When I was a child, there were no supermarkets. So a vegetable garden was very important.
After school, we helped mother plant lettuce, radishes, and peas on a warm day in early spring.
At the same time, large whole onions were saved from the season before, and our own onion sets and a few potatoes were planted.
A little later, turnip, carrot, beet, and cabbage seeds were tucked into their places in the garden.
Beans, tomatoes, and the vine crops had to wait until all danger of frost was past.
There were doubtless other seeds planted that I have now forgotten.
Several rows of grapes thrived along one side of the garden.
In later years, we had a large strawberry bed.
Rhubarb, asparagus, and horse radishes grew where they could be left undisturbed when the garden was plowed.
In the yard, 3 fragrant lilacs were kept pruned in tree form, which no one else did.
A trumpet vine-covered the front porch.
The blossoms in due season provided long orange thimbles for all our fingers.
Wisteria climbed and softened the outlines of one corner of the house.
There were a red rosebush, dwarf early purple, and tall lemon-colored irises.
Verbenas grew in sunny beds while pansies were given a shady nook.
Necessary Tools For Gardening
The tools used to take care of the large vegetable garden and the flowering plants could have been numbered on tone hand:
- stout rake
- two hoes (not designed for different uses, but that two could hoe at the same time)
- spading-fork
- old butcher’s knife
The latter served a variety of uses in digging and pruning.
We still grow these same good vegetables and desirable ornamentals in present-day gardening, but the varieties obtainable in seeds or plants from reliable nurseries are much more numerous.
Tempting new ones are featured each year.
Our parents’ garden tools are still among the essential ones, but we can also obtain several others that help make gardening easier, and the necessary work can be done in less time.
Ideal Weight Of Tools
It pays to buy good tools.
They should be as light in weight as possible without sacrificing sturdiness and quality.
A lightweight spade, well made, takes much less strength to use, and is just as effective as a heavy spade.
Even in hoes, there is a difference. If you have a heavy one and another much lighter, both made of good quality material that retains a sharp edge, see for yourself how much more often you unconsciously reach for the lightweight one.
Keep The Garden Tools Clean
Garden tools should be kept clean.
After using, do the following:
- Remove all the dirt possible by scraping.
- Then, wipe with a cloth and occasionally use an oiled rag.
A bright shiny hoe or spade works easier and better than a rusty, dirty tool.
Such things as hoes, spades, and trowels need regular sharpening to keep a sharp edge.
They should be stored under cover to keep them from rusting when not in use.
Time-Saver Wheel Hoe
A wheel hoe (small garden plow) is a time-saver when cultivating row crops such as vegetable or cutting gardens.
If one goes down the rows with a wheel hoe after each rain, it keeps the weeds down and provides a dust mulch, which conserves moisture.
One can cultivate more ground in less time with much less effort than the conventional hoe.
Two Tools Are Better Than One
It is a time-saver to have two of the smaller tools, such as trowels and pruners.
They are often misplaced, and valuable time is lost looking for them.
They usually turn up sooner or Later (just where we left them!), but one does not always have time to back-track through the garden, so painting the handles a bright color helps.
Our parents did not have the many destructive insects and diseases to battle that we do.
Thus they did not need spraying equipment and dust guns.
Dry, dusty soil sprinkled on cabbages discouraged the cabbage worms, which caused the most trouble.
Cutworms occasionally did damage during cool weather, but there were always extra plants to be had to replace any tomatoes or cabbages cut down by them.
Dusting and spraying are likely to be neglected when unsatisfactory equipment is used, which does not work easily.
For dusting, a small rotary duster is unbelievably easy to use.
Even though it is more expensive than other types of dusters, it is money well spent because of the ease and speed it operates.
The handle turns with no effort and sends the dust out 6’ to 8’ feet. Then, a lid across the entire top flips back for easy filling.
To Shower A House Plant
A small, useful helper convenient for tending house plants is a spray bulb made of rubber and the metal parts of brass.
Use it to water house plants and seed flats or spray them.
Two heads come with the bulb—one for liquids—one for dust. A gooseneck attachment is for underleaf use.
One of the joys of present-day gardening is the use of peat pots made of peat and a binding agent.
Most of them have added soluble fertilizers. As a result, roots easily penetrate through the sides and bottoms of the pots.
When filled with planting medium, seeds can be sown directly or a small plant set in each one.
The pots can be set into any flat container. Even more convenient are the special portable planters that hold 12 to 24 pots, depending on the size obtained.
The plastic planters can be used indefinitely, and new peat pots are ordered to replace those used.
The 24-pot size I have has raised portions on the bottom of the planter to provide good drainage for each pot.
Save Steps with A Portable Planter
The portable planter is easily carried outside to a sheltered location on warm sunny spring days and brought in for the night during the hardening off process, so necessary-for success with indoor grown plants.
When the plants are ready to be transferred to the garden, a pot is planted.
Thus the roots are not disturbed, and there is no wilting of foliage or any setback to the plants.
No shading is necessary while the plants get established, as must be done when bare-root plants are set out.