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necessary even that
more thought be put upon the garden, but forethought there must be.
Forethought, however, is much more satisfactory than hind-thought.
In the new way of gardening there are four great helps, four things that
will be of great assistance to the experienced gardener, and that are
indispensable to the success of the beginner. They are the Planting Plan,
the Planting Table, the Check List and the Garden Record.
Do not become discouraged at the formidable sound of that paragraph
and decide that after all you do not want to fuss so much over your
garden; that you are doing it for the fun of the thing anyway, and such
intricate systems will not be worth bothering with. The purpose of
those four garden helps is simply to make your work less and your
returns more. You might just as well refuse to use a wheel hoe because
the trowel was good enough for your grandmother's garden, as to refuse
to take advantage of the modern garden methods described in this
chapter. Without using them to some extent, or in some modified form,
you can never know just what you are doing with your garden or what
improvements to make next year. Of course, each of the plans or lists
suggested here is only one of many possible combinations. You should
be able to find, or better still to construct, similar ones better suited to
your individual taste, need and opportunity. That, however, does not
lessen the necessity of using some such system. It is just as necessary
an aid to the maximum efficiency in gardening as are modern tools. Do
not fear that you will waste time on the planting plan. Master it and use
it, for only so can you make your garden time count for most in
producing results. In the average small garden there is a very large

percentage of waste--for two weeks, more string beans than can be
eaten or given away; and then, for a month, none at all, for instance.
You should determine ahead as nearly as possible how much of each
vegetable your table will require and then try to grow enough of each
for a continuous supply, and no more. It is just this that the planting
plan enables you to do.
I shall describe, as briefly as possible, forms of the planting plan,
planting table, check list and record, which I have found it convenient
to use.
To make the Planting Plan take a sheet of white paper and a ruler and
mark off a space the shape of your garden--which should be rectangular
if possible--using a scale of one-quarter or one-eighth inch to the foot.
Rows fifty feet long will be found a convenient length for the average
home garden. In a garden where many varieties of things are grown it
will be best to run the rows the short way of the piece. We will take a
fifty-foot row for the purpose of illustration, though of course it can
readily be changed in proportion where rows of that length can not
conveniently be made. In a very small garden it will be better to make
the row, say, twenty-five feet long, the aim being always to keep the
row a unit and have as few broken ones as possible, and still not to
have to plant more of any one thing than will be needed.
In assigning space for the various vegetables several things should be
kept in mind in order to facilitate planting, replanting and cultivating
the garden. These can most quickly be realized by a glance at the plan
illustrated herewith. You will notice that crops that remain several
years--rhubarb and asparagus--are kept at one end. Next come such as
will remain a whole season--parsnips, carrots, onions and the like. And
finally those that will be used for a succession of crops--peas, lettuce,
spinach. Moreover, tall-growing crops, like pole beans, are kept to the
north of lower ones. In the plan illustrated the space given to each
variety is allotted according to the proportion in which they are
ordinarily used. If it happens that you have a special weakness for peas,
or your mother-in-law an aversion to peppers, keep these tastes and
similar ones in mind when laying out your planting plan.

Do not leave the planning of your garden until you are ready to put the
seeds in the ground and then do it all in a rush. Do it in January, as
soon as you have received the new year's catalogues and when you
have time to study over them and look up your record of the previous
year. Every hour spent on the plan will mean several hours saved in the
garden.
The Planting Table is the next important system in the business