How and what to grow in a kitchen garden of one acreDarlington, E. D.
Science
How and what to grow in a kitchen garden of one acre
Darlington, E. D.
Kitchen gardens; Vegetable gardening
When possible, the young cabbage plants should be set out directly
before or after a good rain, but if there is no prospect of rain, they
should be planted in the evening and a tincupful of water should be
poured in each hole before the plant is set in; then draw the dry earth
up around the stem and pack firmly around the plant; this will enable
them to withstand at least a week of dry weather. If the drought should
continue longer, or they do not come up fresh in the morning after a
flagging day, they must be watered in the cool of the evening, when
the plant will have the benefit of the water all night. It is waste
of time to water them while the hot sun is shining, unless they can be
shaded with papers, old pans, etc.
As soon as they become well established, the soil around them must be
carefully loosened and cultivation begun. To obtain the best results
they must be cultivated frequently and deeply. It is a common sight in
some gardens to see the cabbage with stems two feet high and a small
bunch of wormy leaves at the top; a closer examination will show that
the soil is hard and trampled, and that the plants have been left to
grow as best they may, while in the well-cultivated garden the stems
are short and the heads are large and solid.
The young plants of late cabbages are generally infested, while in the
seed bed, with a small black fly, which greatly checks their growth,
and sometimes entirely destroys them. These can be gotten rid of, or
better, entirely avoided, by the application of dry road dust, soot,
slug shot, or land plaster, dusted on the young leaves early in the
morning, while the dew is still on them; this should be repeated every
two or three mornings until the fly is exterminated and the plants have
grown to good size. When the plants have been set out and are nearly
ready to head, the green cabbage worm makes its appearance, and if fine
marketable heads are desired this pest must be destroyed. Many remedies
for this are given, most of which are ineffectual. It is best to
sprinkle well with tar water or alum water, taking care to get it well
down into the centre of the loose leaves, using an ordinary watering
pot for the purpose; if a garden syringe is at hand, it can be thrown
into the plant much better than by sprinkling. To make the tar water,
the tar is put in a barrel of water and well stirred; then, when it
has been allowed to settle, the water from the top is dipped off and
used. It should be strong enough to have quite a decided taste. The
alum maybe dissolved in the watering pot, about one tablespoonful to
the gallon, and stirred till dissolved. See that the solution gets well
into the centre of the loose leaves just below the head, as this is the
favorite place of attack by the worms.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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