CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
IPlanning the Garden[1]
IIHotbeds, Cold Frames and Flats[12]
IIIPlanting Seed in the Open Ground[36]
IVTransplanting[48]
VGarden Tools[53]
VIHolding and Increasing the Fertility of Soil[64]
VIIAsparagus[80]
VIIIEarly Spring Vegetables[86]
IXMid-Season Vegetables[122]
XVegetables of the Vine Family[171]
XIVegetables Less Commonly Grown[186]
XIIQuantity of Seed Required[200]
XIIISweet, Pot and Medicinal Herbs[202]
XIVPlant Enemies and Insecticides[208]
XVWinter Storage[220]
XVICanning the Garden Surplus for Winter Use[232]
XVIIFall Work in the Garden[256]
XVIIIThe Annual Garden[261]
XIXThe Hardy Garden[273]
XXThe Planting of Fall Bulbs[282]
XXIEconomy in the Purchase of Shrubbery[289]
XXIIA Continuous Succession of Bloom in the Shrubbery[297]
XXIIIGardening for Shut-Ins[308]
XXIVThe Possibilities of a City Flat[318]

THE BUSY WOMAN'S
GARDEN BOOK


THE BUSY WOMAN'S
GARDEN BOOK

CHAPTER I
PLANNING THE GARDEN

The favorable location of the garden is the initial step in its planning. The kitchen garden—always an important auxiliary of the kitchen—is now, in these days, something more; it is becoming more and more a part of the domestic routine; it is a woman's garden, to be planned for and cared for by the women of the family, and in that relation must be considered from all its points of view. Location, then, becomes of first importance. It must be accessible, that its care may demand as little extra work as possible, and that little be given to the actual cultivation and care and not to going back and forth. If one can run out and cultivate a row of lettuce or train up a row of peas while waiting for the irons to heat or the kettle to boil, then one will find the sum total of the garden work far less onerous than where one must calculate on going over the entire plat, or a stated portion of it, at one operation.

A location close to the house, more or less secluded, that one may work free from interruption and espionage and where the vegetables may bask in the sun from early morning till late afternoon, is desirable, and this is best achieved in a southern exposure with the garden rows running north and south.