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GARDEN COLUMN
Spading
Pliny had the right idea. He said, "Dig deep; manure well; work
often." Pliny the Elder would have been a good gardener. Twenty
centuries have failed to improve his advice.
Importance of good spading or good plowing cannot be over-estimated.
The roots of plants must not be cramped for room if the plant is to
thrive. Moreover, the plant feeds through these roots and all of the plant
food in the soil should be made available by deep digging. No amount of
cultivation of growing plants will remedy poor preliminary preparation of the
soil.
Do not dig so deeply that you form poor soil on top and bury the rich soil
where the roots cannot reach it. The spading should seldom be less than 8
inches deep or more than 15 [inches].
In determining the time to spade, squeeze a handful of dirt and if it
crumbles when released or dropped, it is right for working. Use a spading
fork rather than a spade.
If you have been able to procure manure, work in into the soil while spading.
The soil probably needs ____ for sourness. One pound of slaked lime is
enough for 50 square [feet?], but it should not be put in at the [same] time as
the manure. Spread the lime later when raking the top soil.
In most back yard gardens the soil is too heavy. A good amount of
finely sifted coal ashes, no cinders, worked in when spading will help to
pulverize such soil, but will not fertilize it.
Before spreading, clear off weed and metallic rubbish, but spade in all
vegetable matter.
Rake and roll the spaded ground until all lumps have disappeared. Do not be
satisfied with a smooth surface covering clods which will make air spaces
beneath and waste the moisture which the roots must have.
When to Plant
Having spaded or plowed your garden, fertilize it if possible, sweeten it
with lime if necessary, and make a deep, finely broken seed bed, it is time to
take up the planting.
Do not be in too great a hurry for this. It is better to be a little
late with your first crops than to lose them under a killing frost in
April. The further north you live, the later your season.
These talks are written in Washington, D.C. To show comparative
climates, the weather formally enjoyed in the latitude of Washington
[D.C.] on April __ is not experienced on the east and west line of
Philadelphia until April 11, in Central New York, Southern Michigan and
westward until April 21, in Boston, central Michigan and westward until
May 7, and in Maine, northern Michigan and Minnesota until may 12 or
15[th].
Plants not injured by light frosts
Early group: Cabbage, Irish potatoes, smooth p__s, onion sets,
salad groups, such as kale, spinach, and mustard.
Later groups: Lettuce, radishes, parsnips, carrots, beets, [wrickled?]
peas, early sweet corn.
The above may be planted in the group order when heavy frosts are
over and the soil dry enough to work.
The second group--Vegetables killed by light frost as follows:
Early string beans, late sweet corn, early tomatoe [sic] plants,
(which should be protected by newspapers, etc. in sudden chilly
weather).
Late: To be planted only after the ground has begun to warm
up: cucumbers, melons, squash, lima beans, tomatoes, egg plant and
peppers.
A good way to tell when to plant the second group is to wait until
the apple trees blossom and then go ahead.
If you plant your tomatoes, egg plant, peppers and cauliflower seeds
in indoor seed boxes or pots at the time you make your earliest
plantings, the plants will be big enough for transplanting when the
group is warm. [warmed]
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