THE 



AMERICAN GARDENER'S 

 CALENDAR. 



JANUARY. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



PREPARATIONS FOR EARLY CROPS. 



IN such parts of the Union where the ground is not at this time 

 bound up with frost, continue to dig the waste quarters of your 

 kitchen garden, first giving them such manure as they require ; lay- 

 ing them in high sloping ridges, to sweeten and be improved by the 

 frost, &c., more especially if the soil be of a stiff nature; by which 

 method its adhesion is destroyed, the pores are opened for the admis- 

 sion of air, frost, rain and dews, all of which, abounding with nitrous 

 salts, contribute, in a high degree, towards its melioration and fertil- 

 ity ; and besides, a great quantity of ground thus prepared, can be 

 soon levelled in the spring for sowing or planting ; which, if neglected 

 would require much time to dig in a proper manner, and that at a 

 period when the throng of business requires every advantage of pre- 

 vious preparation. 



When the ground at this time is frozen so hard as not, to be dug, 

 which is generally the case in the Middle and Eastern States, you 

 may carry manure into the different quarters and spread it, repair 

 fences, rub out and clean your seeds, prepare shreds, nails and twigs, 

 for the wall and espalier trees, which are to be pruned in this and 

 the next month ; get all the garden tools in repair ; and procure such 

 as are wanting ; provide from the woods a sufficient quantity of pea- 

 rods, and poles for your Lima and other running beans ; dress and 

 point them, so as to be ready for use when wanted. 



Here it may be well to remark, that many people who neglect to 

 provide themselves with pea-rods at this season, when it can be so 

 conveniently done, are necessitated, when the hurry of business over- 

 takes them in spring, to sow their peas and let them trail on the 

 ground ; in which situation they will never produce, especially the 

 tall-growing kinds, one-third as many as if they were properly rodded. 

 2 



