Читать книгу Make Your Garden Feed You - E. Brown T. - Страница 7

DIGGING TOOLS.—One of the most important duties in connection with gardening is digging, so the first requirement is a first-class spade. It is worth while spending an extra shilling or so and getting a good one. It should be of the correct weight, a point which can be ascertained after handling a few at the shop.

Two forks are really necessary. One should be a four-pronged model, with round prongs, for all ordinary purposes. The second should have flat prongs, this being wanted for lifting manure, gathering up vegetable refuse, such as potato haulm and cabbage stalks, and also for lifting potatoes. And a trowel is essential for making holes for the reception of plants raised in the seed-bed.

RAKES AND HOES.—After digging comes the preparation of the surface soil—the production of a fine tilth. A couple of iron rakes and a wooden rake (the latter for the final raking) are needed. One iron rake should be 8 in. and the other 12 in. If you can get hold of an old 12-in. iron rake accept it as a gift, break off all the teeth with the exception of the two outside ones, and you will have an excellent tool for drawing two drills at once.

Hoeing is a job which must not be neglected, so both a Dutch and a V-shaped hoe should be bought.

THE GARDEN LINE.—Some kind of a garden line is required when drawing drills. Blind cord can be used for the purpose, attached to a wooden stake at each end. But unless treated carefully the cord is liable to perish rapidly. It really pays to invest in a proper line with an iron stake at one end and a staked winder at the other. Such a line lasts for years; the cord dries well, since the centre of the roll is hollow. Although not essential, as a 5-ft. tape measure does well enough, a 12-ft. rod marked off into feet, with the first 3 ft. marked off in inches, is useful for spacing out rows and plants.