there is a considerable number of vegetables that are seldom encountered in the general garden, many of which are well worthy of acquaintance. many of them are familiar to the city housekeper through the medium of the fruit stores and the delicatessen stores; more of them appear in the gardens of the foreign residents and might be adopted for general cultivation with good results.
artichokes
which appear as an especial delicacy on the menus of the big hotels and restaurants on special occasions only, are not difficult to grow in sections of the country where the winters are not too severe. they will not stand the winters of the northern states, however, and in any longitude north of the ohio, are better for winter protection.187 given a mild winter climate they are as easily raised as a cabbage or an ear of corn and are far more ornamental, indeed so striking and handsome are the plants that they may be grown for their effectiveness alone.
the plants are grown from seed started in a hotbed in march or earlier and planted out in rich mellow soil when the weather is suitable. set the plants three feet apart each way. the plants do not bear until the second year, but they may be had in cold sections by purchasing the plants of the florist at any time after the middle of april. as many undesirable sorts are often obtained from seed it is a more certain way of getting good varieties to purchase the plants. they are, however, more expensive than other vegetable plants and where they can not be carried over the winter are somewhat expensive, costing one dollar and fifty cents a dozen. however, a dozen will be ample for a small family.
the unopened flower head is the part eaten and it is served raw as a salad or cooked in various ways as an entrée.
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they should receive the same culture as okra or corn, thorough cultivation and water if the season is unduly dry. at the approach of severe weather the tops should be cut off close to the crown and the plants banked up with coal ashes, which should be removed in the spring before growth begins.
artichoke, jerusalem
though sometimes used as a vegetable and for pickling is especially valuable for feeding stock, especially swine which are allowed to harvest it by rooting it out of the ground. it is claimed that an acre of ground planted to artichoke will keep from twenty to thirty hogs from october to april. they have a special value as a means of clearing a piece of land of undesirable weed growths—like canada thistle, quack grass or locust sprouts, as the hogs in rooting for the tubers will destroy the weed roots, thus redeeming a piece of land that may be utilized for garden crops or fruit.
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in planting the tubers are cut and planted the same as potatoes and cultivated in the same way until the crop is matured sufficiently to turn the hogs on it or they may be harvested to feed during winter to any stock which needs a succulent winter food.
broccoli
a vegetable similar to cauliflower, but of somewhat coarser flavor. it is hardier than cauliflower and will do well in sections where cauliflower is not successfully grown. for rapid growth it should receive frequent cultivation and be grown in rich soil. sow seed very early in greenhouse, hotbed or warm window and set out as soon as the ground can be prepared in spring, setting the plants the same distance apart as cabbage and drawing the earth up about the roots when hoeing. white cap is about the best variety, making fine, large, compact heads of a creamy-white color, of good flavor.
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brussels sprouts
these little miniature cabbages, growing closely together on a stalk, are delicious boiled like cabbage or used as a salad. the culture is the same as that accorded cabbage. the seed should be sown in the hotbed in spring and set out in the open ground in may in rows three feet apart and about twenty inches apart in the rows. cultivate to keep down weeds and maintain a dust-mulch. by fall the little heads will be fully developed. the delicate flavor is improved by a touch of frost. for late use sow seed in june.
chicory
sow seed in the open ground early in spring as for parsnips, thinning to stand three inches apart in the rows and making the rows fifteen inches apart. dig the roots in the fall and store in a dark cellar where the temperature can be controlled. cut the leaves off a little above the root crown and place them in horizontal layers with the crowns outward covering each layer, excepting the tip of the crown, with earth. each191 layer should be a little narrower than the one beneath so that they form a sloping bank. it is the tender white leaves produced in the dark that are used for salad. another form of chicory, the large rooted, is used to mix with or substitute for coffee, being sliced, dried, roasted and ground.
witloof chicory, or french endive as it is sold by dealers in fancy fruits and vegetables, is sown in june in drills a foot apart and cultivated until frost, when the plants should be taken up and trimmed to an inch and a half from the neck and replaced upright in trenches about sixteen inches deep, setting the plants about an inch and a half apart. the trench is then filled in with soil and covered with manure to hasten growth. the tender, white tops will be ready for use in about a month and are eaten raw, like celery, used as a salad or cooked.
celeriac
or turnip-rooted celery is grown for its bulbous root, which has a distinct celery flavor and in192 gardens where celery will not succeed it makes a very good substitute. it is used, cooked, either as a salad or as a vegetable. it is cultivated much as celery is, only it does not require the banking so necessary with that plant. it may, however, be blanched and is said to be very fine that way. delicatesse is a fine sort with perfectly smooth root, free from side rootlets, pure white, tender and excellent in quality. giant prague is another fine sort. earliest of all is ready for use in june and is a good sort.
cherville
resembles parsley and is used for garnishing and for seasoning. cultivate like parsley, making the rows a foot apart and thin to six inches.
collards
grown at the south as greens and as a substitute for cabbage. plant seed in rows, thinning or transplanting to a foot apart in the row. it is improved by a touch of frost.
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corn salad
sow in spring in drills a foot apart. for winter and spring use sow in drills in august and september and cultivate like lettuce or other salad stuff.
cress
upland cress, which has the flavor of water-cress, can be grown in any good garden soil without the presence of water. the seed should be sown very freely in rows one foot apart, making repeated sowings for succession as the plant soon runs to seed. water-cress can be grown about a water hydrant if the soil is clayey, or can be underlaid with a few inches of clay. water-cress sown at intervals in such a position will give a supply of the pungent green that will be a very welcome addition to lettuce, corn or other salad. remove a foot or eighteen inches of the soil for a square yard of space and in the excavation thus formed lay a few inches of clay, tamping and puddling it down until it makes a continuous194 layer, then apply a few inches of earth rich in humus or marsh earth, leaving the surface slightly lower than the surrounding soil and scatter the seed broadcast and keep free from weeds until up and growing. allow the hydrant to drip sufficiently to maintain sufficient moisture. continue to scatter seeds at intervals for a succession of cress.
dandelion
for those who love the bitter tang of the dandelion as a green, the cultivated affords a much finer dish than the wild as the leaves are double the size of the wild dandelion. the seed should be sown in drills, covering very lightly and shading with newspapers or brush until up. thin to stand a foot apart and blanch, if desired, by inverting a box or flower-pot over each plant, or a cone of stiff paper can be used. for greens, only the top may be removed but for salad the plant may be cut down to the root, the part beneath the surface of the ground being very white and tender. there is no danger of dandelion195 grown in the garden becoming a troublesome weed as it is easily kept from seeding, which is its only way of spreading.
fennel or finocchio
is extensively used in italy as a salad. the part used is the enlargement of the leaf stalk at the base of the stem. when this is about the size of an egg, the earth should be drawn up about the plant to cover the enlargement partly and in a week or ten days the eggs maybe used, removing as many as required, a succession being produced. the flavor is delicate, resembling celery, and it may be used either as a salad or boiled.
garlic
so beloved of the italians is quite worth cultivating in our american gardens. it is used in minute quantities as a seasoning in almost all forms of savory cooking, in omelets, salads, soups, dressings and wherever a piquant flavor, suggestive of onion, but distinctive, is desired. the garlic comes in a bunch of cloves which are196 separated and planted like onion sets an inch apart, but it requires warmer weather than the onion, succeeding especially well in the climate of california. it is, however, indigenous in a wild state in many parts of the country and cattle browsing in garlic-infested pastures have a distinctive garlicky flavor to their milk. so agreeable is the taste of garlic or leeks in butter to some people that it was once quite common in the philadelphia markets to hear "leeky butter" inquired for.
kale or borecole
are grown for greens and as a substitute for cabbage, being more hardy than that vegetable. for summer use sow the seed in the open ground in may or june and cultivate the same as cabbage. for early spring use, sow seed in september and protect during winter. some of the varieties, like imperial long-standing kale, are so hardy that they may be dug out from under the snow in the winter. dwarf curled scotch is an excellent sort, very tender and fine flavored197 and with beautiful curled foliage. dwarf green curled kale and excelsior moss curled kale are other good sorts, very mossy, attractive and delicious.
sea kale, less well known than the annual kale, is a hardy perennial that is cultivated somewhat like asparagus, the seed being sown in the spring in rows three to four feet apart. the seedlings give a crop the third year but quicker results come from planting root cuttings or offsets. the sea kale has a very long tap-root and should be grown in rich mellow soil that has been ploughed or dug very deep. as soon as shoots show above the ground blanch with boards, earth, sand or anything that will exclude light until ready for use. when blanched the leaf-stalk is cooked like asparagus or the leaves are used as greens.
kohl-rabi
(turnip-rooted cabbage)
the bulb which grows on the stalk a few inches above the ground is the edible part of this vegetable.198 this is stripped and cooked like turnips, but is much more sweet and delicate. sow seed in the open ground in june, making the rows sixteen inches apart and thin to six inches in the rows. sow for succession from early spring until july. cultivate like cabbage.
leeks
sow seed in april in drills one foot apart and one inch deep. transplant when large enough to handle or thin to stand six inches apart in the rows, setting the plants as deep as possible so that the earth will come up well about the neck to blanch and insure its whiteness and tenderness. in cultivating draw the earth up about the plants. seed may also be sown in august or september, the same as onions, and the plants transplanted the following spring.
prizetaker leek is a fine exhibition sort. large musselburg has enormous broad leaves and a pleasant flavor. long mezieres also has broad, erect leaves, fine flavor and a long, snow-white199 stem and is very hardy. leeks are a valuable addition to the onion family of the garden.
martynia
the curious pods of this vine vegetable are used for pickling and produce a very fancy article. they should be gathered when only half grown. sow the seed in the hotbed in spring and transplant into hills three feet apart each way and cultivate the same as cucumbers. the plants will self-sow and voluntary plants will appear each year so that once established one is quite sure of a supply. seed may also be sown in the open ground, if preferred, in may.
