Explain the Details of the Garden Plot
Nearly 10 years ago we planned a garden on a plot 27 by 35 feet, and enclosed it with a white picket fence. There were four beds, each 10e by 16 feet, with two paths three feet wide crossing in the center. Since the rows were short, each pair of beds was planted as one unit. The attractive grass walks made for easy access.
The plans were carefully drawn as to scale (one inch to two feet), and the vegetable varieties, planting dates, distances and succession crops all marked, making it easy for any one to use the plan.
The soil here is a light gravelly loam which warms up early in the Spring. Manure was spread in the Fall and dug in, but the ground was not raked. Compost is often used in the same way. In the Spring it was spaded over lightly (be sure your soil is dry enough to work) and raked. Some years we sowed winter rye in the Fall and dug it in the Spring. This helps to prevent erosion on sloping ground, but in the decomposition of the rye, some of the nitrogen is used, necessitating additional fertilizer.
Because the plot was small, certain vegetables were omitted. Much as we wanted to raise peas and corn, we felt that they along with squash and potatoes were out of the picture. We concentrated on crops that give ample returns in proportion to the space used. We used the root crops as beets, carrots, radishes and onions; the leafy vegetables as lettuce, chard, kale and spinach. We had beans, kohlrabi, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, okra and celery and even made use of the fence by training tomatoes on it, using Marglobe and the small-fruited variety, Red Cherry. Both were very fruitful.
An edging gives an added fillip to a bed, like the lace on a little girl’s petticoat; so we planted lettuce and curled parsley one year and strawberries another. As a nostalgic reminder of grandmother’s garden, with flowers and vegetables intermixed, sweet alyssum was the choice for a third year. Oh, yes! our friends were enthusiastic, and we liked the garden so much, that we continued it.
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