THE ORDERING
OF THE KITCHEN
GARDEN.
Chap. I.
The situation of a Kitchen Garden, or Garden of Herbes, and what sort of manure is fittest to helpe the decaying of the soyle therof.
Hauing giuen you the best rules and instructions that I can for your flower Garden, and all the flowers that are fit to furnish it, I now proceede to your herbe garden, which is not of the least respect belonging to any mans house, nor vtterly to bee neglected for the many vtilities are to be had from it, both for the Masters profit and pleasure, and the meynies content and nourishment: all which if I should here set down, I had a large field to wander in, and matter sufficient to entreat of, but this worke permitteth not that libertie: and I thinke there are but few but eyther know it already, or conceiue it sufficiently in their minds. Passing therefore no further in such discourses, I come to the matter in hand, which is to shew you where the fittest place is for an herbe garden. As before I shewed you that the beautie of any worthy house is much the more commended for the pleasant situation of the garden of flowers, or of pleasure, to be in the sight and full prospect of all the chiefe and choisest roomes of the house; so contrariwise, your herbe garden should bee on the one or other side of the house, and those best and choyse roomes: for the many different sents that arise from the herbes, as Cabbages, Onions, &c. are scarce well pleasing to perfume the lodgings of any house; and the many ouertures and breaches as it were of many of the beds thereof, which must necessarily bee, are also as little pleasant to the sight. But for priuate mens houses, who must like their habitations as they fall vnto them, and cannot haue time or meanes to alter them, they must make a vertue of necessity, and conuert their places to their best aduantage, by making their profit their chiefest pleasure, and making one place serue for all vses. The choyce of ground for this Garden, is (as I said before) where it is fat, fertill and good, there needeth the lesse labour and cost; and contrariwise, where it is cold, wet, dry or barren, there must bee the more helpes still added to keepe it in heart. For this Garden by reason of the much and continuall stirring therein, the herbes and rootes drawing out the substance of the fertilitie thereof more aboundantly then in the former, must be continually holpen with soyle, or else few things of goodnesse or worth will come forward therein. The stable soyle of horses is best and most proper for any colde grounds, for being the hottest, it will cause any the seedes for this Garden to prosper well, and be more forward then in any other ground that is not so holpen. The stable soyle of Cattell is of a colder and moister nature, and is therefore more proper for the hot sandy or grauelly grounds, and although it bee longer before it bee brought to mould then that of horses, yet it will outlast it more then twice so long. Let euery one therefore take according to the nature of the ground such helpes as are most fit and conuenient, as I haue here and before shewed. But I doe here ingenuously confesse my opinion of these forcings and helpings of ground, that howsoeuer it doth much good to some particular things, which because they delight in heate, and cannot be brought to perfection without it in this our Countrey, which is colder then their naturall from whence they are brought, must therefore haue artificiall helpes to forward them; yet for many other things the compost doth much alter and abate the naturall vigour, and quickenesse of taste, that is perceiued in them that grow in a naturall fat or sandy soile that is not so holpen.