Page:How and what to grow in a kitchen garden of one acre (IA howwhattogrowin00darl).pdf/180

 sides. Cut all shoots as soon as they appear, till the time for the final cutting, which will vary from the middle of May to the middle of June, according to latitude and your fondness for this most delicious plant.

Rhubarb, known familiarly as Pie Plant, succeeds best in deep, somewhat retentive soil. Coming, as it does, before berries or fruit, its acid leaf stalks form an admirable substitute. It may be raised from seed, but to get the quickest returns procure strong roots in spring, and plant them three feet apart each way, the ground having first been fertilized and dug to a considerable depth. Never permit a plant to exhaust itself by seed-bearing; stir the soil often, cover with coarse litter in fall, fork it over in the following spring, and you may rely upon a good supply of pie plant for many years to come.

The best is grown by planting 8-inch lengths of root grown the previous year. These young roots planted in spring, small end down, with the top two inches below the surface, in rich, well-cultivated soil, will form radish of large size and superior quality, in one season’s growth. After having several weeks’ growth rub off the young side roots from the newly planted roots, to increase the size and insure a smooth, well-shaped root. See to it that no roots are scattered about the garden, as every piece of root, however small it may be, will, in a short time, become