Cape Breton's Magazine

Planning a Vegetable Garden Just thinking about the garden can help make the admittedly long winter seem a lit? tle less long. It can also mean a greater chance of a successful vegetable garden. So we've been talking to a number of Cape Breton gardeners, asking what they plant and which varieties have proved successful, what seed companies they like, what li? terature has been helpful, and general suggestions for planning a garden under our soil and climate conditions. We learned, for instance, that it's a good idea to know your soil, and to give it what it needs. Cape Breton soil is generally acidy, good for berries and potatoes • but almost everything else (and especially leafy vegeta? bles) will require an application of lime. It would have been best to get the lime on in the fall, but it can first be well-mixed into rotted manure or compost and worked into the soil first thing in the spring. An accurate soil test is the only way to know exactly what your soil needs. You can obtain a convenient, pre-addressed box for a free soil test through your local agricultural representative. Allan Comfort, Margaree. The garden in the summer and the root cellar in the fall. Send for a few seed catalogues. Many gardeners feel it is best to buy seed grown un- der conditions that are most like those they will have to endure on Cape Breton. Vesey's Seeds Ltd., York, P.E.I., seems to be the popular choice. If you have been considering gardening with strictly untreated seeds, William Dam Seeds, Flamboro, Ontario, is a company you should look to. Other recommended seed houses are: Domin? ion Seed House, Georgetown, Ontario; McFayden Seed Co. Ltd., Box 1600, Brandon, Manitoba; W.H.Perron & Co. Ltd., 515 Labelle Blvd., City of Laval, P.Q. (this cata? logue costs 50

Cape Breton's Magazine