March: Third Week 



THE FIRST PLANTING AND SEEDING IN THE 

 OPEN GARDEN 



As soon as the pussy willows push open their little gray 

 buds the gardener begins to wonder when he would better 

 begin planting. Naturally he is anxious to have his first 

 mess of peas just a few days ahead of his next-door neighbor; 

 but, on the other hand, he does not want to lose his plants 

 or have his peas rot in the ground. A few things that can 

 be planted "as soon as the ground is fit to work" include 

 sweet peas, smooth garden peas, radishes, onions and spin- 

 ach. Other early things should not be put into the ground 

 too hurriedly. Often a warm period, which will dry out the 

 soil so it can be spaded and put into fairly good condition, 

 will be succeeded by a few days or a week of real winter 

 weather, and the early plants and such seeds as beets and 

 carrots may be damaged considerably. 



In the latitude of New York and Chicago the first plant- 

 ing may be done from the last week in March to the middle 

 of April, according to season and soil. Plants that may be 

 set out as soon as hard freezing at night lets up are cabbage, 

 lettuce, beets, broccoli and kohl-rabi. The rest of the early 

 vegetables for sowing in the open are beets, cabbage, 

 lettuce, carrots, kohl-rabi, onions, parsley, parsnips, salsify, 

 turnips, and water cress; and cauliflower, celery and leeks, 

 to be transplanted later. Cauliflower plants, wrinkled peas 

 and potatoes should be held back until the weather has 

 moderated still further. 



A simple rule, which varies automatically with the sea- 

 son and is therefore better than a calendar date, is to plant 

 the hardy things while the plum and peach trees are in 



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