April, 191 1 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



87 



What Amateurs Can Do in April 



i 



EVERY amateur should have a hot 

 bed, while boxes set in a sunny 

 window may be used with fair 

 esults, nothing gives the satisfaction 

 hat a good hot bed does. By using a 

 ot bed to start young plants, a person 

 can have cabbages, tomatoes, lettuce, 

 cauliflower and other appetizing vege- 

 tables from two weeks to a month ear- 

 lier than his neighbors who wait for the 

 sun to sprout their garden seeds. Build 

 the hot bed in a shelter of a fence to pro- 

 tect it from north and west winds. Dig 

 a pit six by fifteen feet and two feet 

 deep, and fit over it a frame made of 

 boards', using two inch stuff for the 

 longer sides. Make one side of the 

 frame six inches higher than the other 

 and slant it toward the south. Fill the 

 pit with well tramped stable manure 

 which heats rapidly. After the violent 

 action has subsided, cover the manure 

 with six inches of rich garden soil, which 

 should be well raked before seeds are 

 planted. Bank manure around the frame, 

 which can be covered by five three by six 

 feet glass sashes. Cover the hot bed 

 with boards or blankets on cold nights. 

 Give the plants plenty of fresh air on 

 warm days by lifting the sashes. 

 Sprinkle the bed in the morning when 

 it needs watering. The bed should be 

 allowed to lay for about a week before 

 seeds are planted to allow the first heat 

 to pass off, when it will cool down to an 

 even temperature ; always allow for a 

 little ventilation to carry off the hot 

 steam. A layer of finely sifted coal ashes 

 spread on top of the manure and before 

 the soil is filled in will serve to hold the 

 heat. 



Seeds of annuals should be sown in a 

 light sandy soil in shallow boxes placed 

 in the hot bed. Ver_y fine seeds do not 

 need to be covered ; sow on top of the 

 soil. The soil should be moist, and after 

 the seeds are sown press them in with 

 some flat object. Asters, balsams, and 

 zennias require to be covered in the soil 

 at about the depth of the size of the 

 .seed. A good rule in sowing all kinds 

 of seeds is to have just about the same 

 thickness of soil over the seed as the 

 seed is high. Large seeds may be 

 planted deeper. Plant in depth from one 

 to four times the diameter of the .seeds. 

 It is a good plan to darken the surface 

 with newspapers or some other covering 

 to get the seed to germinate quickly. As 

 soon as the shoots begin to show the 

 covering must be removed. Ventilation 

 at this period of growth should be closely 

 watched. 



Now is the time to strike cuttings of 

 caleus, ageratum, geranium and lobel- 

 ias ; these will root in about ten days. 

 As soon as they are well rooted they 

 should be transplanted into small pots 

 in light sandy soil and placed back in 

 the hot bed again. 



Canna roots should be divided and 

 cleaned and placed in shallow boxes 

 filled with sandy soil ; water slightly, 

 and expose to the light. Dahlias should 

 also be divided now for summer growth. 

 Mignonette, annual wall flowers, snapdra- 

 gons, and sweet peas may be sown out 

 doors as soon as the ground is dry 

 enough to work. Plant or transplant 

 perennials, such as peonies, dielytra and 

 German Iris, as early as possible. 



Do not sow nasturtium seed too early, 

 as the young plants are liable to be in- 

 jured by late frosts . .Seedlings of an- 

 nuals started inside should be trans- 

 planted when the second pair of seed 

 leaves are in course of development. 



Tulips in beds should be uncovered in 

 order that they may get all the sun and 

 light possible. As soon as the frost is 

 out of the ground and the weather fairly 

 dry, a little lawn grass" seed should be 

 sown on the bare spots in the lawn, and 

 the whole lawn rolled. A lawn roller 

 soon pays for itself in the satisfaction 

 obtained by having a smooth, velvety 

 sward. A liberal dressing of commer- 

 cial fertilizer, such as is known in the 

 trade as a 4-8-8 goods — four per cent, of 

 nitrogen, eight of phosphoric acid, and 

 eight of potash — should be given. The 

 results of this application will be seen all 

 summer, even in the dryest season, in 

 the deep green color of the grass. Bone 

 meal and wood ashes make a good lawn 

 fertilizer mixed in the proportion of one 

 part of bone meal to four or five of wood 

 ashes, but is rather slow for spring op- 

 eration. This mixture would be much 

 improved by th'e addition of two or three 

 quarts of nitrate of soda to a bushel of 

 the mixture. The nitrate of soda should 

 be finely pulverized and the mixture ap- 



plied immediately upon the addition of 

 the soda. Trim the edge of the grass 

 off evenly. There is nothing that adds 

 so much to the appearance of walks and 

 driveways as clean, well kept edgings. 



Pruning should be done now that dan- 

 ger from severe frosts is about over. 

 Hardy roses should have all weak wood 

 cut out and strong shoots shortened 

 back to within six inches of the stock. 

 Fork over the rose beds after pruning. 

 A little fertilizer, bone meal or rotten 

 stable manure, put around rose bushes 

 or flowering shrubs will help them ma- 

 terially. 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



If seeds of early cabbage were sown 

 in the hot bed last month they will be 

 ready to transplant about the end of 

 April or early May. Seeds of late var- 

 ieties may be sown in the open ground 

 about the end of May and transplanted 

 about the first of July. Sow early var- 

 ieties of radish' as soon as possible, and 

 at intervals of two weeks for a succes- 

 sion. Do not forget a few early turnips. 



One of the first pieces of work to be 

 attended to in the spring is to take the 

 covering of manure off the asparagus 

 bed and fork the soil over lightly around 

 and about the plants. If manure was 

 not applied last fall a light application 

 may be given now and worked in. Every 

 garden should have an asparagus bed ; 

 it is the earliest and most acceptable 

 vegetable. A bed may be started by 

 sowing seed, but the best way is to se- 

 cure two-year-old plants. Plant them 

 eight inches apart in rows three feet 

 apart. Have the asparagus bed in deep, 

 rich land, where the water will not stand 

 in winter or spring. 



Among the first vegetable crops to 

 sow or plant are peas, spinach, lettuce, 

 parsnips, parsley and onions. Always 



Bed of Lilies in the Garden of the Late Senator Sir Jamei Gowan, Barrie, Ont 



Mr. Eichard Bidwell the gardener. givoB the following information regarding their culture: 

 The lllips have been in the garden tor the last twenty-five years. In name they are the Annunci- 

 ation, very tall, and waxen in bloom. The beda are always made rich with stable manure. 

 The plan is to move the roots and separate them every three years from one bed to ano- 

 ther. 'ITiis is done aa early ae the 15th of August. The roots are planted six inches deep, 

 and the soil mulched for the winter. The carnations are raised from seed and are of seve- 

 ral colors. They also pass the winter with the lilies. The photo I sent you represented one 

 of the most artistic and lovely flower beda I have ever seen.— Fred Brooks, Barrie. 



