Make Your Garden Feed You
E. T. Brown

A concise, practical book on gardening, poultry, rabbit-breeding, and bee-keeping in war-time conditions.

Clearly illustrated in black and white.

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

TO PLAN YOUR CROPS

TOOLS TO MAKE OR BUY

SPADE-WORK AND SOWING

THE VEGETABLE BEDS

FRUIT TREES AND TOMATOES

FLOWERS TO GROW IN WAR-TIME

YOUR GARDEN FRIENDS AND FOES

YOUR JOB MONTH BY MONTH

POULTRY-KEEPING IN WAR-TIME

RABBITS FOR FLESH AND FUR

BEES TO GIVE HONEY AND FINE FRUIT

Copyright

About the Publisher

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Many are the difficulties that beset the person equipped for the first time with a spade, a packet of seeds, and a plot of soil. “How deep must I plant them?” “Do they need watering?” “What will they look like when they come up?” These are only a few of the questions that dismay the novice.

The experienced gardener in war-time is in little better position. He knows the way he has always gone about his tasks, he knows when to put his seeds in and what to do with the seedlings when they appear. But now he ought to ask himself: “ Is my garden yielding as much per square foot as it should do ? ” “ Am I getting the best possible results in the shortest time or could I perhaps do better if I changed my methods ? ” In addition, he has two very big problems—what to use for manures now that many kinds are unobtainable, and how to curtail waste which was previously unimportant but now is criminal.

Answers to all these questions could be discovered eventually by experiment—the process of trial and error. But at a time of national emergency there is neither leisure nor material for this method. The necessary information has to be acquired quickly and with the minimum of effort. Make Your Garden Feed You has been written to meet this need.

The book is severely practical. The author takes a plot of ground—90 feet by 60 feet—and shows exactly how it must be arranged and treated to make it yield the maximum amount of food for the minimum expenditure of money and labour. He explains why it is economical to keep fowls, rabbits, and bees, in addition to growing vegetables and fruit, and he gives sound advice on how to overcome the war-time difficulties of manuring the ground and feeding the livestock.

The best way to use this book is to read it straight through as far as the end of the section on vegetable growing, and to spend half an hour or so absorbing the details of the plan shown on pages 2 and 3. The next step is to adapt the author’s arrangement to suit your own garden or allotment. You may have to leave out the fruit trees or decide bee-keeping is unsuitable in your neighbourhood. But the main features of the scheme—especially the inclusion of three vegetable plots—can be kept for any garden, whatever its size or special peculiarities. If you only have room for one or two rows of vegetables you can plan to grow different crops from one year to the next.

CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT FROM THE CONTENTS LIST

When you have fixed the layout for your own garden and have the preliminary details worked out, then look at the contents list on page v. This shows the range of subjects covered by the book and all you need to do is to turn to the page where your special problems are solved. How deep to dig the ground, how much seed to buy, when to put it in, when and how to transplant the seedlings—the answers to all such questions can be found immediately. Some difficulties, however, are not easy to clear up in words; the distinction, for example, between a useful plant and a dangerous weed requires an object lesson rather than an explanation. These obstacles, therefore, are removed by a number of very clear illustrations which will be of use and interest to beginner and veteran alike.

TO PLAN YOUR CROPS

WHATEVER the shape and size of your allotment or garden, you are advised to decide where everything you intend to grow is to be planted before you start. Similarly the sites of the shed, greenhouse, manure heap, etc., should all be chosen at the outset.

The diagram given here (Fig. 1) shows the layout recommended for a plot measuring 90 ft. by 60 ft. If your allotment or garden plot is smaller you should not have much difficulty in adapting the layout to suit your individual need. For instance, if your plot measures go ft. by 45 ft. and you propose to go in for all the four departments of food production, all it means is that the three vegetable plots will be 27 ft. by 28 ft. instead of 42 ft. by 28 ft.

IF THERE IS NO FENCE

It is to be hoped that the 90-ft. long north boundary consists of a solid fence, since this simplifies things considerably; but if it happens to be a wire-strand fence, or even no fence at all, this little difficulty can be overcome easily enough and without the outlay of a lot of money.

Should there be no fencing, run three strands of stout wire from the greenhouse and a post in one corner to the corner of the general-purpose shed, and again from the east corner of the shed to the corner of the poultry house, covering this with 1-in. mesh, 4-ft. high wire-netting. Support by means of 3-in. square stakes placed about 5 ft. apart.

PLACING THE FRUIT TREES AND TOMATOES

Leaf-mould is invaluable, particularly in these days when stable manure is so difficult to obtain, so provision has to be made for its storage. And the same is true of the compost heap. These 6 ft. by 5 ft. areas can be fronted by 5-ft. high trellis with a bed in front for planting soft fruit climbers.

At the back of the seed-bed and between the frames and the north boundary cordon, fruit trees or tomatoes may be grown if the wall is solid. If the fence is only of wire strands, tomatoes are ruled out, because they would not be sufficiently sheltered.

It is suggested that espalier fruit trees should be planted at the north end of plots 1 and 2, and that a herb bed, 4 ft. in width, should be sown or planted at the far end of plot 3, while to accommodate a greater number of soft fruit bushes 8 ft. or 10 ft. long pergolas—a string of connected arches—should be erected at each end of the two main paths. The bee-hives can be placed conveniently close to the fruit trees of the centre plot, where the bees will help to fertilize them.

WHY THREE VEGETABLE PLOTS ARE ESSENTIAL

Whatever else you may not do, you should divide the area to be used for growing vegetables into three separate plots. It does not matter whether these are separated by a path, as shown in the diagram, or not, but you should mark their confines in one way or another.

Much of the success that will attend your efforts depends upon planning your crops in three groups. Here are the reasons:

1. No crop should be taken off the same plot two years in succession.

2. Some crops are shallow-rooting and only take plant food from the surface, while others are deep-rooting and obtain their food from the lower soil. By arranging for a deep-rooting crop to follow a shallow-rooting one, and vice versa, you are saved spending a lot of extra money on manure or chemical fertilisers.

3. Some plants require a large quantity of one kind of plant food, but others need little of it. Again, manure is saved by growing one such crop after the other.

The three plots are marked : Plot 1, Green Crops; Plot 2, Peas, etc.; and Plot 3, Root Crops. The second year the crops are shifted round, so that Plot 1 carries the roots, Plot 2 the greens and Plot 3 the peas, etc. The next year they are moved a step again, and so on. Each crop comes back to its original site every third year.

VEGETABLES YOU ARE ADVISED TO GROW

Various points have been taken into consideration in the choice of vegetables to be grown, and the amount of space which is devoted to each—easy cultivation, high food value, health-promoting qualities, and a regular supply of vegetables in season without a surplus of any. In connection with the last point it must be remembered that the requirements of the rabbits and poultry have to be taken into account.

The vegetables to be grown are set out below in the order in which they are placed in their respective plots.¹

GREEN VEGETABLES ON THE FIRST PLOT

Reading from the left side of the diagram (Fig. 1), the crops recommended are as follows:

SUMMER CABBAGES.—Two rows, with 18 in. between the plants, giving a total of 56 heads.

SUMMER CAULIFLOWERS.—Two rows, 18 in. between the plants, a total of 56 plants.

EARLY SAVOYS.—One row, 15 in. between the plants, a total of 34.

LATE SAVOYS.—Two rows, 18 in. between the plants, a total of 56.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS.—Three rows, 2 ft. between the plants, a total of 63.

AUTUMN CAULIFLOWERS.—One row, 2 ft. between the plants, a total of 28.

BROCCOLI.—One row, 2 ft. between the plants, a total of 28.

KALE OR BORECOLE.—One row, 2 ft. between the plants, a total of 28.

These crops take a long time to grow to maturity. To conserve valuable space, turnips, early carrots, lettuces, summer spinach and salad onions should be sown between the main vegetable crops as catch-crops. These crops will all be ready for harvesting before the main vegetables attain any great size and require the space they occupied.

VEGETABLES FOR THE SECOND PLOT

On Plot 2 the crops are as follows: Early peas, 2 rows; main-crop peas, 3 rows; dwarfed runner beans, 2 rows; celery (grown in a trench), 1 row ; dwarf French beans, 2 rows; leeks, 1 row ; and shallots, 1 row. It is not possible to say how many bushels of peas and beans will be produced, but with 1 ft. between the plants there should be 42 heads of celery and, with 6 in. between the plants, there will be about 84 leeks.

Lettuces and other salad plants should be grown as a catch-crop on the ridges at each side of the celery trench, sowings being made every three weeks to provide a succession.

THE ROOT CROPS ON THE THIRD PLOT

The two rows of carrots are placed close to the path, the reason being that this crop is not thinned in the usual way, but young roots are pulled as they are required in the house. Ultimately the carrots should stand 3 in. apart, so 168 are available for storing for winter use.

Two rows of early potatoes—the new potatoes which are so acceptable after months of stored ones—should suffice for the average household. Seven rows of main-crop potatoes are allowed for, however, not only because they are wanted for many months, but so that there will be a goodly number for the fowls and, possibly, the other live stock. The 126 beetroots from the single row should prove sufficient both for pickling and cooking as a vegetable; the 252 onions from the two rows should see the family through the winter; and the 56 parsnips, grown 9 in. apart in the one row, is about the correct proportion for these vegetables.

These crops—with the exception of the parsnips, which are best left in the ground, at any rate until after there have been a good few frosts—are cleared off the ground some time before October, when a number of crops should be planted. When the potatoes have been gathered, two rows of broad beans should be sown and the remainder of the ground planted with spring cabbages. When the carrots, beetroots, and onions have been harvested, their places should be taken by prickly spinach and winter lettuce.

FRUITS OF THE THREE-YEAR CROPPING PLAN

If you follow the three-year cropping plan suggested above, you will never be without delicious vegetables from year end to year end. How does this succession appeal to you—and to the members of your household ?

Spring (February 15th to May 15th).—Beetroots, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, kale, leeks, onions, parsnips, late savoys, and spinach.

Summer (May 15th to August 15th).—Broad, French, and runner beans, beetroots, cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, lettuce, onions and peas.

Autumn (August 15th to November 15th).—Runner beans, beetroots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, celery, lettuce, onions, spinach and turnips.

Winter (November 15th to February 15th).—Beetroots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, kale, leeks, onions, parsnips, early savoys, spinach and turnips.

1 For quantities of seed and planting details, see pages 19, 27, 28-53.

TOOLS TO MAKE OR BUY

IF the allotment or garden plot is to be cultivated properly a certain number of tools is necessary. The list is a fairly long one, and if all are purchased by each individual gardener it runs away with a lot of money. There are certain tools which are in frequent use, such as a spade, fork and hoe, and these should certainly be bought. It is suggested, however, that many of the others might well be bought by a number of allotment-holders and used on a communal basis. Failing this, an agreement might be come to for one to purchase one or two articles, another one or two different ones, and so on. For example, a syringe, garden hose, and a spraying machine are required now and again, but not sufficiently often to warrant individual purchase.

It must be for war-time gardeners to decide which tools should be bought outright and which obtained collectively; so perhaps it is better to enumerate the different ones and give brief particulars regarding them.

TOOLS YOU CANNOT DO WITHOUT

DIGGING TOOLS.—One of the most important duties in connection with gardening is digging, so the first requirement is a first-class spade. It is worth while spending an extra shilling or so and getting a good one. It should be of the correct weight, a point which can be ascertained after handling a few at the shop.

Two forks are really necessary. One should be a four-pronged model, with round prongs, for all ordinary purposes. The second should have flat prongs, this being wanted for lifting manure, gathering up vegetable refuse, such as potato haulm and cabbage stalks, and also for lifting potatoes. And a trowel is essential for making holes for the reception of plants raised in the seed-bed.

RAKES AND HOES.—After digging comes the preparation of the surface soil—the production of a fine tilth. A couple of iron rakes and a wooden rake (the latter for the final raking) are needed. One iron rake should be 8 in. and the other 12 in. If you can get hold of an old 12-in. iron rake accept it as a gift, break off all the teeth with the exception of the two outside ones, and you will have an excellent tool for drawing two drills at once.

Hoeing is a job which must not be neglected, so both a Dutch and a V-shaped hoe should be bought.

THE GARDEN LINE.—Some kind of a garden line is required when drawing drills. Blind cord can be used for the purpose, attached to a wooden stake at each end. But unless treated carefully the cord is liable to perish rapidly. It really pays to invest in a proper line with an iron stake at one end and a staked winder at the other. Such a line lasts for years; the cord dries well, since the centre of the roll is hollow. Although not essential, as a 5-ft. tape measure does well enough, a 12-ft. rod marked off into feet, with the first 3 ft. marked off in inches, is useful for spacing out rows and plants.

OTHER USEFUL TOOLS

There are many occasions when a wheelbarrow is needed. One can be made at home, mounted on one or two wheels from an old perambulator; but as they do not cost a lot the war-time gardener may decide to buy one.

Watering is another necessary duty, so the purchase of a watering-can suggests itself. A syringe is also an asset.

The tools which are only wanted occasionally, or perhaps never at all, are a hose-pipe and roller, a spraying machine, mower (not likely, as grass is at a discount in war-time), a light garden roller, secateurs, pruning-knife, hedge shears, edging shears and a garden basket.

SEED BOXES, TRAYS, PEA STICKS, AND STRING

For raising seedlings in the frame or greenhouse seed-boxes or pans are required. The former are the better. The boxes should be 15 in. long, 10 in. wide and 3 in., 4 in., and 5 in. deep. All pans and boxes must be fitted with drainage holes in the bottom.

If the amateur food-grower has a greenhouse, flower-pots must be bought. Flower-pots range from 2 in. in diameter to 18 in., but these outside measurements can be forgotten. A few sixties, forty-eights, thirty-twos, twenty-fours and sixteens should prove sufficient.

It is recommended that seed potatoes should be sprouted before being planted. Trays are used and one or two should be knocked up out of ³/₄-in. thick battens, 3 in. wide. The trays should be made with a sparred bottom and the two ends should be rather higher than the sides so that, when they are piled on top of each other, the contents of all receive plenty of air. These trays are also excellent for storing other things, such as onions.

Lastly, bean and pea sticks are required, but the former may be dispensed with if the runner beans are dwarfed. A ball of fairly stout string and some raffia complete the list of things you will need to carry out all the necessary work.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR GARDENING TOOLS

Gardening tools cost a considerable amount of money, so it is folly to neglect them. They can all be made to give excellent service for many years if properly looked after. A golden rule to adopt is that each one should be thoroughly cleaned immediately after use and then returned to its allotted position in the general-purpose shed—a shed which should be damp-proof, if possible, and in which a tin of oil (not paraffin) and a bundle of clean rags are kept handy.

The tools which are most likely to be bought at first are those used in working the soil. A good rubbing with a piece of old sacking is usually sufficient but, if the ground happens to be very wet, the tools should be scrubbed and, after drying, they should be lightly oiled. This applies to the spade, forks, rakes, hoes, trowel, and the like. Occasionally it may be necessary to file the spade a little, because, if the ground is stony, it becomes blunt in course of time.

The garden basket—this is usually oblong in shape, rounded at the bottom and fitted with a handle for convenient carrying—is apt to get wet and dirty. It should be dried carefully if only wet, but scrubbed and dried if very muddy.

If the wheelbarrow can be kept under cover all the better, but, failing this, it should be turned upside down and a sack thrown over it. The only attention it requires is for the wheel to be oiled at frequent intervals.

The edged tools are the most expensive, so after use they should be wiped dry with a clean rag and smeared with oil. They call for sharpening from time to time, a scythe stone being the most suitable agent to use.

The garden hose should never be allowed to get twisted, nor should it be allowed to lie about in hot, sunny weather, as this has a bad effect on rubber. It should be attached to a roller, and care should be taken to expel all the water as the hose is being wound up.

The syringe and sprayer should be washed out with clean water and the nozzles kept free from particles of grit. New flower-pots should be soaked in water for some hours before using, while dirty ones should be scrubbed in a mild disinfectant solution and rinsed in fresh water.

FRAMES AND THE GARDEN SHED

IN normal times most amateur gardeners endeavour to raise out-of-season crops, relying upon purchase for the ordinary vegetables when obtainable in the shops. The aim of the war-time gardener, however, is to produce as much food as possible, so extra early and late crops which occupy a considerable amount of room and involve a lot of work, together with the possession of a heated greenhouse or frames, need not be considered. At the same time, if the allotment already boasts a small greenhouse this should certainly be used. In any case one or two frames should be made or bought, since they are practically indispensable.

HOW TO CONSTRUCT A GARDEN FRAME

A frame is simply a box made rather higher at the back than at the front and fitted with a glass top. If the allotment or garden plot is of only small dimensions there is no reason why a crate should not be re-modelled and a piece of glass, say, a picture-frame, used for the top. Two or three such frames might be rigged up at little or no cost.

For the larger allotment, however, it is better to buy a three-light frame or, if the amateur gardener is handy with tools, to buy the “lights” and fashion the woodwork at home.

The usual type of frame is that known as the lean-to, as shown in Fig. 3. The ordinary light measures 6 ft. by 4 ft., so the whole structure measures 12 ft. by 6 ft. The body of the frame should be 14 in. high in front and 18 in. high at the back, and it should be made of sound boarding 1¹/₄ in. in thickness. When more than one “light” is used there must be a channelled cross-member where they come together, so that the rain which percolates between may drain away without reaching the inside of the frame, where it may do damage to young seedlings.

The series of frames should be placed directly on the ground (slightly raised, if possible, to ensure adequate drainage) and, if plants are to be grown in pots, pans, or seed-boxes, filled with a 10-in. layer of cinders or coconut fibre. If a bed is made up, in which the plants are to be placed direct, this should consist of a 10-in. layer of good garden soil.

FOR AND AGAINST A HEATED FRAME

It is questionable whether it would pay the amateur home food-producer to go in for one or more heated frames. A heated frame is mostly used for raising plants in the early part of the year before the seed can be sown outdoors so that very early crops are obtained, and this branch of gardening is not advocated at the present time. A heated frame is one raised or rested on a 4-ft. thick pile of mixed horse manure and oak and beech leaves. Stable manure is practically unprocurable nowadays, so the use of a heated frame is automatically ruled out.

There is, however, a suggestion which might commend itself to the gardener who is able to obtain a small quantity of stable manure. This is to make a sunk pit instead of a heated frame. In most cases, however, it would be better to employ the manure for digging into the soil.

To make a sunk pit, dig a hole 2¹/₂ ft. deep and 2 in. shorter and narrower than the area covered by the number of “lights” to be used. Line this with any rough, thick wood obtainable, extending the front 4 in. above ground level and the back 8 in., with the ends sloping from back to front. Prepare a mixture of stable manure and leaves, turning it over every day for a week, then put this into the pit to a depth of 18 in., compressing each layer as it is thrown in. Cover this with 3 in. of soil and then 5 in. of ashes, cinders or coconut fibre if seed-boxes are to be accommodated, or with 4 in. of soil if seeds are to be sown or seedlings planted.

Frames must be ventilated as weather conditions permit. This is done by raising the “lights” at one side—the side away from any wind that may be blowing. To do this, blocks of wood, cut in 1-in. steps, are needed. In unusually cold weather the temperature in a frame may be kept warm by putting a hot-water bottle, preferably metal, under it all night.

THREE TYPES OF FROST-PROOF GREENHOUSE

A heated greenhouse, that is, one in which a winter night temperature of round about 50 degrees F. can be maintained, is out of place on the war-time allotment, but a frost-proof one can be pressed into service and put to a good use for certain vegetable crops and for raising flowering plants for the decoration of the house.

There are three principal types of greenhouses—the span or gable, the three-quarter span, and the lean-to. The lean-to (higher at the back than at the front) is excellent when the north boundary consists of a wall, say, 8 ft. or 9 ft. high. The three-quarter span (Fig. 3) is recommended when the north wall is 6 ft. to 7 ft. high. Both of these types cost less than the span house, since one side can be dispensed with altogether, but the span greenhouse is the most practical. A useful size is 10 ft. or 12 ft. in length and 8 ft. to 10 ft. in width.

A greenhouse is allowed for in the layout (Fig. 1). If one is not erected the heap of leaf-mould with trellis-backed bed in front may be moved to the west boundary and the seed-bed and row of fruit trees or tomatoes extended to cover the extra space. In this case part of the seed-bed may be used for raising a few early vegetables or flowers for cutting.

TO BUILD AND EQUIP THE GENERAL-PURPOSE SHED

A tool-shed for storing the implements so that they are not left out in the open is a necessity on the allotment. If poultry, rabbits and bees are also kept as recommended, the tool-shed should be large enough to be used as a general-purpose shed. A convenient size is 16 ft. long by 8 ft. wide.

This shed need not be an expensive structure and, although made of surplus material, neither need it be unsightly. It should be lean-to in form, say, 6 ft. high at the back and 8 ft. high in front. There should be a door in the front—the centre is the best position—and large windows on each side.

Such a shed can be built of plywood obtained from tea-chests, timber from crates and boxes, composite board, or even a high-grade bitumen felt, on a framework of wood. Corrugated iron is a durable, not-too-expensive, roofing material. The corner uprights should be of 3 in. by 3 in. battens (natural poles of 2¹/₂-in. or 3-in. diameter may be used if obtainable) and the intermediate uprights and the horizontals of 2 in. by 2 in. material, with 3 in. by 1 in. battens placed on edge for the rafters.

The exact positioning of the shed fitments is left to the individual, but one or two points may be briefly discussed.

1. Under each window there should be a table about 2 ft. in width, with a series of drawers below.

2. There should be plenty of hooks and nails on the walls, so that gardening tools and other articles may be hung up, with shelves above for storing some of the smaller utensils.

3. If any poultry food is stored in this shed, suitable bins can be made out of tea-chests, barrels or crates, but the most satisfactory container is the galvanised iron dustbin. If the shed floor is of natural earth the food receptacles should be stood on a slatted platform to preserve them from damp.

SPADE-WORK AND SOWING

IN many districts the local authorities are taking over large tracts of land and converting them into allotments. As a general rule, the area is simply measured off into plots, and those who take them over have to do all the necessary “spade-work”; and spade-work it is, in very truth. Before dealing with the usual routine work connected with vegetable-growing it may be advisable to say something regarding the best way of turning a piece of rough land into an allotment.

Quite apart from the nature and texture of the land itself its condition must be considered. The new allotment site may be either a piece of old grassland or waste ground. These require rather different treatment to bring them into a productive state.

If the area of ground allotted to you consists of turfed land, the first job is to remove the sods. This means a considerable amount of work, but one is repaid handsomely, since the turves as they are removed can be heaped up in a corner of the plot and converted into an excellent manure substitute in about six months’ time. The turves and the soil below are almost certain, however, to be infested with wire-worms and similar pests, so thorough fumigation of the former as they are stacked up and of the latter when it is being dug is essential.¹

HOW TO DISCOVER THE QUALITY OF THE SOIL

The next thing to do is to find out the nature of the soil, because the preparation of the allotment depends largely upon this. Two or three holes should be dug in different parts and the sides examined. It is quite easy to see how deep is the layer of top soil (this should be good) and what lies below, whether fairly good soil, gravel or clay.

The holder of a new allotment will find it best to put in a lot of work digging the whole plot at the start, so it is advised that full trenching should be adopted. There are two methods of full trenching²—working the soil to a depth of about 3 ft.—and which one should be followed must be decided when the nature of the soil is known.

If the top soil (this may be of any depth from a few inches to a foot) is vastly better than the subsoil (the second spit or foot) the ground should be trenched so that the top soil is kept on top and the subsoil beneath. If, however, the good soil goes down to a depth of 2 ft., the second method is better, in which case the top soil becomes the subsoil and the subsoil the top soil. Weather action thus benefits the former subsoil.

TO CLEAN THE LAND

As digging proceeds all stones should be collected and all deep-rooting perennial weeds like dandelions and plantains should be removed since, even if only bits of root are left in the ground, they will spring up again. These perennial weeds should be burned out-of-hand and not allowed to rot down.

If the site has previously been waste land the surface is sure to be covered with stones and other forms of rubbish—some of it too finely powdered to allow it to be removed. After gathering up the larger material the area should be full-trenched by the second method, so that the remaining rubbish is buried a foot below the surface.

WHY PATHS ARE NECESSARY

If the allotment measures, say, 90 ft. by 60 ft., it is really necessary to have a number of paths, and the better these are constructed the easier the work of the gardener, since work has often to be done in bad weather. In any case, no matter what the paths consist of, it is advisable to have a definite edging. The vegetable plots are naturally raised a little above the level of the paths owing to the cultivation of the ground so, unless a proper edging is provided, the soil gets on to the paths, making the allotment look untidy and uncared-for.

Various materials can be used for separating the plots from the paths, such as tiles, bricks, concrete slabs or wood. The last mentioned is excellent and is possibly the least expensive. The timber should be 5 in. wide and 1 in. thick, and 400 ft. is required for a plot 90 ft. by 60 ft. It may just happen, however, that in some districts one of the other three materials can be obtained even more cheaply, in which case it should be used.

In addition to the permanent edging there is no reason why a “live ” edging should not be planted. The dwarf plants used for the purpose occupy very little space and yet they make the allotment more attractive and also provide a few cut flowers for home decoration. Among the plants which are recommended for this purpose are: Gold Dust (Alyssum saxatile compactum), Alkanet (Anchusa myosolidiflora), Rock Cress (Arabis albida), Thrift (Armeria marilima), BellHower (Campanula) and Evergreen Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens).

MAKING THE PATHS

Naturally enough the allotment-holder does not wish to spend a penny more than necessary, so it is not advised that the best of all path-making materials—gravel—should be used. On no account, however, should the natural grass be retained on the paths, since it requires a lot of attention, while it is also too good a harbourage for snails and slugs.

The grass should be skimmed off, and if cinders, clinkers, chippings, and ashes (coal ashes damped with tar make a particularly durable path) cannot be obtained, the ground should just be rounded off a little, so that it is slightly higher in the centre, and then rolled. It is worth while for the amateur gardener to make a few inquiries locally, because it is often possible to secure a sufficient quantity of clinkers or similar material for next to nothing, save the cost of carting. A 3-in. layer of any available material is ample.

GOLDEN RULES FOR DIGGING

Most amateur gardeners make digging a very laborious task. It certainly calls for the expenditure of a certain amount of elbow grease, but it is not really hard work—when done in the proper way.

There are three methods of digging—single-spit, double digging and trenching, these working the soil to a depth of 1 ft., 2 ft. and 3 ft. respectively. There are golden rules which can be applied to all.

1. Have a spade of the right weight and keep it sharp and clean.

2. Drive the spade vertically into the ground, using the foot to give added pressure as necessary.

3. Always work with a trench in front, for this not only makes it easier to incorporate manure and decayed vegetable refuse with the soil, since they can be thoroughly mixed in the trench, but also makes the actual digging lighter work.

SINGLE-SPIT DIGGING

In single-spit digging excavate a trench 1 ft. deep (the exact depth should depend upon whether the soil is uniformly good down to this maximum depth) and 1 ft. wide, and remove the soil to the other end of the plot. Six inches away from the edge of the trench insert the spade, lift up a spadeful of mould and throw it into the far side of the trench, breaking up the lumps at the same time. Use the excavated soil for filling the trench which remains when digging is completed

DOUBLE DIGGING OR MOCK-TRENCHING

Double digging is practically the same as single-spit digging but, when the trench is opened, the subsoil or second spit of soil should be thoroughly broken up with the fork, and as each section of under-soil is revealed it, too, should be forked over. In this way the soil is worked to a depth of 2 ft.

Double digging is much better than single-spit digging, since the soil is better æerated, water can pass through more easily, and the roots of the plants can penetrate more deeply in search of food. This method is shown in Fig. 5.

THE TWO METHODS OF FULL TRENCHING

There are two methods of full trenching. The first is usually employed, and always when the top soil is better than the subsoil. To trench the vegetable plot by the first method, proceed as follows:

Dig out a 2-ft. wide trench of top soil, removing the soil to the other end of the plot. Follow by taking out a 1-ft. wide trench of subsoil, as shown at B in Fig. 2, removing to the other end, but keeping it separate. Then fork over the third spit of soil (E). Continue by digging one-half of D and throwing it into the back of B; follow with the other half of D, so that B is filled. Next throw one-half of F on top of B at A, then the other half. The subsoil exposed by the removal of D should then be forked over. At the end of the plot the two heaps of excavated soil are used for filling the trench.

In the second method, after taking out a 2-ft. wide trench of top soil, follow with a 2-ft. wide trench of subsoil and fork up the third spit. Then throw the next 2 ft. of top soil into the bottom of the trench and cover this with the 2 ft. of subsoil, and again fork over the exposed third spit of soil. At the end of the plot put the excavated top soil in the bottom of the trench and cover with the excavated subsoil.

THE ART OF FRUITFUL SOWING

Practically all of the crops grown in the war-time gardener’s allotment or garden plot are raised from seeds sown in the open. Sowing, while a simple enough job in itself, must be done in the right way if bumper crops of first-quality vegetables are to be produced. It will repay careful study to learn the art.

Digging is usually (or should be) carried out in the autumn and winter, and the ground should be left in its rough state until shortly before it is to be sown or planted. As the weather improves, the soil should be worked into more or less the proper condition for sowing. After the frosts and snow have acted upon the clods of earth they can be broken up quite easily with the iron rake. The site, whether seed-bed or one of the main vegetable plots, should be raked twice from end to end and twice from side to side. This produces a reasonably fine tilth, or in other words the top soil is pulverised. Just before sowing the site should be gone over once with the wooden rake, any little stones thus being removed.

TO SOW IN DRILLS

The lazy gardener’s way of sowing is by broadcasting the seed, but it is much better, although involving a little more work, to sow in properly drawn drills. Definite rows look better, the hoe can be worked more easily between the plants, thinning is facilitated and the seedlings can be protected, if necessary, by pushing up the soil on each side of the rows to a height of, say, 3 in.

Drill sowing should be adopted, but the drills must be drawn properly. This is the way to cut them. Stretch the garden line along the row in which the seeds are to be sown. Walking backwards, with one foot on the line to prevent it moving, make a V-shaped channel the necessary depth with the corner of the rake, a corner of the draw-hoe, or the homemade two-teethed rake to make two drills at once. Great care is necessary to cut the drills exactly the same depth throughout, otherwise an uneven row of seedlings will result.

THE PROFESSIONAL SOWS THIS WAY

You will buy your small seeds in little packets or envelopes. Taking the line of least resistance, you will probably feel tempted to tear off a corner of the packet and try to trickle the seeds out in a continuous even line along the bottom of the drill. It sounds easy, but in fact your trickle will be anything but even and continuous, for the seeds will come out in little bunches. And what a lot of extra thinning you will have to do later on !

The professional goes to work in quite a different way. If the ground is dry he pours water along each drill a few hours beforehand. Then when everything is set he takes a little of the seed into the palm of his hand, stoops down and, with knuckles facing downwards and the point of the thumb directed towards the centre of the drill, proceeds to roll out a seed at a time at any distance he desires. He saves seeds and reduces thinning to the absolute minimum.

HOW TO SOW SEEDS IN BOXES

If seedlings are to be raised under glass the seed should be sown in boxes, pans, or flower-pots. The drainage holes should be covered first with a few bits of broken pot and then with a little coarse soil. The boxes or pots should then be filled with the compost or soil advised for the crop in question. The surface of the soil should be watered lightly a couple of hours beforehand, the seed sprinkled thinly on the surface and covered with a thin layer of soil.

The soil should be kept uniformly moist and the boxes kept close to the glass. The seedlings must be hardened off by keeping them under more and more natural conditions before being planted out in the open.

PLANTING, HOEING, WATERING

Cabbages and other members of the same family are sown in the seed-bed and transferred to their permanent quarters when the site apportioned to them becomes vacant and the weather conditions permit. Seedlings raised under glass must also be planted out in the open.

Planting is a very simple operation. The drills in which the seed has been sown, or the soil in the seed-boxes, should be well watered the day before so that the young plants can be lifted without damaging their roots. Holes should be opened with the trowel and, if the soil is dry, each one filled with water a few hours before a plant is inserted in each. After planting, the soil should be made firm round the stems, and the row watered. By the way, to lift seedlings out of boxes it is better to break off one side. This can be nailed on again afterwards, so the box is not ruined.

THE NEED FOR FREQUENT HOEING

Whenever the war-time gardener has a little time to spare he should wield the hoe. Hoeing is a very important cultivation operation and the more often it is conducted the better. Hoeing reduces the surface soil to a fine tilth—that is the whole object. Unless the surface soil is worked frequently, minute channels form from the under-soil to the surface and this allows the moisture in the soil to evaporate. Hoeing closes these minute tubes and so conserves moisture.

Hoeing is light work and it saves having to engage in more strenuous labour. Without hoeing the watering-can or the hose-pipe must be used much more often, and this usually means carrying the water a considerable distance on the allotment, since main water is not usually laid on.

A further advantage of applying the hoe is that it kills off small annual weeds, that is, weeds which seed themselves and so come up year after year. Weeds require food as well as the crops you grow, so eradicating them means a greater store of plant food which can be converted into an edible crop. And as you will gather later, the supplying of plant food, or manuring, is no easy task nowadays.

WHEN TO WATER AND HOW TO DO IT

However assiduously the gardener hoes his vegetable plots, a certain amount of watering is essential in dry weather. It should be remembered, however, that, while the soil may appear to be bone dry on the surface, it may be fairly moist a couple of inches or so below. Turn up a little soil or push in a finger to determine whether additional water is required.

The only thing that need be said regarding the application of water is that sprinkling the ground is worse than useless; give it a good soaking, for this alone benefits the crops. A sprinkling tends to cause the roots of the plants to come upwards so that they can make use of the moisture and, being close to the surface, they may easily be burned when the sun is shining brightly. Water occasionally and water liberally is the best advice that can be given.

THE A. B. C. OF MANURING

Manuring, or the provision of plant food, is an absolute necessity in gardening. Without it good results over a period of years are impossible. Farmyard manure, or an efficient substitute, must be incorporated with the soil. These natural substances not only feed the plants but, as they decay, they increase the store of humus (decayed organic material) and humus is the very essence of fertility. It binds the soil together, but at the same time it leaves it porous so that air is freely admitted and water can percolate through it; it warms the soil and it helps it to retain moisture. Farmyard manure (stable, cow, and pig) also contains millions and billions of bacteria, and these play a highly important part by their action of liberating plant food.

When natural manures are available they should be applied at the rate of one barrowload to every ten square yards. Stable manure is better for heavy land, and cow and pig manures for light.

While it is true that horses are being used more at the present time, owing to petrol rationing, the majority of gardeners will find it extremely difficult to obtain supplies of horse manure. The ordinary gardener is faced with a difficulty in this connection, because it means running the place with very little or no natural manure. Humus must, however, be provided, or sooner or later the soil will show definite signs of weakness and the crops will consequently suffer.

TO USE MANURE FROM POULTRY AND RABBITS

Natural manures may not be obtainable, but all vegetable matter is capable of supplying humus, so the war-time gardener must take stock of what is available in his own district. But before dealing with the numerous substitutes which can be used successfully something may be said about the two manures which are produced by poultry and rabbits.

Poultry manure is first-class. When fowls are kept on the intensive system in a scratching-shed the droppings are available in two forms. There are the neat droppings (or mixed with a little dry earth or sand) from the droppings-board placed beneath the perches; there is also the manure-impregnated litter from the poultry-house floor. The latter is invaluable for digging into the soil in the autumn or winter when the vegetable plots are being treated to their annual digging, a useful dressing being 1 cwt. to one-sixth of an acre. The straw or dried leaves used as litter supply humus; the droppings supply other plant foods, nitrogen, potash and phosphorus. But since poultry manure is rather deficient in the last-mentioned, it is advisable to add a fifth part by weight of mineral superphosphates to the litter manure.

The neat droppings are best used for top-dressing; that is, applying to the crops as they are actually growing, in the same way as chemical fertilisers are employed. A satisfactory dressing is ¹/₂ oz. per yard of row.

Rabbit manure is not very rich in plant food, but it is very durable and so supplies nourishment for many months on end. It should be dug into the soil in the autumn or winter at the rate of 28 lb. per rod. It will be necessary to collect this manure for a whole year as it is only applied at digging time in the autumn or winter. To store it, cover with vegetable refuse or mix with the compost heap.

TO OBTAIN AND STORE LEAF-MOULD AND COMPOST

Every opportunity should be taken in the late summer and autumn of collecting fallen leaves. These, when properly rotted down, become what is known as leaf-mould, which is first-class for many different purposes. The leaves as they are collected should be heaped up on a site reserved for them and covered with wire-netting to prevent them being blown all over the place. They should be allowed to remain for ten to twelve months. There is just one point in connection with the making of leaf-mould. Oak and beech leaves should not be added to the heap. They should be reserved for making the hot-bed in the sunk pit, if one is made, or failing this they should not be gathered.

Right throughout the year there is a supply of waste or refuse vegetable stuff; material which is not good enough for the house and not even suitable for the fowls and rabbits. Although unfit for consumption it should certainly not be thrown away, since most of it can be converted into valuable plant food and humus provider with little trouble.

When the various plots are being cleared it will be found that there are two different kinds of refuse. Some of it, like cabbage stumps, does not rot down, but much is soft and succulent and decays rapidly. The former should be consigned to the bonfire—the resulting ashes are extremely useful—but the latter should be stacked. There are two ways of doing this. A heap can be formed on the ground surface, or a hole can be dug and the soft material thrown therein. A 6 ft. by 5 ft. area provides a suitable place, and it is suggested that as there is usually a considerable quantity of refuse to deal with, a pit should be dug.

As the refuse is gathered—surface-rooting weeds, turnip and carrot-tops and the like—it should be deposited in the pit, and now and again a few shovelsful of soil should be scattered on top. In the ordinary garden it is possible to improve the compost greatly by throwing on all the household “ slops,” including soapy water, but this is not a practical suggestion when the allotment is some distance from the house. To obviate any unpleasant odour a little lime may be scattered over the refuse occasionally.

SUBSTITUTES FOR FARMYARD MANURE

One of the best substitutes for farmyard manure is hop manure. There are numerous proprietary manures of this description; all have spent hops as the basis (these supply humus) together with various chemicals. They are excellent, while they are easy and clean to handle and apply. They should be used at the rate advised by the vendors.

Many different kinds of organic refuse are converted into manure. They include shoddy, leather dust, damaged cattle cakes, rape dust, cotton-seed dust, feather waste, hair waste, hoof and horn waste, and so on. The amateur gardener should make inquiries in his own district concerning whether any of these are obtainable. If so they should be applied and dug into the soil in the autumn or winter in the same way as natural manure and at the same rate—three barrowloads to the rod.

Those who live near a large town or in a city may be able to obtain regular supplies of sewage. The solid matter is extracted and usually mixed with lime, alumina, and other chemicals and disposed of to agriculturists. It is usually obtainable in two forms—sludge which is something like soft clay, or dried and ground into a fine powder. The former is the better. It should be applied at the rate of 4 cwt. to the rod and dug in during the winter, preferably after it has lain on the surface for a short time and been subjected to a few frosts.

Gardeners living at the seaside may be able to collect seaweed. This is excellent and about equal in value to farmyard manure. It should be stacked up and allowed to rot down. Apply and dig into the soil in the autumn or winter.

GREEN MANURING

Green manuring is a highly satisfactory way of increasing the fertility of the soil and increasing its humus content. It can, however, be practised to only a limited extent in the garden or on the allotment, since it implies leaving the ground vacant for eight to ten weeks. If you are making a new allotment, however, where the ground is not particularly rich and planting or sowing is not to be carried out for a while, green manuring is recommended.

The surface of the area should be reduced to as fine a tilth as possible, mustard seed broadcast thickly (this must not be confused with the mustard of mustard and cress, for it is the agricultural variety), and in seven or eight weeks the resulting crop should be rolled or trodden flat and then dug well down into the land and covered with a good layer of soil.

ARTIFICIAL MANURES AND CHEMICAL FERTILISERS

Artificial manures can be divided into two classes. Some of them are slow-acting and this necessitates their being dug into the soil in the autumn or winter, while others are quick-acting and these are applied during the growing period.

Among the slow-acting chemicals basic slag, steamed bone-meal, and bone-meal provide phosphates, and kainit and sulphate of potash supply potash. These chemicals should be scattered over the surface of the soil after digging is completed and then pricked in with a fork so that they are mixed with the top two or three inches of soil.

Of the. quick-acting artificials, superphosphate of lime supplies phosphates, sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda are nitrogenous foods, and guano is a good fertiliser.

The rate at which these chemicals should be applied and the crops for which they are most suitable, together with general mixtures which can be prepared at home, are detailed later under the various crop headings.

SOOT DETERS INSECT PESTS

Soot is valuable as a plant food, is a grand deterrent to insect pests, and is also a heavy-soil lightener. It contains a fair quantity of potash, and it may be dug into the soil in the autumn or used as a top-dressing during the spring and summer. Fresh soot should not be used, however; it should first be stored for a couple of months.

TO MAKE AND USE LIQUID MANURE

Liquid manure is beneficial to a number of vegetable crops. This does not refer to the liquid excreted by animals, but consists of a solution of the soluble ingredients of different natural manures. Horse droppings, cow and pig manures, poultry and rabbit manure can all be used. A bushel of the available natural manure, or a mixture of them, is placed into a sack and suspended in a barrel of water. In a few days the water may be used, but it must be diluted first so that it assumes the colour of weak tea. As some of the liquid is taken out plain water should be added. After a time, when the strength of the manure water is becoming weak, the sack may be squeezed against the side of the barrel. This extracts the remainder of the soluble plant food.

Soot water can be made in the same way, but if the garden is only a fairly small one it is usually more practical to use one-half natural manure and one-half soot together.

LIME AND LIMING

Lime must be present in the soil; it neutralises acidity or sourness, it helps to break up stiff clay and to bind very light soil. It is a plant food, but it plays a much more important part than providing nutriment. It sets free food matter from the humus and it helps bacteria in their work of converting insoluble plant food into a soluble form. It is also a soil tonic, for it makes the land a healthy place in which the plants can grow steadily, and helps to prevent disease.

As a general rule lime should be applied every third year, but never at the same time as natural manure.

Lime can be obtained in many different forms. The following are all satisfactory :

1. Chalk, broken into small pieces and dug in at the rate of 1 lb. per square yard.

2. Gas lime. This should be weathered for three or four weeks by exposure to the air, scattered on the surface at the rate of 1 lb. per square yard, and dug in.

3. Ground lime, which should be distributed over the surface after digging, using ¹/₂ lb. per square yard.

4. Limestone, which should be used as chalk.

5. Quicklime. This must be stacked in small heaps and slaked ; then it should be scattered all over the surface at the rate of ¹/₂ lb. per square yard, and dug in.

6. Slaked lime. This should be evenly distributed, using 1 lb. per square yard, and dug in.

Do not bury lime deeply. It tends to sink through the soil, so it should just be pricked into the top two or three inches.

If a three-year cropping plan¹ is adopted, one plot should be given a full dressing of natural manure or a manure substitute, the second plot a half-dressing and the third plot left unmanured each year. The lime should be applied to the unmanured plot—that is once every three years.

1 See page 77.

2 See page 18.

1 See page 2.

THE VEGETABLE BEDS

NOTE.—For every vegetable there are dozens of named varieties, all of them very nearly equally excellent provided they are properly handled and given the conditions they need. Moreover, every gardener with the smallest experience has his own favourites, knowing very well which varieties he considers give the best results. Particular varieties, therefore, are not, in general, given here, and any gardener desiring information on this point should take the advice of his seed merchant.

SOME vegetables are best sown where they will come to maturity; others should be sown in a seed-bed. The former include the root crops, peas, beans, lettuce, spinach and the like. The cabbage family—a term which comprises cabbages, cauliflowers, savoys, brussels sprouts, broccoli and kale—should always be sown in a special seed-bed and transplanted later when weather permits and space can be found for them in the plot allotted to them.

All members of the cabbage family, with the one exception of kale, are very greedy feeders. They require a large quantity of food and this you have to supply. The plot should be deeply dug and liberally manured. If you can get stable manure, work three barrowloads into every thirty square yards; that is, twelve barrowloads into plot I, but omitting the strip to be planted with kale. You will have to feed the plants somehow or other, so if stable manure is short use well-decayed garden refuse from the compost heap. The plants will require extra nourishment, but the chemicals to use are given under the various crop headings.

In every case the right amount of seed to sow is ¹/₂ oz. for each 42-ft. row, so how much you have to buy depends upon the number of rows to be planted. To save you figuring this out, the necessary quantity is given for each green crop. You can make do with slightly less, so if your rows are only 25 ft. long, ¹/₈ oz. of seed will see you through.

FROM SEED-BED TO PLOT

When the seedlings are large enough to handle safely, or when the site is vacant, they must be transferred to their permanent quarters. This planting-out is a simple enough job, but do see that you do it correctly,¹ because such a lot depends upon your adopting the correct procedure.

But there is a special task to be performed when transplanting members of the cabbage family. All of them are subject to two diseases—the cabbage maggot and club-root. You must examine every individual root before it is transplanted. If the root is knobbly, one of the knobs should be cut open. If the trouble is due to the presence of a maggot this will be seen—it is whitish-grey in colour. Burn all plants with such knobs and dip the roots of the remainder into a paint-like mixture of clay, water, and a little carbolic acid.

If there is no maggot it is a case of club-root. Again, burn all the plants with knobbly roots and dip the others into a mixture of soot, lime, and clay, mixed with water.

Give the plot a good dusting with lime and fork this lightly into the top 2 in. of surface soil—an excellent preventive.

CAULIFLOWERS AND CABBAGES

BROCCOLI.—This crop may be regarded as a winter edition of the cauliflower because it is in season from October onwards. As some of the summer cauliflowers may not mature so rapidly as the bulk of them, one row of broccoli with its 28 plants (2 ft. apart) is all that should be required. The same quantity of seed—¹/₄ oz.—is needed, this being sown in the seed-bed during the first half of April.

The soil, as for cauliflowers, should be deeply dug and well manured in the autumn or winter, and before planting out the young plants the soil should be firmed and the top 2 in, loosened. If the soil is poor apply superphosphates, 1¹/₂ oz. and sulphate of potash, ¹/₂ oz., to the square yard. As a generarule, it is not necessary to feed broccoli during the growing period, as they should be encouraged to grow on steadily without forcing so that large curds are formed by October.

In a normal winter we seldom get any severe frosts before the turn of the year, so the curds are not likely to suffer; but should it happen that there is a very cold spell one or two leaves should be broken over. After Christmas, if there are still some good plants left and the weather is frosty, they should be lifted, roots and all, and hung upside down in the shed, where they will keep until required.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS FROM SEPTEMBER TO MARCH

BRUSSELS SPROUTS.—Brussels sprouts are so popular and their cropping season is such a long one—from September onwards, often right on into March—that it is suggested there should be three rows. As there should be 2 ft. between the plants, ¹/₂ oz. of seed sown in the seed-bed during the first or second week of April will provide plenty of picked plants for transplanting later on.

The site should be deeply dug and well manured previously, but before planting the soil should be firmed and then the top 2 in. loosened with the fork. If the soil is on the poor side, dress as for early savoys with superphosphates and sulphate of potash, and feed in monthly instalments afterwards with sulphate of ammonia, ¹/₂ oz. per square yard.

These plants grow to a considerable size and they must be visited frequently to pick the buttons, so there should be 2¹/₄ ft. between the rows.

SUMMER CABBAGES.—If you live in a favoured district and the seed-bed is particularly well protected from north and east winds, you can sow cabbage seed towards the end of March, but it is usually necessary to wait for the first opportunity when soil and weather conditions permit during the first half of April. For the two rows ¹/₂ oz. of seed will prove ample.

Cabbages, in fact all members of the same family, thrive well on any garden soil, but if yours should happen to be very heavy and rather damp you can improve it greatly by working in some leaf-mould, road grit, sand or other lightening material.

If you have an idea that the soil is not particularly good—if, for instance, the site was not manured or given a dressing of decayed vegetable refuse in the autumn or winter—or if the allotment is a new one, dress the plot with a mixture of basic slag, 3 parts by weight and kainit, 1¹

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