MOTHER'S NEWSPAPER COLUMN

THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS ®
. . . it tells you how

If this year's unbelievable food prices have you planting a garden for the first time in your life, a fellow named John C. Huckans has some tips you might find valuable. John, who really knows how to squeeze maximum production from a mini-garden (measuring only 20 by 50 feet) in upstate New York, says:

"For several years I wasted my time with a small, pale lettuce that grows close to the ground, gets covered with dirt during every rainstorm and is a pain in the neck to wash. Now I'm happier with the large Burpee's Fordhook variety which shoots up over a foot high, forms a very loose head of tasty foliage and is simple to clean. It's also slow to 'bolt' and bears salad fare an uncommonly long time."

Mr. Huckans also plants Burpee's Lutz beets, which produce two crops: foliage that can be eaten as greens and a late harvest of roots which store well for winter use.

"Speaking of greens," says John, "I recommend chard over spinach. The latter usually yields little and goes to seed at the first sign of hot weather. Chard, on the other hand, produces a much greater harvest of foliage and may be gathered until snow covers the ground. Its stalks and ribs may be cooked like asparagus and leafy parts prepared like spinach."