBAGE

For early cabbage sow seed in the hotbed or in flats in the house and transplant to the open ground in May. Cabbage are not injured by light frosts and can go into the ground earlier than most other garden stuff; usually the early sorts are selected for first planting but the late and winter sorts will, if started in heat, do about as well as the early; it is largely a matter of handling. The Late Flat Dutch is an excellent sort for the first planting as it is a very sure header, giving large, flat heads of the best quality. In twelve years' experience in growing this variety I have never found a diseased plant nor, except in a year of very exceptional weather, a soft head. They keep well over winter and are altogether a very satisfactory all round cabbage.

In transplanting the plants from the hotbed to the open ground all but the upper pair of leaves should be removed and these may have the upper half clipped; this gives the roots a chance to establish themselves before they are called upon to support top growth. Set the plants about two feet apart each way, or the rows two feet apart and the plants twenty inches; the nearer distance is tenable if one raises rabbits as the lower leaves may be removed and fed to them, thus giving the plants more room; they should close up the gaps between them when fully grown as this shades the ground and conserves moisture—an important feature in a dry season. The ground should be kept well cultivated and free from weeds as long as work can be carried on among them and when the cultivator can no longer be used the scuffle-hoe can be introduced under and between them without injury to the leaves. In hoeing or cultivating draw the earth up towards the plants.

When the heads are filled out and hard and it is not desired to gather them they may be kept from splitting by pulling the roots loose on one side and bending them over.

The principal enemy of the cabbage is the white butterfly and its offspring—the green caterpillar. There are many ways of combating this pest; the most effectual way, early in the season is dusting with Paris green mixed with flour. A convenient way to apply is to take a quart Mason jar, take the lid, remove the porcelain lining and punch the top full of holes, fill the can with flour mixed with one teaspoon of fresh Paris green and sift over the plants while wet with dew at the first appearance of the pest; this should not be used after the heads have formed; after this sprinkling with salt and working it in between the loose leaves of the head is often effectual. Dusting with dry earth sometimes has a deterrent effect on the worms.

The grey aphis is another most troublesome pest; this comes so insidiously that the plants are well infested before their presence is suspected. Spraying with kerosene emulsion is sometimes effectual if the heads are not too far advanced. Spraying with zenoleum—a tablespoonful to two quarts of water—will kill every louse it touches and by its odor discourage any intending arrivals, but this should not be used where the heads are at all advanced, though a hard rain would rid the plants of the odor of both zenoleum and kerosene. Soapsuds, especially whale oil and nicotine, are suggested and hand picking of worms is not without its value. Spraying with hot water 140° is effectual and safe and cleanses and stimulates the plants.

Cut worms are very destructive to cabbage when first set out; their depredations may be guarded against by enclosing the stem of the plant in a band of stiff paper when planting; this should go into the ground an inch and extend up the stem two or three inches. Strewing poisoned bait along the intended rows for a night or two is suggested but this is a dangerous practice where there is poultry at liberty; baiting after the plants are set is often successful, too, but the best safeguard is to have a good supply of surplus plants in the hotbed. The rows should be looked over the first thing in the morning after planting to discover what plants have been cut and wherever a plant is missing the worm should be looked for, and when found killed; this is really the most satisfactory way of eradicating the pest. The worm never goes more than two or three inches from the plant and will be found somewhere just below the surface of the ground, usually under some bit of roughage that makes a little hollow. If there is a piece of sod or clover-land near the garden the cut worms will usually begin their work from that side and if a planting of cabbage is made a few days in advance of other plants this will serve as a trap for the worms and hunting and killing them for a few days will make the planting safe for the tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers.

A little nitrate of soda sprinkled around the plants is a great incentive to growth.

For winter cabbage sow seed in the open ground in May and transplant into permanent rows as soon as large enough, giving the plants more room than early cabbage. Late Flat Dutch, Wakefield, Danish Roundhead and Dutch Winter or Hollander are all good sorts which will prove good keepers and sellers.