IRISH GARDENING. 



6i 



The Month^s Work. 



Midland and Northern Counties. 



By W. G. Neave, Canlcn,!- tn I.ad\ O'X.ill, 

 Sliaiic's Castle. Antrim. 



Kitchen (Iaiidex. 



March is always a cold, treacherous moDtli, and 

 this season the frost has been extra .severe. In 

 the North generally there will be a great scarcity 

 of greens and early Cabbage plants The most 

 of the autuum-sown plants are killed by the frost, 

 except in gardens where there is good shelter from 

 the X.E. winds 



CiKXERAL Work. — Tlie past few days the 

 work has been proceed.in.g very satisfactorily as 

 regards manuring, digging and general tidying xip, 

 but the soil has never been in a very satisfactory 

 condition for seed sowing. Having everything 

 ready (I am writing on the 17th) we will take tlie 

 first opportunity of getting in the Parsnips, 

 Onions and Brassicas as advised in last month's 

 calendar Weeds will begin to appear, so that the 

 scuttle will have to be kept going at every favour- 

 able opportunit y : as well as preverting the growth 

 of weeds it keeps the crop moving and the soil in a 

 healthy condition, and also prevents evaporation. 

 Stimulate crops of Cabbages with a pinch of 

 nitrate of soda. Clear away the stumps of cut 

 Broccoli and exhausted Brussels Sprouts, A:c.,and 

 prepare ground for later sowings of I'eas and 

 Beans. If ground is se'ected for the Celery crop 

 prepare trenches, and the space betweeu the 

 trenches can be utilised foi' pricking out Lettuces 

 or sowings of Eadish or suiunier .Spinach. 



Seed.s. — Make a good sowing of Snowball 

 turnip, also, at regular intervals, make sowings 

 of Cos and Cabbage Lettuce. Succes-sioiial .soiciiif/ oj 

 Peas and Broad Beans. — .My method with Peas is. 

 as soon as the previous sowing is one inch over 

 the ground sow again (that is, of course, sowing 

 the proper varieties in turn), and so on till the end 

 of May-. Make another sowing of Cabbage and 

 Broccoli also Drumhead. Savoys and. Curly Kale : 

 these ought to be got in about the latter end of 

 the month. Carrots, Salstf!/ and Scorzonera. — 

 The main crop of these vegetables must be soa\ n. 

 as soon as possible ; an operi situation is prefer- 

 able and deep soil, which should not be newly 

 manured. Pork a good dusting of wood ashes ajul 

 soot into the surface, ti-ead over, and rake the 

 whole level, then draw the drills one foot a])art. 

 and sow thinly. Where ground has been found 

 unsatisfactory for Carrots I have seen fair crops 

 grown on raised drills sown thinly and not 

 thinned out, for it is after the thinning process 

 that the Carrot fly attacks the crop : a dusting of 

 vapourite between the rows and scuttled in is a 

 good preventative. Salsify and Scorzoziera are 

 grown in the same way as the Carrots, and are 

 most useful vegetables, and a nice change for the 

 table. 



Globe ARTiriioKE.-^ — Plant suckeis on well 

 prepared and well manured land ; allow three feet 



between the rows and three feet from plant tc 

 plant, planting alternately ; these, if well attended 

 to. give a supply in autumn : old stools should b<! 

 well tlunned : this crop likes a shaded moist 

 situation. 



tKEXcii Beans in jjuts showing llowers or i)ods 

 should get a liberal supply of weak li(|uid manure, 

 and also keep the syringe going to keep down red 

 spider A small sowmg about the end of the 

 month, according to the weather, should be made 

 on a sunny border (Xe Plus Ultra or Osbourne's 

 Early Forcing), and at the same time a sowing 

 might be nuide in snuill pots or boxes in a frame 

 to plant out in case of failure in the outdoor 

 sowing. 



Spinach. — Make at least two .sowhigs of 

 summer Spinach during this month, as it very 

 soon runs to seed if the weather is at all di-y. 

 Spinach Beet is very valuable where S])inach is lu 

 Ijig demand, as it is always in use tiirough tlu; 

 autumn, whiter and spring. Sow this month and 

 it can be thinned and transplanted in. ((uantity,. 

 according to the demand, in lines 1.5 inches apart 

 and 12 inches from plant to i^lant. 



PoTATOE.s. — Plant the maincrop as early in 

 the month as ground and w eather permit. Allow 

 more space between the drills for late Potatoes 

 (nothing is gained by narrow drills) : 2S to :>(> 

 inches is about right. In old garden soils, where 

 Potatoes have beer regularly grown, give a good 

 dressing of warm lime, scattering it up the drills 

 on top of the manure just before dropping the 

 tubers : this will be found not only to benefit the 

 crops, but also to improve the quality of the 

 Potatoes. If the ground has been previously dug 

 and manured, open a trench aloi^gside of the lii>e, 

 1 inches deep, with tlie s])ade and scatter it back 

 over the plot, then dust the lime in the track, set 

 the tuber, change the line to the next row ai'd 

 take out the second track and cover the first with 

 it. and so on till the plot is finished — that is, 

 putting Potatoes in on the level and it 's a much 

 better way than using a dibble, for although it 

 is more trouble it will pay Iti the end. The 

 favourite varieties in the Xorth are l'p-to-l)atu 

 and Windsor Castle. 



AsPARACiU.S. — New plantations should be made 

 tow^ards the end of the month, when growth is 

 well started. Choose a nice, moist day, take out 

 a good sized hole for each jilant and spread the 

 roots out horizontally, leaving the crown of the 

 plant about one inch under the siirface of the soil. 

 Asparagu.s beds ought to be thoroughly made, as 

 they are meant to last for a good number of years. 

 Trench 2 to 3 feet deep, mixing the soil well wHh 

 rotten manure ; seaweed is an ideal manure for 

 Asparagus. C ve old beds a good dressing of salt 

 at this time. 



IIerh.s. — As these are to be grown in large 

 (quantities in some places, sowings of juo.st kind."? 

 should be made this month. Sow Parsley, giving 

 the bed a good layer of soot : rake it in, tread the 

 ground firm, and sow in rows 1 foot apart 



Vegetable ]\1arrow.s should be sown in pot.s 

 plunged into bottom heat and gradually hardened 

 off to be ready for ]>)anting in permanent cjuarters 

 in May The sooner you can get out the Marrowa 



