Most gardeners know that plants acquire water and minerals through their root systems, and leave it at that. But the process is not quite that simple. The actively growing, tender...
There was a further reason for, mentioning that strip of onion ground. It is a very practical illustration of what last year's handling of the soil means to this year's garden. If...
set about procuring manures of all kinds from every available source. Remember that anything _which will rot_ will add to the value of your manure pile. Muck, lime, old plastering,...
The row's center is about 3 feet from the edge of the raised bed. In March I sow my very first salad greens down half this row--mostly assorted leaf lettuce plus some spinach--and...
The superstitious notions which, under one form or another, have clustered round the vegetable kingdom, hold a prominent place in the field of folk-lore. To give a full and detaile...
Without irrigation, most of the plant's water supply is obtained by expansion into new earth that hasn't been desiccated by other competing roots. Eliminating any obstacles to rapi...
The importance of having good seeds has already been declared. They must not only grow, but grow into what we have bought them for--be true to name. Without the latter quality we c...
The currant and gooseberry are very similar in their cultural requirements. A deep, rich and moist soil is the best--approaching a clayey loam. There need be no fear of giving too...
Both Orange and Lemon trees can be easily raised by sowing the seeds in good, rich soil, and after the seedlings become of sufficient size, a foot to fifteen inches high, they shou...
The old medical theory, which supposed that plants by their external character indicated the particular diseases for which Nature had intended them as remedies, was simply a develo...
Nature's Provision. Soils are composed of pulverized stone and organic matter. Much of the original stone contained little lime, and the human race would become nearly helpless if...
Cherries have one advantage over the other fruits--they give quicker returns. But, as far as my experience goes, they are not as long-lived. The sour type is hardier, at least nort...
As recently as the 1930s, most American country folk still did not have running water. With water being hand-pumped and carried in buckets, and precious, their vegetable gardens ha...
Pansies are old and popular favorites, they embrace varieties with variously-colored flowers, from almost jet black, to pure white and yellow. They are easily grown from seed. The...
If you've already been growing an irrigated year-round garden, this book's suggested planting dates may surprise you. And as with spacing, sowing dates must also be wisely adjusted...
The Roses best adapted for in-door culture belong to the class known as Tea Roses; these are tender, of a bushy growth, and if properly treated, will bloom the year round; the flow...
Humans domesticated potatoes in the cool, arid high plateaus of the Andes where annual rainfall averages 8 to 12 inches. The species finds our dry summer quite comfortable. Potatoe...
Rutabagas have wonderfully aggressive root systems and are capable of growing continuously through long, severe drought. But where I live, the results aren't satisfactory. Here's w...
The proper regulation of the atmosphere as to moisture and temperature, is one of the most important points to be observed in cultivating plants in the parlor, or window-garden. Pl...
It may seem to the reader that it is all very well to make a garden with a pencil, but that the work of transferring it to the soil must be quite another problem and one entailing...
_Sowing date:_ About May 5 to 15 at Elkton. _Spacing:_ Most varieties usually run five about 3 feet from the hill. Space the hills about 5 to 6 feet apart in all directions. _Irrig...
The seed-bed, as it is called, is the surface prepared to receive the seed, whether for a patch of radishes or an acre of onions. For crops to be sown directly where they are to go...
The very important question--"What plants shall be grown in the house?"--must be left for the individual to answer. In selecting a few to describe somewhat in detail in the first p...
In the first place, almost all plants, whether they flower or not, must have an abundance of light, and many require sunshine, especially during the dull days of winter. Plants wit...
Manure of some sort is essential to the growing of plants in pots or boxes, both because of the plant-food it adds to the soil, and because it improves its mechanical condition and...
The reader has not forgotten, of course, that plants as well as seeds must go into the well managed garden. We have already mentioned the hardening-off process to which they must b...
Technical Terms. The practical man uses a great number of technical terms in his own field of labor, and often fails to recognize the fact that they are technical, and may be puzzl...
No collection of garden flowers is complete without the Tuberose. For the spotless purity of its flowers, and for incomparable fragrance, it has no superior. It is very easy to gro...
Gladioluses, Tuberoses, Cannas, and Caladiums, come under this head, and are the best known of this class of bulbs. They are not hardy, and the slightest frost will injure them mor...
An Old Practice. The beneficial effect of caustic lime on land is mentioned in some ancient writings. Burning and slaking afforded the only known method of reducing stone for use i...