for May, 1920 



189 



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I I 



I The Month's Work in Garden and Greenhouse I 



I HENRY GIBSON 



.May is the month of opportunities for the gardener, 

 and owing to the cold, wet weather we have experienced 

 during April, more work than ever will have to be 

 crowded into this month. Seeds sown early last month 

 have made but little progress, and are at this writing 

 barely showing through the ground. In many places 

 potatoes are not yet planted, and wherever possible this 

 work should be pushed ahead with all possible dispatch. 

 Succession planting of vegetables should be made. In 

 doing this it is well to remember an application of lime, 

 tobacco dust or soot will greatly assist in stopping the 

 ravages of underground worms, which are very partial 

 to root crops. 



Seed pods should be kept off the rhubarb plants, and 

 if you would have the crops continue over a long period 

 don't omit feeding with liquid manure at frequent inter- 

 vals, and during the hot weather apply a mulch of ma- 

 nure round the plants. Tomato stalks, or trellises should 

 be put in place, and preparations made for setting out 

 the plants as soon as all danger of frost is past in your 

 locality. Egg-plants and peppers may also be set out 

 this month, but caution here is necessary as these plants 

 are veiy susceptible to cold w'eather, hence it is not wise 

 to hurry them unless the weather is settled. 



The strawberry patch should be given a thorough 

 cultivation at this time applying, as the cultivation pro- 

 ceeds, a liberal application of fertilizer. After which the 

 customan,- mulch of clean straw can be put on to keep 

 the berries clean. 



String beans may be sown regularly every two weeks 

 to maintain a continuous supply. All sorts of pole beans 

 may be planted at this time — the poles are always best 

 set before the seeds are planted. A seed bed may be made 

 uj) and used for sowing late cabbage, cauliflower, Hrus- 

 sels sprouts, and kale. 



Watermelons, cucumber, and muskmelons can all be 

 sown in the open, if one has not the benefit of a green- 

 house or frame in order to get early plants to set out. 

 Succession sowings of corn should be made, and lettuce 

 and endive sown at short frequent intervals to maintain 

 an unbroken su])ply of these succulents. 



In the orchard spraying is the chief item on the calen- 

 dar. Spraying of the fruit trees in the home garden so as 

 to produce edible fruit of a high order is likely to prove 

 a greater factor in heli)ing combat the H. C. of L. than 

 is likely to be appreciated by the average layman. Dust- 

 ing instead of spraying has proved to be effective in con- 

 trolling insect pests that attack our fruit trees, and is 

 claimed by some authorities to be even superior to spray- 

 ing. True, it is considered that dusting is somewhat 

 mt)re expensive in the (|uantity of material needed for 

 each tree, but the greater number of trees that can be 

 covered in only a fraction of the time required to ap[)ly 

 the liquid spray, more than offsets the extra material 

 required. In our opinion dttsting will prove a boon to 

 the home fruit grower with limited time to devote to 

 his trees. With a hand dusting gun one can soon put 

 in some effective work against the coddling moth, and 

 especially on the smaller trees. \\"hen the blossoms on 

 the trees show pink is the time to get busy, and if you 

 decide to try the dust use ''0 per cent sulphur and 10 per 

 cent arsenate powder, and figure alMut two pounds per 

 tree. If the spray is preferred use lime sulphur solution 



1-40, and 5 lbs. powdered arsenate of lead to 200 gallons 

 water, and figure about 7 gallons of the liquid to an 

 average size tree. This application should be repeated 

 either as dust or spray when 90 per cent of the blossoms 

 have fallen and again two weeks later. 



Among the smaller fruits the currant worm may be 

 kept under control by spraying with arsenate of lead, 

 and it would be well to have some sulphide of potassium 

 on hand to keep mildew on the gooseberries in check. 



In the flower garden little has been done owing to 

 weather conditions, which have held up growth, and con- 

 sequently delayed planting and transplanting. 



Any of this work that is contemplated should be 

 pushed forward with all possible speed now, or the re- 

 sults of late planting may not prove very satisfactory. 

 .Vfter the middle of the month bedding plants may be set 

 out in many sections. It is well, however, to give some 

 thought to the possibility of late frosts ; we are as likely 

 to have them as not, and one can easily have motiths 

 of hard work ruined in a single night. When annuals 

 have not been started in the greenhouse or frames se^^-ds 

 of all kinds may now be sown in the open ground ; the 

 more hardy ones early in the month, and the tender ones 

 later. Morning glories, nasturtiums, and other annual 

 vines may be sown at this time. See to it that all bare 

 ugly places are covered with vines of some kind, there is 

 a long list to select from, and a vine may be found for 

 every location. As the early Spring flowers fade replace 

 them with annuals, and sow more seeds to replace these 

 as they pass their usefulness. Achillea cut to the ground 

 as it finishes flowering will give a second crop late in the 

 Summer. Iris should never be allowed to suffer for want 

 of water. Remember it is a bog plant and demands an 

 abundance of water when growing vigorously. Towards 

 the end of the month a part of the golden glow may l>e 

 cut down, which will cause the cut ones to flower a'few 

 weeks later than the others, thereby considerably length- 

 ening the season. Have you thought of the roots and 

 bulbs for May planting? There is a host of glorious flow- 

 ers to be obtained by planting these now. The Gladiolus is 

 easily the most popular and best known, but there are 

 not a few others. Coopcria Drummondii offers a touch 

 of white during the season when its coolness is most 

 appreciated. The glorious tall Summer hyacinths, or 

 more properly Galtonia candicans. with its white bell 

 shaped flowers, Bcssara clcgans, Eucharis. Moiitbrctia, 

 Ismene. Oxalis, Iiican'illac, Tuberose. Tigridia. Tritoma 

 and Zcphyranthns. are all of the group of Summer bulbs, 

 with which Summer eft'ects may be had year after vear 

 with very little trouble. 



Then we have the Inilbous foliage plants, which are 

 indis[)ensable for bedding work and formal eft'ects. Of 

 these the Canna, Elephant's ear (Caladiuiii- csciilcntum) 

 and Pliryniiiin are the most reliable standbys. Then 

 again we have the Summer flowering lilies, which form 

 a group by themselves. Hrmcrocallis and Fiinkia (the 

 day lilies) may be included with the true lilies — cura- 

 litm. figriiuiiii. spcciosiiin and others. All these can lie 

 purchased and planted now. 



Don't wait too long before cutting the lawn, ^'ou may 

 be busy as can be with other things, but remember it 

 will improve the appearance of the place generally if 

 I he lawn is gone over with the mower in good time. 



