M.iy, 19 IG. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Preparations for Planting 



121 



BEFORE discussiiis' the preparation 

 of the grardeu for planting, let us 

 pay a little attention to the lawn. 

 If j'oii have not ah-eady taken care of 

 'ip renovating of the la\vn, it is not 

 "1 late yet. Get a sliai"p toothed rake 

 *ad .seoi'e the lawn from top to bot- 

 tom, then thoroughly mix the follow- 

 ing ingredients: One pound Kentucky 

 blue grass, one pound white clover, 

 •one pound nitrate of soda (ground up 

 "le), and about two shovelfuls of sift- 

 1 soil (these quantities for a lawn 

 twenty-five by thirty feet). Wait un- 

 til the wind has subsided, then scatter 

 the mixture on broadcast, raking it 

 over again lightly. If there are no 

 signs of raiu, get the hose and give the 

 ground a good soaking, then use tlie 

 roller or i)ounder. Above all, keep the 

 dandeliiiu from blooming. Dig out the 

 roots as much as possible. 



Did you take the suggestion given 

 in the April issue and raise your own 

 plants? If not, get as many boxes of 

 ,plants as you require to fill in bare 

 .spots in the perennial and other bor- 

 ders. Let me here give a word of eau- 

 ition as to handling these seedlings. 

 Do not jerk them out of the boxes, but 

 immerse the box, plants and all, in a 

 pail of not too cold water for fifteen 

 <minutes, then slit the sides of the box, 

 squeezing the ball of rootlets gently, 

 take the plants out carefully and lay 

 them down one by one M'here required. 

 You will then not have to comi)lain 

 about the poor quality of the plants. 

 Be sure to dibble the holes big enough, 

 .so that roots will be in a downwairl 

 position, press the earth firmly 

 about the j-oots, and finally give them 

 .some water. Do this in the evening if 

 po.ssible. This applies to vegetables as 

 well as to flowers. 



Feed the rose bushes with liquid 

 nianurp from the time the bud appears 

 U you ran see the color of the bloom, 

 'id then stop. If they are bothered 

 ith green fiy or aphis, and you can- 

 not keep them down with the hose, use 

 the prepared nicotine or whale-oil soap, 

 following directions on the packages. 

 Give the paconies some support when 

 blooms l>egin to get bea\T. Do not 

 allow more than about twelve or four- 

 teen shoots of the phlox or delphiiiiuni 

 to bloom, cutting off all others close 

 to the ground. Re sparing with water 

 on hollyhocks, as they are liable to rot 

 or get brown s)>ot on leaves. Pull out 

 stray shoots of helianthus, which Avill 

 persist in coming up where not wanted. 

 Do not have too many blooms on asters, 

 but thin out and let us have bigger 

 asters this :\ear. Try a few salpiglos- 

 'licy are just as cheap, and very 



Geo. Baldwin, F.R.H.S., Toronto, Ont. 



pleasing, and above all plant some 

 gladioli in. clumps as well as singles 

 dotted here and there. If you are 

 using a hot or cold fraime, be very par- 

 ticular about moisture and air and give 

 the seedlings lots of i^oom. 



May is the mo.st critical month in 

 the calendar, for if preparation and 

 proper planting is not done, failure 

 will be the result. Go at the work, 

 therefore, diligently and cautiously. 

 Fii-st of all, the garden having been 

 manured, dug, and rough raked, get, 

 for an ordinary sized garden four 

 pounds slacked lime and two pounds 

 ]>o\vdei'ed sulphur and mix them thor- 

 oughly. Scatter the mixtm*e broad- 

 east from top to l)ottom. Comib it into 

 the soil with the rake. This being 

 done and May the twenty-fourth hav- 

 ing arrived, have ready the seed-box, 

 boxes of plants, a hoe with feet an<l 

 inches marked on the handle, a rake, 

 dibble, line, can of water, and a one- 

 inch board to stand on between the 

 I'ows. You will then be ready to plant 

 the calibage. As an extra precaution 

 against cut-worms, mix a teaspoonful 

 of paris green, one pound of bran, 

 enough water to make a paste, and 

 scatter it here and there along the 

 i-ows of both cabbage and cauliflower. 



The celery trench was prepared two 

 weeks ago. Keep the plants a little 

 longer, till June 1st, then plant very 

 carefully eight inches apart and rows 

 eighteen inches apart, and let us see 

 if we cannot have some No. 1 celery 

 this year, paying particular attention 

 to cultivating, watering, feeding, and 



earthing up later on. For peas, make 

 the drills Avith the corner of the hoe 

 two inches deep, and use lots of seed, 

 thinning out if they come too thick. 

 ^Vith the beans make the drills two 

 inches deei.j and the full width of the 

 hoe, and stagger the beans zig-zag 

 eight inches apart, firming the earth 

 down hard on top. 



In a small garden, ^^'here you are 

 limited to a small space for potatoes, 

 make the rows two feet apart, putting 

 tubei"s fifteen inches apart, five inches 

 deep in light soil and four inches in 

 heaA';^''. Use medium sized potatoeis 

 and cut into three or four pieces, leav- 

 ing two eye.s to each piece. Be ever 

 on the alert for the potato-bug and 

 don't let them get ahead of j-ou. Use 

 paris green as often as required. In 

 a large plot of potatoes, where more 

 room can be given, make rows thirty 

 inches apai't and tubers twelve inches. 



In planting seeds of cucumber and 

 squash, press the seeds in edgeways an 

 inch deep, ten to a hill, and thin out 

 to five, at the same time sow a fen- 

 seeds of radis'h for the squash bug to 

 feed on. Do not put water on the 

 foliage. Sow carrots a half-inch deej) 

 and thickly, beets an inch deep and 

 thickly, pai'snips put a pinCh of seed 

 every six inches along the line a half- 

 inch deep and thin out, leaving the 

 .strongest jylan'ts. ' Leeks ai-e recom- 

 mended to be grown with celery, earth- 

 ing up at the same time. 



Sow salsify a half-inch deep and thin 

 it out to four inches apart. Onions re- 

 quire a good rich and sunny location. 



Density in the Flower Bordei-. The Po.s.slbilities of :i Small Plot l)en)on.5trated. 



