Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 June 1877 — Keeping the Garden Glean. [ARTICLE]

Keeping the Garden Glean.

The large amounts of rain through out the West this springi has had the effect of retarding work in tbe garden, exempt on those sandy spots here and there, where, from the porosity <of the .earth and absolute drainage, the soil may be worked almost iuuneddateiy after the heaviest rains. This naturally calls attention to. the. importance of drainage, as one.of the great necessities of gardening. The want of drainage is the great need 1 of large .areas in the West, for all excfpt the more 'ordinary farm crops. The need of drainage was severely felt last yeanand this spring oner large areas,tfor.any and all crops, and hence the Interestmanifested now hy all intelligent .farmers in drainage, both surface .and 'thorough,. or tile draining. The farmer’s garden—we mean ithe 1 garden spots Of those who make i the attempt tohawe.a garden, where is .grown in good wpriety the culinary vegetables. Ln ordinary use in cities—*is .too generally neglected. As,a rule,.a few cabbages, a patch of potatoes and a generally abor-j tive attempt at the 'cultivation of -some radishes, lettuce and .onions, ususllyire-j suit in disappointment, simply from the failure of ailittle work at the proper time to keep the land clean;.and this, from the presence ■of other worteat the seasomwhen. the garden imoetmeeds .attention. These,i however, are mot gardens in any sense of the word. They.are too Often a merejpatch of land as .near the house as may be, andl usually left without even .an atteigpbat; surface drainage; and, as a consequence, it i/plowed too wet, and iis in so lumpy>a| condition that the finer -seeds germinate with difficulty, and when .they do come; they are no .choked with weeds that the 1 farmer will met.undertake the cleaning,; and the women folks, who aB a rule ap-; predate the .importance of the kitchen garden themselves, give qptthe job at last) in despair. Tet .a good garden may be! had at a light .cost almostianywhere, hy attending u» a Jew simple directions. Of these, themiost important is providing for esnying off aurplue water, either! by~suifaee or underground drains. These! we have spoken -of repeatedly, and the 1 subject need mat tfurther be ref erred ito | here.

All stiff soils—iand our ordinary prairie; soils will warrant .this appellation so farasj gardening i« concerned-tahould be; plowed in the fall, rough, and be allowed; to winter in tfcahcoadition. In the spring,' after being reodeied smooth and firm, the soil should be planted, without replowing, for all euly .crops. Thus you may start in advance of (the weeds, and if the rows of vegetables sure accurately lined, the principal labor of cleaning- may be done with any of the (better class, of handcultivators, and they will go on well enough until the tame comes for. thinning and weeding the rows. Much ofithismay be done with a narrow hoe, by striking across the row, leaning the plants in bunches to be singled by hand; so that one thorough weeding .will usually suffice, the balance of -the'labor being easily accomplished by hand .cultivators «nd the &and hoe. This brings us to the importance of igeeping the surface of the soil in e thor.ncghly friable state. If no g&rdex<cultivalor is owned, a common, bright, ten-\ inch garden rake will be found an excellent implement, and a very little practice will enable the operator to use it effeedual--1; ihj a series of backwaad and forward movements, working close to the nows, and itlioroughly pulverizing the ground. Fur e ten-inch rake the rows should ibe fourteen inches wide. If She rows are not more than a foot wide, an eight-inch rake will be proper. If the soil has beau rendered friable at first, this cultivation once « week will keep the surface «E right and the plants in a growing condition. This fine surface cultivation is really the secret to success in gardening. All good farmers will know that it is the best means of successful cultivation In all of what are edited the hoed crops of the farm. That ii is bo in garden culture must be plain to every intelligent man, since the seed of most garden crops are minute, and ike plants themselves are, for a considerable time after germinating, delicate. The first requisite to success in gardening Is, of course, a thoroughly rich soil; the next is drainage; the third is such surface culture as shall keep the plants growing as Cast as possible. These are, in fact, three great points for successful cultivation with any crop, but especially so with those of the garden. Unless the soil is right, this cultivation cannot be accomplished. The crops upon an acre of garden represent so considerable a value when matured, that it will pay to take special pains to give the growing crops the best of care. The whole matter miw bS summed up thus: A warm, welldrained spot; thorough plowing; careful pulverization; good seed; straight rows and careful surface cultivation. These kept constantly in mind, the kitchen garden will be found to be the most paying portion of the farm.—Prairie Farmer.