Bountiful, a flat-podded type, and Valentine, a round-podded kind, are good examples of dwarf, green snap-beans.
In the pole beans we have Golden Carmine and Golden Cluster, both wax-pods, and Kentucky Wonder, an excellent, green snap-bean and also suitable for providing dry-shell beans.
Of beans that are grown for their seeds the following may be noted: Dwarf Horticultural (can also be used as a snap-bean), Improved Navy, and White Marrow.
The Limas are represented by two forms, the dwarf and the climbing kinds. Good dwarf Limas are Burpee’s Improved, and Fordhook. For planting in the Northern states, Leviathan, which is a quick-maturing variety, is very suitable. This and King of the Garden, a very productive kind, are pole, or climbing, Limas.
Beets are one of the hardy vegetables which can be planted as soon as the ground has been prepared in the spring. There are two distinct kinds of beets—those which have a globular or flat root, and those with a long, tapering root. The latter are of slower growth than the round kinds, and are very suitable for winter storage, but their cultivation should not be attempted unless the soil is deep and of a sandy nature. The globe beets are the best for the home gardener. For the first planting a quick-maturing kind, such as Crosby’s Egyptian, should be chosen. For later plantings Detroit Dark Red is suitable, and this is a good variety to plant toward the end of June or early July to form roots suitable for winter storage. Beets can be planted in rows from twelve to eighteen inches apart. After the seedlings have reached a height of two or three inches they should be thinned out to stand four inches apart in the row. If desired, these thinnings may be taken up carefully, so as not to break the roots, and transplanted in another part of the garden. Another plan is to defer thinning until the plants are from four to six inches in height, and then use the thinnings as “greens.” Beets will grow in almost any soil, but the best crops are produced on sandy loams.
Cabbage may be grown as an early crop, to mature around June or July, or as a late crop, to mature in the fall.
The early crop is usually produced from seeds sown in a greenhouse or hotbed in February or early March, the young plants being set out in April. They require plenty of room for development and should be planted so as to stand from eighteen inches to two feet apart in the rows, the rows being two and one-half to three feet apart. Early Jersey Wakefield is the variety commonly grown for an early crop.
Seeds for the late crop can be sown in May. If sown outdoors, a plot of rich, sandy soil (a square yard will produce an ample supply of seedlings for most home gardens) should be chosen. If the plot has been limed a short time previous it is an advantage, as an alkaline soil lessens the liability to club root, a disease which prevents proper development of the cabbage. The resultant seedlings should be set out in July. As late cabbages are stronger growers and form larger heads than the early kinds, they should be given more room—three feet between the rows and two feet apart in the rows. A standard variety for late planting is Flat Dutch.
Cabbages will succeed in a variety of soils, but to get best results heavy applications of decayed stable manure should be incorporated with the soil before planting. Surface dressings of nitrate of soda are also beneficial.
Carrot.—This crop can be planted any time after the ground is in condition in the spring up to July, which is a suitable time to sow seeds for the crop designed for winter storage. The quick-maturing kinds, such as Early Scarlet Horn, should be sown first, choosing the warmest position in the garden. These will be ready for use in a short time, when they may be harvested and the ground used for another crop. For later crops Danver’s Half-long may be used. Carrot seed should be sown in rows a foot or fifteen inches apart and one-half inch deep. The early varieties should be thinned to stand about two inches apart, while the main crop needs about four inches between each plant. Some people defer the thinning of their carrots until they are of sufficient size for the table. “Baby” carrots are one of the most delicious of vegetables when they are properly cooked, far preferable to the roots that have been allowed to mature. While this plan has great advantages, the carrots left behind do not attain so great a size as would be the case if thinning had been attended to earlier.