Prepare soil carefully. To prepare earth for seeds or small plants or for filling pots or window boxes, mix one part by bulk of well-rotted manure, two parts of good garden loam, and one part of sharp fine sand. Choose for this purpose manure which has been thoroughly rotted but not exposed to leaching from the weather. Mix all together in a heap, stir well with the shovel, sift, and place in bores or in the bed prepared for the seed. If convenient, bake the soil for an hour in a hot oven. This will kill all weed seed and spores of fungus disease.
Protect plants from the weather. To protect small plants from heat, drive stakes into the ground slanting toward the north and lean boards against them to shade the rows. Or use light frames on lath or wooden slate and cover them with cotton cloth. To protect crops planted in winter from cold and give and early start to spring, set the stakes slanting to the south and lean boards against them on the north side. Or cover with a mulch of manure, straw, or leaves. But take care that this is not so thick as to keep the air from the plants.
Drawing from Colorado's newspapers, books and magazines of the 19th century, Carol Padgett has compiled a hope chest full of tips, recipes, advice and instructions for the gardener and homemaker. While many of the maxims and counsels are quaintly old-fashioned, much of the practical guidance is timeless and practical for today's readers.