Thickly sown vegetable seeds cause many disappointments in home gardening. The seedlings often come up so crowded that none has a chance for average growth unless the rows are thinned laboriously, often during the week or so after the appearance of the first sprouts. If there has been a delay of only a week or … Read more
There was the year we had roasting cars on July 2. That’s a month to 6 weeks ahead of schedule for central Indiana. For here, our last killing frost is due, on average, in mid-April. So that seed corn went into some pretty cold ground. It’s popularly supposed that many seeds won’t germinate in the … Read more
Few plain dirt gardeners can visualize kale, the richest vitamin of the pot herbs, as a foliage plant for the flower border. Japanese horticulturists came up with ornamental kales more colorful than coleus. In Japan, ornamental kales are so highly valued that they take the place of summer bedding plants in the Emperor’s garden during … Read more
Just outside my kitchen door, green, feathery, hardy plants have stood throughout the winter, offering health-giving leaves which are as good as a whole bottle of pills. I merely brush aside snow to find sprigs of parsley still green and full of life. The astonishing fact is that parsley rates 22,500 units of vitamin A … Read more
A vegetable garden may not have the same glamour and appeal as a flower border. Still, one that is well-planned produces dividends in the way of quality and flavor that are practically unobtainable even in the best food markets. It has been stated many times that there is no substitute for homegrown corn, peas, and … Read more
Vegetable gardens usually include the minimum essentials for summer salads but a small area devoted entirely to salad greens can contribute to daily enjoyment and endless variety. If you share my problem of limited space, the first question will be, “Where in the world could you put it?” Convenient Narrow Edging A narrow edging of … Read more
Doesn’t it make you mad to find that flat of special seedlings damping off? You spent a lot of time planting the seeds and waiting for germination, you watered them, you babied them and there they are, half of them down with damping off disease. Nothing to do but to douse ’em with fungicide and … Read more
When Walter Duncan Bellingrath established a camp on the banks of the Isle-Aux-Oies (Fowl) River, some 20 miles south of Mobile, Alabama, in 1917, he did so with the idea of making a recreational fishing spot for himself and his friends. The wild countryside around consisted of native trees and shrubs—oaks, pines, sweet gum, black … Read more
The place of the cold frame and hotbed in the culture of plants is second in importance only to the garden itself. Managed correctly, no piece of garden equipment will yield more per dollar invested. A cold frame and hotbed have many purposes. The Function Of Garden Aids Although the primary function of these garden … Read more
One way to have a successful garden is to ensure it goes into the winter adequately cleaned and prepared. Although many gardeners fed that last-minute planting and thorough cleaning are sufficient, more than that is needed to protect plants sufficiently to make them survive. Winter Protection For Plants Winter protection aims to guard plants against … Read more