Note: As is usual in blog-formatted settings, this series is best read in reverse order. You would not want to engage in your Manuring, for instance, before properly preparing your Soil. This could be messy and also confuse your vegetables.  Just check the sidebar for the category “Gardening” and note the numbers assigned to each. Later entries can be looked up for each individual plant by name, so you can consult the 1863 advice on Gooseberries for instance without having to wade through articles on Okra or something else in which you have no interest. We think only and always of the convenience of our readers. Our notes will be interspersed as needed.

(From The Housekeeper’s Encyclopedia by Mrs. E. F. Haskell, New York, 1863)

TRENCHING–After the draining is accomplished [note, we skipped that part, it is a subject best left to professionals  with proper tools and expertise. Drainage has to be considered in the context of your entire yard, and your neighbors, and the surrounding landscape], the next object is to deepen, and if hard, to soften the soil. The very best method of benefiting such land permanently, is to trench, and at the same time, manure it.

Proceed as follows: Open a trench two feet wide; throw the top soil into a cart, or wheelbarrow, and dump it down on the opposite side of the bed that is to be trenched. This soil [note, depending on the history of your property you may not have a layer of good topsoil. Look for a change in color or consistency of the dirt on a consistent line as you dig] is usually about six inches to one foot deep; throw out a foot of soil from the bottom of the trench, and cart that to the other side of the bed, so that it can be shovelled into the last trench, after the top soil. Spade up so as to loosen the soil in the trench, one spade deep; throw into the trench one foot of long manure, and then proceed as before.

To open another trench, throw the top soil from this into the first trench, and afterwards the clay, and so proceed until each bed in the garden is finished; this should be done late in the summer, or early in the fall, so that the frost can act upon the clay; a great change in it being effected by the freezing.

Comment: This is actually a very good process for dealing with heavy clay soil, but it’s a hell of a lot of work without mechanical assistance.  As backhoes were not available in the 1860s we suspect hired laborers would have been called for. If you are thinking of doing this to an entire yard, either front, back or side, we again suggest consultation with a professional lest drainage problems be inadvertently created.

Next: On to manure!

          

Gardening books sell by the multiple thousands every year, making one wonder what new information has been found to justify yet another tome on a subject that has been practiced since (indeed nearly defines) the dawn of human civilization. Yet people buy them, in hopes that just one more book will reveal the secret that has so far eluded the aspiring gardener who gazes sadly at a raggedy patch of weeds instead of the beautiful display of fresh healthy vegetables like the one on the book cover.

The mid 1900s were no different. As cookbooks were written for women who were raised in households where servants did much of the cooking but who were now starting out life on their own with husbands who could not (yet) afford household help, so were gardening books written for women coming to the middle class from the opposite direction. Raised perhaps in a city where yards were only big enough for a few flowers, they were now mistresses of more rural, or at least suburban, residences. The city market was far away and households were more dependent on the produce they themselves raised and preserved.

This section of the Cookbook is based largely on The Housekeeper’s Encyclopedia by Mrs. E. F. Haskell. Primarily a cookbook, she includes several pages of excellent detail on gardening, going from the very basics of preparing the soil to the details on how large a section should be devoted to each plant to ensure a large enough harvest for a family. As she puts it:

The writer designs in this chapter to give some general directions to those who are entirely ignorant of agriculture in all its divisions,having been accustomed to live where a patch of green was a luxury only enjoyed by the millionnaire; but who, happily, find themselves snugly settled in a little home of their own, in a quiet country village, where an acre of ground is only too small for the comfort of a family; in such towns no vegetable market for the summer is to be depended upon; every family raise their own… Many beginners in gardening fail for want of the knowledge of a few of the first principles in  the science of horti- and agriculture. The first requisite is to prepare the soil in such a manner as to insure the healthy growth of tree or root.

By way of background, Mrs. Haskell’s book was published in New York  so we will presume that she lived in the northeast. Those reading this in other regions, or other countries for that matter, should make such adjustments to her advice as is appropriate for your latitude and climate.  You can of course simply read her words for the enjoyment of history and appreciation of the past, but  you could also try planting just as she advises. “Going organic” wasn’t an option in her time, there being no industrial or chemical based agriculture to speak of. Weeds are removed with hoes, not sprays, and cutworms are thwarted by such measures as wrapping a plant stem in brown paper, held in place by string or packed dirt.

An intriguing exception to the no-chemicals standard is noted in several cases where it is recommended that seeds be soaked in water to which saltpeter has been added. She says it promotes germination and good early growth. You are allowed to skip this step on grounds of either organic purity or the fact that saltpeter is not commonly available these days. Soaking seeds in plain water, particularly peas, works just as well and is highly recommended.

Over the next few days we will be adding some of Mrs. Haskell’s thoughts on everything from the size of garden space recommended for a family of six for assorted vegetables to proper methods for manuring the soil. Individual posts on planting tips for vegetables will be offered too. Some of these may be a bit late for this year (2009) but other varieties don’t get planted until fall. Comments, as always, welcome.