268 



JOURNAL OF EORTIOULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ March 27, 1873. 



the flat, say three or four rows under hand-lights or other pro- 

 tection, and then banked-up into ridges so as to leave a ti'ench 

 between, that the plants as they become large would feel 

 the effects of dryness. When mulched or littered over, even 

 without additional watering, we have never perceived anything 

 of this ; on the contrary, when leaving early Cauliflowers on the 

 flat with merely a little earthing-up, neither foliage nor heads 

 were so fine as when the early autumn-planted crops were sub- 

 jected to earthing-up, so as to form a sort of flat ridge. 



Then, again, in small gardens we have recommended not rows 

 but beds of Cderij ; our general arrangement is to have -l-feet 

 sunk beds or trenches, and 4 to 5-teet ridged beds between. If 

 these can be made early, a row of Peas is sown along the middle 

 of the fiat ridge, with Spinach and Radishes on each side. Here 

 we may state that after the ground is marked out, the place for 

 the broad ridge is well dug, and a little manure if needed is 

 incorporated with the soU before the soil of the part intended 

 for the beds is thrown on the top of these ridges neatly. We 

 wish to record here, in opposition somewhat to the general be- 

 lief, that we have never had better Peas, or plants more free 

 from mildew and other evils, than when gi'own on the middle of 

 such raised ridges and platforms. The greater depth of good 

 soil made the Peas more independent of the changes of the 

 season, but in a very dry summer a mulching of short grass was 

 throwTi over the ground, or the surface of the soil kept loose 

 with the hoe to arrest the absorption of heat and the excessive 

 evaporation of moisture. The beds, meanwhile, with a little 

 protection, were used for early Potatoes, Eadishes, Lettuces, &c., 

 to bo cleared off before the space, manm-ed with more rotten 

 dung, was needed for the Celery. We used to follow this plan 

 largely at one time, and it was only broken-in upon when we 

 were obliged to use Celerj' trenches as beds in which to harden- 

 off bedding plants. One extra great advantage of the wide-bed 

 and the wide-ridge system as thus used is, besides the saving 

 of ground, the shade afforded by the rows of Peas to the early- 

 planted Celery whatever the direction of the beds, though on 

 the whole we prefer them to run somewhat north and south. 



We allude to the matter more particularly because much 

 space is often wasted in small gardens. It is often essential not 

 only to practise rotation-cropping, but also cotemjiorancous 

 cropping — that is, ha-ving several crops on the ground at one 

 time, and yet having the one removed before it will interfere 

 with the well-being of the next crop in succession. At one time 

 we found that different successions of Radishes crisp and young 

 were a matter of importance ; but under glass in winter and out 

 of doors in summer they never had a bit of ground for them- 

 selves, but were brought in between Carrots, Potatoes, or 

 Turnips. In fact, even in the open air, we rarely sowed Turnips 

 18 to 21 inches apart in drills without having several kinds of 

 Radishes in lines between them, all of which would bft removed 

 before the Turnips would need the room. The same thing may 

 be said of Spinach, a great favourite in many families, and if 

 vegetables are to be sent to a distance in summer, a good packing 

 material for keeping things separate, and yet xrseful withal. 

 As respects this useful vegetable, except what is sown on an 

 open space of ground in August and September, to stand .^ud 

 afford gatherings in winter and spring, all our general sowings 

 come in as intermediate crops between Peas and other vege- 

 tables, the crop of Sirinach being cut-up as soon as the best is 

 gathered, before it would interfere at all with the more lasting 

 or more valuable crop. Thus, on Celery-bed ridges, after using 

 the best of the Spinach, we have often cut it up, when it acted as 

 a fair mulching to the Peas until something better could be 

 obtained. 



At one time wo turned our Cdcrij beds to m-eat account, as 

 by putting a Uttle hot dung at the bottom and dryish soil over, 

 we could turn out nice Potato plants from small pots, the pots 

 full of roots, and the Potatoes 2 to 3 inches in height, as with 

 one row of Peas in the centre of the 5-feet ridge we could manage 

 to walk along each side to give what protection was needed to 

 Potatoes thus turned out in March. In general we could obtain 

 clean ripe tubers from such beds in May and June, three weeks 

 earUer than we could obtain them from favoured spots at the 

 bottom of a wall, and a montli earlier than from those planted 

 out early on raised liauks facing the south, though in some 

 warm springs the produce from these banks would come in 

 only a fortnight later than that from beds. In protecting such 

 sunk beds we found nothing better than mats or calico Ughtly 

 strained, both being fastened to poles at each end for rolling up, 

 and stakes laid across the beds to prevent the covering sinking. 



We had also a lot of shallow earth pits in an out-of-the-way 

 corner where we hardened-off our bedding plants, and which 

 were never idle in winter or summer for low-gi-owing plants 

 after the bedders were gone. Deprived of these we have had to 



fo to our fresh-made Celery beds as places for hardcning-off 

 eddinij plants, and therefore cannot use the beds for early 

 vegetables, and cannot use the ridges so well for early Peas, as, 

 in attending to the bedding plants, there must be more room 

 for working, and the beds would only be fit for Celery by the 

 beginning of .June. Where such necessity does not exist, these 



wide beds may bo turned to good account in secui-ing early 

 produce. Between Potatoes planted across in rows 20 inches 

 apart, we have .sowed in one bed two rows of Radishes, in 

 another bed planted one row of stout Lettuces, and so on, and 

 all was cleared off, more rotten dung added, and the Celery 

 plants turned out in the middle of June, the Peas, as hinted 

 above, just giving enough of shade to the young Celery. Had 

 we more ground we would make our Celery beds 4 feet in width, 

 to take three rows of Celery, and we would make the ridges 

 between 6 feet in width, as that would afford more room for 

 gathering the Peas ; and the dwarf crops at the sides, w'hilst they 

 lasted, would not interfere with walkiug between the rows to 

 attend to the Celery. Let us here add, from considerable prac- 

 tice and observation, that most gardeners must try and make 

 the best of circumstances. There is not one in ten who can 

 exactly foUow out the plans which he knows would be the best 

 in his peculiar position. 



FKUIT DEPAKTMENT. 



Owing to the press of garden work we are behind with all our 

 hardy fruit department out of doors. As to orchard-house trees 

 see remarks of last week. We shall reserve our little space to 

 refer to two matters which correspondents have brought con- 

 spicuously under our notice. 



Potted Trees. — " Sigma " tells us that he can get trees of 

 Cherries, Plums, Peaches, itc, in 8-inch pots, and he can have 

 similar trees taken out of the ground that would be cheaper at 

 first, and cost less for carriage than those in pots, and he wants 

 to know whether, by having these trees Lifted and carefuUy and 

 firmly potted, he might not expect as good a crop this season as 

 from the trees all along grown in pots, as the pots seem so small 

 that the trees would appear to require repotting to give enough 

 of noui-ishment to the fruit. We say decidedly, Xo. These 

 taken-up trees would actually succeed better if planted carefully 

 out of doors than when thus repotted. How jt is we cannot 

 exactly say, but the fact remains that all plants in pots blooni, 

 seed, and fruit best when the pots are full of roots, and until 

 this condition be arrived at there will be a tendency in the 

 blooms and fruit to fall. We several times obtained good sup- 

 plies of fruit from Cherries, Plums, &c., raised out of the 

 ground and potted in the middle of March, but we gave them 

 extra attention. First of all we put them in the smallest pots 

 in which we could get the roots, and packed them neatly and 

 firmly, and then for three weeks or a month we plunged the 

 pots overhead in a shght out-door hotbed of from 0.5' to 70°, and 

 kept the tops as cool as possible iu a shady place, the object 

 being to encourage fresh rooting and keep back the buds. The 

 plants were moved to the orchard house when the heat of the 

 bed declined, so as to bo little warmer than the orchard house. 

 Too much heat, even at the roots, would nullify the beneficial 

 effect but a little at first, and the small pot would eucom'age the 

 formation of fresh fibres to sustain the swelUng buds and open- 

 ing and setting blooms. Where such means cannot be carefully 

 followed up, it would be best to depend little on the first season 

 after potting, and to look forward to the second, in which case 

 larger pots may be used for the roots. It would be a different 

 affair if such trees had been taken up in October or November, 

 potted and plunged in a bed iu the open air, the bed being from 

 5° to 10° wai-mer than the general atmosphere. Under such 

 circumstances, whilst the heads would be cool in the open air, 

 requiring little protection, except a net to keep birds from the 

 buds, the pots would be well supplied with fresh fibres by the 

 month of March, and these roots would make a great point of 

 success. Owing to the simple fact alluded to. if our correspon- 

 dent obtains trees in 8, 10, or 12-uich pots, if he expects fruit 

 from them to any extent in the ensuin}:; summer, he should keep 

 the trees in the pots until the fruit is gathered before he places 

 them in larger pots. These things ho may do with advantage : 

 He may knock a good portion of the bottom of the pot out, he 

 may even crack it along the sides, so as to let fibres out, and 

 then he may sink the pot into one, two, or three sizes larger, and 

 supply rich compost to the bottom, the sides, and over the toji 

 of the old pot ; or he may, after so sei-ving the old pot, plunge 

 it an inch or so over the rim in the gi-ound, with rich compost 

 all round it, and in cither case labour in watering, etc., will be 

 saved, and the main part of the roots still pressing against tho 

 sides of the pot will so far secure free blooming and free seating, 

 whilst the fresh roots that extend beyond the pot will secure 

 extra vigour, if not watched perhaps more luxmiance of wood 

 than the autumn sun would ripen, but a little early pinching 

 will guard against that evil. As soon as the fruit is gathered 

 he may pot afresh in larger pots if the plants are in small pots. 



The same remarks apply to " Alexis " as respects his Vines in 

 W-inch pots, and from which he wishes to obtain some fi-uitthis 

 season. Let the Vines remain in the pots, but do as recom- 

 mended forthe other trees — give room for the roots to get out, and 

 give plenty of rich compost and manure waterings. If free 

 growth is desired plant out in the usual way, but if this is done 

 do not expect much fruit this season, especially if the ball ia 

 broken and the roots traced out. Under such circumstances, 

 free gi-owth is opposed to fruitfulncss. As already stated, all 



