CHAPTER XVIII 
GARDEN ENTERPRISE 
VEGETABLE gardens are of several types, some for home use and 
others for market purposes. Commercial gardens are of three main 
types: (1) Market gardens, which grow a general assortment of 
vegetable crops of many kinds for the purpose of keeping the local 
market supplied with all its needs; (2) truck gardens are used 
for the production of one or two special crops in large quantities 
for shipment to markets in distant places. For example, the 
truckers in the irrigated regions of the Imperial Valley, Cali- 
fornia, may ship their cantaloupes to markets as far distant as 
New York; (3) growing vegetables for factories, as canning 
and pickling. 
Gardens grown by farmers and village people may supply the 
home table with fresh (and canned) products for several months 
each year and greatly reduce the actual outlay of money for table 
supplies. Simple garden equipment and tools are shown in figures 
185 and 186. 
Garden Soils.—In selecting soil for the garden choose the 
richest. For most garden crops soil cannot be too rich. Deep black 
soil with plenty of organic matter gives best results for the earliest 
crops. A good mixture of sand is helpful. It aids greatly in the 
warming of soils in the spring, and early crops depend upon this. 
Soils that are either too light or too heavy may be greatly improved 
by large quantities of barnyard manure and green manure. On 
sandy soils allow several weeks between the plowing under of large 
amounts of organic matter and planting time, or thoroughly mix 
the soil and manure together by disking. 
Locating the Garden.— (1) The labor of cultivating the home 
gardens by hand often causes them to be abandoned or neglected. 
Place the garden where it will be easy and handy for the use of 
plows and cultivators on days when these implements are being 
used in field work. 
(2) Place the garden where it will not be difficult to keep out 
poultry and livestock; perhaps on the opposite side of the house 
from the other farm buildings will aid in this matter. 
(3) If possible place the garden where it will have a southern 
exposure and be free from shade of large trees and buildings. 
(4) Have the garden near the home where vegetables may be 
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