Independent gardening advice for real gardens, balconies and windowsills.
Practical advice on growing food and flowers, improving soil, and making the most of small spaces. Start anywhere — the garden will meet you.
This is the mother of all vegetation. Nothing, not even grass, will flourish on a poor soil. The quality of the soil varies in different localities. We often find a fine sward on a stiff clay soil, an...
The best soil for growing aquatics, is that obtained from the bed of a pond, or a slow, swampy stream, but when this is not readily obtainable, a mixture of equal parts of good, rich garden loam and s...
Good, fresh, rich soil, is an element that is indispensable to the growth of healthy, vigorous plants. A plant cannot be thrifty if grown in soil that has become musty and stale with long continued us...
A sufficient quantity of soil constituents should be kept on hand in barrels or covered boxes. Store where they will not dry out. Rich Loam or Rotted Sod. This is the basis of most plant soils. Keep a...
The potato is most profitably grown in a warm, dry, sandy, or gravelly loam, well filled with decayed vegetable matters. The famous potato lands of Lake County, Ohio, from which such vast quantities o...
The soil must furnish the whole foundation of plant life. For centuries those who have grown things have realized the vital importance of having the soil rich or well supplied with plant food; and if...
Loss of Lime. Nature made the value of land as a producer of food utterly dependent upon the activity of lime, and at the same time gave it some power to shirk its work. In a normal soil is a percenta...
Nature's Provision. Soils are composed of pulverized stone and organic matter. Much of the original stone contained little lime, and the human race would become nearly helpless if there were no stores...
Lime-Loving Crops. There are plants which are acid-resistant, giving a good return for fertilization and care when the soil is sour. There are a few kinds of cultivated plants that seem to prefer an a...
Not much actual work can be done in the garden, at the north, before the middle of April. But a good deal can be done toward getting ready for active work as soon as conditions become favorable. Right...
While many plants are best started from seed, as described in the preceding chapter, there are many which cannot be so reproduced; especially named varieties which will not come true from seeds, but r...
One of the ways of getting a supply of plants for the house is to start them from seed. With a number of varieties, better specimens may be obtained by this method than by any other. Most of the annua...