WHEN TO SO\V IX THE SOUTH. 311 



CHAPTER XVI. 



WHEN TO SOW AND PLANT IN THE SOUTHERN 

 STATES. 



Yv'e have hundreds of letters each season making in- 

 quiries on this subject. From the great variation in lat- 

 itude, soils, shelter, etc., it is impossible to give accurate 

 information on the subject, for the date that would 

 answer for Charleston, South Carolina, or Jackson- 

 ville, Fla., would not do for Norfolk, Ya., or Knoxville, 

 Tenn., but at the risk, in some few cases, of repeating in- 

 structions already given, I will endeavor to approximate 

 as nearly as possible to the dates at which vegetables 

 should be sown and planted in the Southern States. 

 The instructions for culture vary but little from what is 

 practised at the North, so the reader is referred to each 

 article under its proper head for cultural instructions. 



Asparagus. Whether raised from seed or from plants, 

 had better be started in the fall mouths, varying, accord- 

 ing to latitude, from the 1st of October to the 1st of 

 December, earlier, as at Norfolk, Virginia, to the latest 

 date in South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. 

 The plant is hardy, and consequently will have made 

 roots enough to sustain itself through the cool season, if 

 sown at these dates, and be ready for vigorous growth as 

 soon as vegetation starts in spring. 



Beans; Bush or Pole. Are of tropical origin, and 

 consequently belong to what are classed as "tender" 

 vegetables, and when wan ted for early crop, as nearly all 

 Southern vegetables are, should not be sown until all 

 danger from chilly weather is past not before the night 

 temperature will average fifty-five degrees. Perhaps one 

 of the best rules is to delay sowing or planting in the 

 open ground until such date as corn can be safely planted. 



