.TOMATO
.TOMATO
SALAD
PEPPER
CABBAGE
BEET____
CARROT—
ENDIVE —
LETTUCE.
RADISH­
ONION___
Vegetable
mini-garden
feeds
four
Enough salad vegetables to supply an
average family of four can be grown in a
10 by 20 foot plot for about $15.
Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers,
cabbage, beets, lettuce, radishes, carrots,
endive, onions, and seasonings can be ac­
comodated in this small plot and will save
the gardener many dollars over store-bought
produce.
This garden, small enough to be cul­
tivated by hand, should receive plenty of
sunlight, fertilizer and be kept almost fully
planted at all times during the season.
A succession of plantings can accomplish
the latter. Where there are quick-growing
crops they can be followed by another
sowing and cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers,
zucchini and cabbages, although in place
most of the summer, provide pickings over
a long period.
Neatness counts in a small garden and
guidelines should be used to mark the rows
for seeds and onion sets. The garden can be
worked from the sides, thus eliminating the
need for wide spaces between the rows.
An actual mini-garden of this size was
Page 10
grown by the W. Atlee Burpee Co., seed and
plant producers, at their Fordhook Farms
in Pennsylvania, under supervision of the
editors of “Home Garden" magazine.
The only failure in Home Gard
den were the beets. Although th
successive plantings a gopher ate
soon as they were established.
They used two different varieties of
tomatoes. Mainly Burpee's VF which is
resistant to the two most common tomato
diseases - verticillium and fusarium. The
plants were started indoors and then set
out later. They only used six plants, starting
them April 1 for mid-May planting.
Lettuce, the mainstay of a salat
was planted in two sowings. First
Leaf, which was started early ar
planted on April 15 and was re
picking by May 15.
They also used three plants of a small
cherry tomato - Basket Pak - which bears
heavily and is an ideal salad addition.
Although zucchini may be a question­
able vegetable in this small garden it proved
to be one of the best performers. Seed was
directly sown in mid-May and was bearing
profusely from only two plants starting the
first week in July and continuing into
September.
Bush zucchini is recommended because
young fruits can be eaten raw in salads and
Fordhook, a late variety, was
at the same time and was ready
later.
A second sowing was made al
harvest of endive which gave the
pickings in the fall.
Radishes were also sown twice,
row of quick-maturing Cherry Belle
Season's White, which takes 451
mature, insured radishes throught
season.
Carrots, endive and onions compk
salad bowl. Two sowings of Green
endive made an excellent salad green.
Eat salad all summer for $15
later in the year, large fruits can be cooked
conventionally.
Cucumbers were grown on a trellis net­
ting at the back of the garden. This con­
served space and acted as a background.
They proved to be a good crop and bore
until frost.
Eight heads of cabbage were enough to
provide a family of four with a few ser­
vings of really fresh slaw. Both green and
red cabbage were planted to provide color.
were harvested all season by usingthe
ger plants as scallions.
Cress and Parsley were added ft*
spice fc- the salad, Two little pit
which occupied a small amount of
were well worth the effort, accordinj
editors.
A small amount of garden sp«
supply a generous amount of product,
provide vegetables that are grown W
unnecessary chemicals and give the Ji
the satisfaction of doing it himself.
Clackamas