The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-05-09, Page 30•
'AGE ‘213----GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, MY 9, 1974
A Vegetable Garden
Saves You Money
With Tastier Crop
The success of your vegetable -garden depends great-
ly on your choice of:location. Choose a place in full
'surf and away from trees and shrubs so the vegetables
needn't compete with their roots. Select as level an area
as possible.
Consider this' garden as
part of your total landscape.
You will possibly want a
low fence- to set it off from
the other sections of your
grounds. If so: remember
that tomatoes, cucumbers,
peas, and some beans,.are
all vines and can .be sup-
ported on the fence, so
build it accordingly: "
Think also of theThearness
ora water supply for, if Th
summer is dry, artificial wa-
tering will be necessary. And
-DON'T make your garden too
large. Once the soil is pre-
pared and seeds are sown, a
garden that is 20 by 50 feet
in size takes only an hour a
week to maintain.
Ask each member of the
family which vegetables he or
she likes and plant only those.
There is no point or sense in
planting something that won't
'be enjoyed.
Unless you have plenty of
room, it's ,better not to grow
the vegetables that require a
lot of space. Make a list of
the ones you- want to grow
and group them according to
the number of days they take
to reach edible size. You'll
find this figure in the seed
catalogues. and . on the seed
packets.
THE PLAN
Then. on a piece of paper,
lay out your garden. The
short season vegetables that
mature quickly, like radishes
and green onions, 'should be
planted at one end so another ,.
vegetable like beans can be
sown as soon as they are har-
vested.
Spacing between rows is
important to consider when
you plan. The closest that
rows can be planted, even
with upright growing vege
tables like carrots or beets, is
one foot. Eighteen inches
would give you more room to
mandeuver.
There are two practices you
can use to advantage when
you plan your garden. Suc-
cession planting and inlet,:
cropping. Both insure greater
,production from your garden
space.
Succession planting means
both planting the same vege-
tables several times during
the season for continuing har-
-vest and, as indicated above,
planting , one vegetable in a
space vacated &by another.
Intercropping means plant-
ing early -maturing crops be-
tween rows. of long season
plants. Ydu can first set out
plants of tomatoes and pep-
pers which need several feet
in which to mature. While
they are srnall%they don't need
the space, so grow rows of
peas between them and har-
vest the peas before the larg-
er plants • need all the space
alloted _ to them. -
Spend some time chdosing
varieties of the vegetables
you have , decided to grow.
There's ,a world of difference
between them.. In general,
hybrid varieties are sturdier,'
produce more, and have su-
perior flavopr. There are also
varieties that are resistant to
one �r several common plant
diseases. These are -plainly
indicated in catalogues and
on seed. packets.
',lust because Grandpa grew
a certain variety is no reason
why you should since newer
ones are generally so greatly
improved. If in doubt Wheth-
er a variety .thrives in your
area, realize that seedsmen
serve the country and usually
handle only widely adapted
varieties. "'I
Planning a vegetable ',gar-
den is fun—planting one is,
,•6
too. It can be a family proj-
ect as can the later care of
the garden and the harvesting
of the crop.
FERTILIZE
Most of you know about
fettilizers. I like to broadcast
a balanced fertilizer such as
Pink Vigoro' aid rake it into
thetop 3 to 4 inches of soil
b fore I soW my seeds.. And
terwards, once 'the Plants
ave developed two sets of
leaves, I begin a supplemen
, tary feeding on each side of
the row and- then eTflLy ,hoe
it in. If you .do this your
yield will increase and your
results "wilt ,,be excellent be-
cause nutrients are required
by all.plant life. If they don't
get it, your crop will be 4
failtkce.
It's never too early to"start
introducing the youngsters to
the gentle art of gardening,
and when you are _digging
over your vegetable' garden,
give one of your young ones
a place to sow and raise
radishes, carrots and lettuce.
They are faster growing and
the youngsters are a little .im-
patient. But the children
shouldn't be overlooked when
it comes to gardening,; -They
have little tools they can use,
and the one nice thing about •
-'the family garden, including
a spot for the young, is that
they are right 'there with you,
enjoying the great outdoors
and safe, right by .,your side.
,
Enjoy your vegetable gar-
den,p, Not only will the crop
taste -better, but it 'is going4:-
to save you a great deal ,,of
money as well.
• FEEDING ROSES
Veteran and novice rose
growers should remember that
spraying is a must for excel-
lent rose production. Every
ten days is a good spraying
ritual.- Try 50 percent Mala-
thion to keep insects from
"chewing" up the foliage and,
also dust or spray, with 50
percent- Captain to keep. them
free 9f black spot and
mil-
dew.
L
If „you feed your roses
regularly with nutrients such
as those 'found in Vigoro
Rose Food, your plants Will
be healthy enough to be able.,
to fight pff the contamination '
of fungi diseases. A handful
around each rose every
month. from now until the
end of August will prove- my
saying that a well fed rose
will produce and produce
well.
•
Have a real nice summer.
iIt's been great writing for
you each month and thank
you for your nice letters and
fluestions you've wanted. ans-
wered. •
If you he any more
lawn and garden questions,
write to me at the Garden
1nformqtlon' Centre, 165 Uni-
versity Avenue, Toronto, On-
tario, M5H 3B8 enclosing a
stamped and self-addressed
envelope. It will be my pleas-
ure to answer' them.
f().
"Gailia0;0811111...."
q
0
Something for Mom to plant,.
• look at, and cherish in years to,
come. The New idea for
Mother's Day. • -
Spiciat -3 Days
• Electric or manual.lawn,and Garden Tools •
Bird Baths. • 'Trellis • , Hanging Pots • Lawn.
Sprinklers • Hose end Sprayers 'for lawni
Garden Wheelbarrows • Fertilizers • Gladiola
and Dahlia Bulbs • Shade, and Ornamental
DWARF BARTLETT PEAR - $7.25
CLAPPS FAVORITE PEAR - $5.75
STANLEY PLUM - $6.50
GOLDEN JUBILEE PEACH $5.75
RED HAVEN PEACH - $5.75
BING CHERRY - $7.25
MONTMORENCY CHERRY $6.50
RED DWARF DELICIOUS APPLE $7.25
McINTOSH DWARF APPLE $7.25
•HANDI GREEN PASTURE MIXTURE
& CANADA #1" LAWN MIXTURES
• WEED SPRAYERS & CHEMICAL AVAILABLE
•
INSECTICIDES & PESTICIDE LAWN SPRAYS
6 •
What's lacking .in your soil. we'll test your soil andleil you!
.Drop a sample at ouestore it can be tested for only - $1.50
- •
Protect new transplants.from
sun and wind that would dry
tnem out before they .can
root into moist soli below.
N,
\r"
'47