Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 73, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1915 — What a Girl Can Do With a Small Garden [ARTICLE]

What a Girl Can Do With a Small Garden

Fine Profit Results From Tillage of Soil, and Work Need Not Become Too Burdensome at That Good Mother Nature knows how a girl feels, and she has made a way by which every country girl may answer the call. She says to you to go out and work in the soft, crumbly earth and make a garden. Plant seeds and see how it feels to be a partner with the sun and wind and rain and with the great Creator of all things. Farmers’ Bulletin 521, from the U. S. Department of Agriculture, gives the record of Miss Katie Gunter, of Samaria, S. C., in the Girls’ Tomato Club work. It reads: Cost of yield and canning $36.33 Canned products, 770 cans: Net cost per can $ .04 Cost of home canner 6.25 Sold fresh tomatoes Net profit for season 78.87 At this rate an acre would produce a net profit of $783.70. That would be enough to pay a good, part of a girl’s way through college. A garden can be made to pay all right. Of course it takes work and sense, but it takes this and gumption too to make afiy work succeed. Of course a girl can not care for a very large piece of ground without the work being too, heavy for her physically. Perhaps a tenth of an acre is all a girl should attempt, and in order to make money it might be well to specialize on a few crops and build up a reputation for handling the best in your line. This will help you in your marketing. * It would pay you to have a permanet bed of strawberries, rhubarb or asparagus. But in this article I am going to tell you especially some of the things I have learned in my garden about the one-year crops. The land should be plowed deep and fertilized in the fall, because the loosening of the earth gives the frost a chance to kill the insects’ eggs and allows the fertilizer to be diffused by the rain and the snow. But if this has not been done for the ground you are to garden just have it plowed deep and have the harrow run over it every few days until planting time. This done, draw carefully to scale a plan of your garden, with crops apportioned, and get your seeds. The rows for radishes, beans, lettuce, beets, carrots, peas, beans and early turnips may stand as close as 18 inches, but jump to three feet for potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers. There are certain kinds of seed that are best. If you do not know about this ask someone who does. This United States Bulletin says that for tomatoes to can the Acme Beauty and Stone are the best because of their shape, their firmness and their bright red color. The market demands a red tomato. A friend of mine who knows all about growing potatoes advises me to use northern-grown early Ohio seed potatoes, non-irrigated and free from disease. So whatever are the crops you decide to raise you should find out the best kind of seed. Directions as to planting and care always accompany seed. You will do well to follow these directions. Perhaps you have already been getting some early plants started in the kitchen. You can use medium-sized old pans for this. Find unfrozen soil on the south side of the house. Mix this with one-third sand, fill your pans and water them well. Set them in a warm place in the kitchen, plant your seeds, water lightly and keep damp, but not soaked, until they are up. After that slow down withh the water to make them sturdy. When the plants have four leaves transplant them, into boxes, and as the days grow warmer keep them out on the porch all you can. Your celery will need to be transplanted several times, as it is not put into the garden before midsummer. , When the men are planting the corn you can plan to set our your plants. The important thing now is to have the seedbed, in splendid condition — mellow, but well firmed, so that the seeds may absorb as much moisture possible. There should be alight dust mulch over the top to prevent evaporation. The tomato plants shoud be staked from the very first, for if not trained up it is almost impossible to get good results. Late in June dig a deep trench and plant your celery plants six inches apart Towards fall tie the tops together and fill the dirt in to bleach it. Before the killing frosta-come lift the plants and bury them in the trench deep enough to be safe from freezing. It is lots of fun to grow celery. I know a country school in Ohio where they grow it on the school ground very successfully. It is not hard to grow as some people imagine it is. I know any bright country girl could succeed with it. Now as to marketing. Early in the season it usually pays best to sell your fresh vegetables or fruit.'' Later the canned product yields the greatest profit. Good canning outfits for use on the farm or in* the school can be obtained for from five to fifteen dollars. Every well regulated country home Bhould have a home canner of some kind. It is as useful as a cream separator or washing machine. Since there has ben so much agitation about pure food, there is a greater market for good, fresh vegetables, and people are willing to pay better prices for them. The best things are never to be found on the bargain counter, so do not be afraid to put a good price on your products. Have confidence in yourself and offer only the best, and you Will surely finda a market. ■go you can make money and be happy because you have had a garden. f nfnmn will find you healthier and

.browner and saner. It was by no mere chance that the first people in the world, the people who were perfectly good and happy, were in a garden. And I believe that just in the same measure that we love growing things and are interested in our garden and catch its spirit shall we draw closer to the attainment of &e deep, strong character—that we should have. I never yet knew a bad person who could make thinks’ grow.