FEBRUARY 



IRISH GARDENING. 



31 



The Vegetable Garden. 



By William Tyndall, County Horticultural Instructor, 

 Kildare. 



GET all vacant ground trenched or deeply dug as 

 soon as possible, so as to leave as little work 

 as possible to be done in the busy time now 

 close at hand that can with propriety be now done. 

 Never work the soil if the ground is wet, and the 

 rougher the surface can be made, whether the ground 

 has been trenched or dug, the better. In digging in 

 manure to plots it is always best to do this immediately 

 the manure is spread, as if left for any length of time 

 and drying winds prevailing much of the value of the 

 manure is lost to the air. 



Plants growing in frames will require careful airing and 

 watering during the next couple of months, especially 

 plants raised from seed grown on hot-beds, as lettuce, 

 radish, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, &c., recommended 

 in last month's work. In airing frames always give 

 a little air before the temperature has very much in- 

 creased, then gradually increase it as the day gets 

 warmer. Close early in the afternoon to husband 

 sun heal to keep the plants warm during the night. In 

 frosty weather, such as we now have, the frames will 

 especially require an extra covering of mats or hay to 

 protect the plants from injury. As the plants raised from 

 seed sown last month become fit they must be singled out 

 into other boxes a couple of inches apart. The boxes 

 for the seedlings may be filled by a like compost as 

 given for sowing the seed, with the addition of a gallon 

 or two of fine bonemeal to each barrowful. In filling 

 the boxes put a layer of leaves over the drainage, then 

 some old mushroom bed manure passed through a half- 

 inch riddle, and then a couple of inches of the compost, 

 making all quite firm. Plants out of boxes prepared as 

 recommended should always be lifted with balls of soil 

 attached to the roots, as such always start growing 

 much sooner when planted and are much less likely to 

 fail than plants lifted from boxes without taking such 

 precautions. 



Early Potatoes. —Towards the end of the month in 

 sheltered gardens, and where the soil is not of a heavy 

 nature, a small sowing can be made at the foot of a south 

 wall or on a dry, warm east border, where the haulms of 

 the potatoes would not suffer so much from frost, owing to 

 the wall or hedge shading them from morning sun. Two 

 good varieties are Ninetyfold and Puritan — both heavy 

 croppers —while Epicure and British Queen are of first- 

 rate quality. The last named, though generally con- 

 sidered only a second early, is only a few days behind 

 the early sorts, while in crop and quality it is much 

 superior. Potatoes planted in frames heated by hot 

 water-pipes or on hotbeds during last month should 

 now be well up, and early ventilation in mild weather 

 will be required, shutting the frames up early. A mistake 

 often made in growing potatoes in frames is lack of 

 moisture to the roots in the early stages of growth, 

 as a check causes the plants to form small and uneven 

 tubers. Mould up the plants before the young potatoes 

 appear near the surface, but before doing so give a 

 small dressing of a good fertiliser, watering in with 

 tepid water. 



Celery. — About the middle of tJie month make a 

 sowing of celery for early use. Sow in boxes and place 

 in a frame on a good hotbed close to the glass, so that 

 the plants will be stout and strong. Cover the seed 

 lightly, and shade till the plants begin to appear. Early 

 Gem and Clayworth Prize Pink are fine early varieties, 

 and few plants will run to seed if given careful attention, 

 not letting the plants ever get dry at the roots, or giving 

 them a chill through giving too much air when the wind 

 is severe and cold, and carefully hardening off before 

 planting out. 



Spring Cabbage. — No crop in the garden is more 

 important to the cottager than his plot of spring 

 cabbage. In dry weather the ground between the rows 

 should be hoed and the plants slightly moulded up to 

 hasten growth. Before earthing give a_ dressing of 

 nitrate of soda; a teaspoonful to each plant will start 

 growth quickly, and the cabbages will cook more 

 tender. If more ground is to be planted with cabbages 

 the end of this month is a good time to put them out, 

 and they will form a good succession to those planted 

 last September. 



Onions. — Last year was not a good onion jear with 

 many cottagers and amateurs I know, and I have en- 

 deavoured to find out some of the causes of failure. I 

 believe late sowing and leaving the plants too long with 

 out thinning are chiefly responsible, while shallow culti- 

 vation and the want of manure are also other causes of 

 failure. No crop requires deeper cultivation or heavier 

 manuring of the ground, and this should have been done 

 by now, giving the surface a light dusting of lime. If the 

 soil is warm and free-working, sow the seed in February, 

 while in heavy, cold soils defer sowing till March. 

 Make the soil firm by walking before sowing in lines 

 one foot apart. Ailsa Craig and Laxton's Sandy- 

 Prize are fine for large bulbs, and Bedfordshire Cham- 

 pion will give a crop of nice sized onions that keep 

 well. 



Parsnips.— If the ground is fit parsnip seed can be 

 sown about the middle of the month on ground deeply 

 cultivated and well manured for the previous crop, so 

 that no manure will be required for parsnip. Sow in 

 rows two feet apart, covering the seed about an inch 

 deep.. Student is a good varietj', while Model White is 

 fine for exhibition if sown where holes have been bored 

 three feet deep and nine inches wide at top, and filled 

 with fine soil, leaf-mould, and sand passed through a 

 half-inch riddle and pressed firm. 



^^W ^^W *^* 



Hop Shoots as a \'i.c;i:table. — A very commonly 

 used spring vegetable in different Continental countries 

 (Belgium especially) is the hop plant. All gardeners 

 know that the hop throws up in the early part of the 

 year strong-growing shoots ; these can be cut off when 

 about four or five inches long and boiled and eaten like 

 asparagus. If the shoots are bl;inched they are 

 particularly agreeable, although we believe this is not 

 the common practice. Like young nettle shoots (the 

 hop and nettle are closely allied bolanically) the young, 

 fresh growths of the hop form an excellent food 

 adjunct in the spring of the 3ear. 



