THE GENESEE FARMER. 



08 



HOSTICULTUJSAL OPERATIONS FOR MARCH. 



This is the rommrnccnient of the busy season. Tlie 

 mcst iniporhiiu \vi>ik to be done now, as soon as llie 

 Beverily of llie weallitT is past, will be to msike uf) ilie 

 Lot-bi'ds, for eurly cucumbers, lettuce, vadis-lies, pota- 

 toes, <tc. Tf the manure has been prepared hs re- 

 commended lust nu)nth, it will be in Cue coudiiiou Cor 

 making up at once. 



Select a spot as much sheltered from cold winds as 

 po6sib)i, yet exposed to the sun. Let the manure, be 

 well mixed, when the bed is being made, and beaten 

 down with the back of the fork, and, if dry, watered. 

 The manure should not be trodden down as is some- 

 times recommended, for the bed is then apt to heat 

 unevenly and one purt wall be too hot while another 

 remains scarcely warm. The bed should be made 

 one foot larger every way, than the frame that is to 

 fitand upon it. AVhen done, place the frame upon 

 the bed, shut it up close and cover it well at ni;i;ht. 

 In a few days the heat will be up well, and if there be 

 not much rank, smelling steam, the earth ran be put 

 in at once. Cover the bed three or four inches deep 

 ■with light, rich, garden soil, then put about a bushel 

 nnder the center of each sash, making a hill about 

 nine inches high. When it is nicely warmed through, 

 sow a few seeds of cucumber upon the top ot each 

 hill. Bury them half an inch deep, it three grow in 

 each hill it will be enough. V/hen the young roots 

 are seen protruding through the hill, they must be 

 coYered" with more earth, but the earth must be 

 warmed in the bed before it is applied to the tender 

 roots. 



Some seeds of tomatoes, purple egg-plant, celery, 

 peppers, &c., can be sown in boxes and placed in the 

 hot-bed until they are in the way of the cucumbers 

 when they can be removed to some other frame to 

 harden off before ))lanting out in the open ground. — 

 The heat of the beu should be about 60° by night, 

 and from 7.5 '^ to 85° by day with sun. If the warmth 

 declines too soon, it will have to be made good with 

 linings — that is, a bank of hot manure all around the 

 bed and covered with boards, to keep off cold winds 

 and rain. Water when dry, with water of the tem- 

 perature of the bed. Give a little air on all favora- 

 ble opportunities, but be careful that no cutting wind 

 blows upon the plants. 



Another bed can be made, managed in the same 

 way, for a few early lettuce and radish. The soil will 

 want to be about six inches deep. The radish {Scar- 

 kt, Short-top, or Early Oval) should he sown and 

 covered about half an inch deep, and Early Cab- 

 bage lettuce about an eighth of an inch. The best 

 way will be to sow them on an even surface, and 

 cover them to that depth with fine earth. 



Sow a little winter mustard and peppergrass, to use 

 before the lettuce will be ready. When the mustar ) 

 is three inches high and has but two leaves, it is fit 

 for use. It will be ready in five or six days from time 

 of sowing. 



Forwarding Early Peas. — If room and time can 

 be spared, sow a dozen or two of pots with early peas, 

 these will not require any heat, but can be placed in 

 a cold frame and covered with the glasses until they 

 are up. Protect them from frost by covering the 

 frame at night with litter. The best way to sow them 

 is to put a piece of potshred over the hole of the pot, 

 then till the pot with earth to within one inch of the 

 top, BOW the peas thickly round the edge of the pot 



and cover them half an inch with earth. When the 

 frosty iii.nhts have jia.'^t, and the eaiili is wainied up 

 a little, cliQOhe a warm, sunny location, ir'smuie and 

 dig it deeply. Raise the earth up into liule hills 

 four inches hi<>h and eighteen iiichis apait.and plant 

 one pot of peas in the cc^ntrp of each hill. '1 nin it 

 out without l)rraking the roots, and plant the ball 

 entire. Stick them as soon as planted, and protect 

 in cold nighls with a little littery straw. 



Uardv (Jakdkn VK<iKTAHi.Ks. — As soon as the 

 fr(»st is out of th(^ ground, let nianuie he wheeled on 

 to all vacant ground and deeply sj'aded in." Leave 

 the ground rouf;h from the spade to ptdvcrize, and 

 be in readiness for early sowing of hardy vegetables 

 'i'owards the end of the nutnih, in son.e favorable 

 places, the seeds of many har<!y £>ai(len vepelables 

 may be sown; such as Early Kent f eas, Uovnd 

 Seeded spinach. Shorthorn cariot, Extra Cvrled 

 pvu'sley, onions. saL^ify, parsiiep, potatoes. Arc. If the 

 season and soil be wet at time of sowing, let the seeds 

 be lifihlly covered. If a liglit, sandy soil, and the 

 weather dry, such seeds as carrot, onion, parsnep, &c., 

 should be lightly covered and gently liod in, just so 

 as to press the soil upon the seeds, for if the soil be 

 loose, and drying winds prevail, they may never vege- 

 tate. 



New beds of Asparagus and Eiiubarb mat bb 

 MADE — For Asparagus, the ground .'^houid betrench- 

 ed eighteen inches or two feet in depth, and nine 

 inches or a foot of good manure worked in the bot- 

 tom of the bed, for this is the only time you will have 

 an opportunity of manuring the bottom of the bed. 

 The most convenient size for asparagus beds in gar- 

 dens is about five feet wide and any length. Plant 

 four rows in a bed, one foot apa"t, the plants nine 

 inches apart in the row, and buried two inches below 

 the surface. Plants of one or two years old are best, 

 or sow seed and thin out to the proper distance. 



Ehubarb may be planted in hills lour feet apari 

 Dig a hole two feet deep and two feet wide, and till it 

 full of good, rich compost, or mix plenty of niar,ure 

 with the soil which came out of the hole; fill in, aiad 

 plant in the centre, the crown an inch below the sur- 

 face. Rhubarb has large leaves and large roots, and 

 ,is what is called a gross feeder, and unless it has very 

 rich soil to grow in will not half develop itself. 



Raspberry beds may be made l'ow, as soon as the 

 ground is in condition. A light, loamy soil, highly 

 manured suits them best. Plant four canes in a hill, 

 and the hills four feet apart each way. Cut them 

 down to within a foot of the ground, and allow them 

 to bear no fruit the first year. Pinch out every flower 

 as soon as seen. Drive a stake in the centre of each 

 hill and tie the young ones loosely to the stake as 

 they grow. FastotJ, Hudson River Antwerp, and 

 Brinkles Orange, are considered among the beat 

 varieties. 



Strawberries. — Spread well decomposed manure 

 between the plants, and lightly fork it in without dis- 

 turbing their roots. Prepare for making new planta- 

 tions, by digging the ground a foot or eighteen inches 

 deep, incorporating plenty of manure. Plant in rows 

 two feet apart, and one foot apart in the row. In 

 very small gardens they mJf be planted at half this 

 distance, but they wjU be more trouble to keep clean 

 and will not do so. we 1 after the first year. A rather 

 stiff loamy soil will grow the largest f uit. Large 

 Early Scarlet, Burr's JVtw Pine, Hoveys Seed' 

 ling, and Hooker, are of tJie best varieties. 



