Book of Gardens 



97 



January 



THE GARDENER'S CALENDAR 



First Month 



Conlinuous bearing 

 greenhouse vegeta- 

 bles should bemulch- 

 ed with manure 



Trench stored celery 

 should be protected 

 so that water can- 

 not penetrate to it 



^± 



Plenty of sod and 

 straw covering for 

 the root pit will 

 keep out the frost 



SUNDAY 



MONDAY 



TUESDAY 



This calendar of the gardener's labors is 

 aimed as a reminder for undertaking all his 

 tasks in season. It is fitted to the latitude 

 of the Middle States, but its service should 

 be available for the whole country if it be 

 remembered that for every one hundred 

 miles north or south there is a difference 

 of from five to seven days later or earlier 

 in performing garden operations. The 

 dates given are, or course, for an average 

 season. 



WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 



o. It Is not 

 :i good prac- 

 tice to allow 

 leaves to lie on 

 the lawn all 

 winter. They 

 should be 

 raked into piles 

 and carted to 

 some corner 

 where they can 

 be composted. 

 They are far 

 too valuable to 

 be burned, as 

 Is only too 

 often done. 



12. Bean 

 poles and pea 

 brush are 

 necessary ac- 

 cessories of the 

 productive 

 garden. Why 

 not gather 

 some now while 

 other outdoor 

 work is slack. 

 Do not put it 

 nff until spiing. 

 or in the rush 

 uT other prepa- 

 ration It may 

 bo omitted. 



19. Before 

 snring all the 

 fruit trees 

 must be 

 looked over 

 carefully and 

 every mummi- 

 fied fruit re- 

 moved. These 

 diseased, 

 shriveled fruits 

 are the breed- 

 ing places of 

 many of our 

 insect enemies, 

 and they should 

 be burned. 



26. Have you 

 ever given 

 more than a 

 passing 

 thought to 

 j'our garden 

 soil? Your 

 State agricul- 

 tural college 

 will make a soil 

 test for you. 

 perhaps free of 

 charge, saving 

 you many dol- 

 lars in wasted 

 fertilization. 

 Write to them. 



6. House 

 plants must 

 have some 

 attention at 

 this time; the 

 pores or 

 breathing oi- 

 gans become 

 clogged with 

 dust. Sponge 

 the foliage 

 with a good 

 soap solution 

 in lukewarm 

 water, with a 

 little tobacco 

 extract in it. 



13. While 

 the ground is 

 frozen It is a 

 good practice 

 to get the man- 

 ure into your 

 garden. This 

 will prevent 

 the cutting up 

 of the borders 

 with the wagon 

 wheels. Be- 

 sides, the fer- 

 tilizing quality 

 of manure 

 improves 

 with age. 



20. Authori- 

 ties state that 

 placing food for 

 our uselul win- 

 ter birds will 

 not result in 

 their giving up 

 their valuable 

 activities of 

 weed, seed and 

 noxious insect 

 hunting. Regu- 

 1 ar feed in g 

 means more 

 birds and 

 greater eco- 

 nomic benefit. 



27. Have you 

 ever figured 

 the loss in your 

 garden from 

 summer 

 droughts. 

 Checkmate the 

 dry weather 

 with one of the 

 good irrigating 

 systems that 

 are on the mar- 

 ket. Order it 

 now. before the 

 rush; it can be 

 installed later 

 in the year. 



7. Why not 

 make a small 

 plan of your 

 place to scale. 

 You can then 

 chart any 

 changes intelli- 

 gently, mark 

 the location of 

 water pipes, 

 waste lines, and 

 other informa- 

 tion that it is 

 often necessary 

 to know 

 quicklj' and 

 accurately. 



14. Heavy 

 mulchings that 

 are applied for 

 frost pro- 

 tection, or the 

 loose coverings 

 over vegetable 

 trenches, 

 should be 

 loosened up 

 with a fork or 

 they will get 

 matted down 

 and be of com- 

 paratively lit- 

 tle value to the 

 plants beneath. 



21. Have you 

 a small fruit 

 border around 

 your garden'.' 

 Raspberries, 

 blackberries, 

 currants and 

 gooseberries 

 are a necessary 

 part of a good 

 garden, and 

 this is the time 

 to plan where 

 they can best 

 be put in when 

 actually spring 

 opens. 



2S. Dahlia 

 bulbs should 

 be looked over 

 at this time, 

 as you can tell 

 now how they 

 are going to 

 keep. If they 

 are shriveling, 

 cover them 

 with sand ; if 

 they show 

 signs of start- 

 ing into growth 

 they should be 

 kept in a cooler 

 place. 



1- Do not 

 neglect to 

 mulch thor- 

 oughly all the 

 late plantings 

 of bulbs, peren- 

 nials and other 

 soft plants. 

 Coarse manure 

 is the material 

 preferred for 

 this purpose. 

 Leaves or any 

 light stuff may 

 be used, how- 

 ever, if manure 

 cannot be had. 



8. Crops that 

 have been 

 growing In the 

 greenhouse for 

 any consider- 

 a b I e time 

 should be 

 mulched. Pure 

 cow manure is 

 the best ma- 

 terial for this 

 purpose; sever- 

 al Inches of it 

 should be ap- 

 plied to the 

 benches where 

 the plants are. 



15. What 

 about cold- 

 frames for your 

 garden this 

 coming spring? 

 You can easily 

 build the 

 frames your- 

 self, but the 

 sash must be 

 ordered now or 

 you won't have 

 them in time. 

 Remember 

 that the early 

 cold-frame 

 is the best. 



22. A good 

 grape arbor is 

 both attractive 

 and remunera- 

 tive. Build the 

 arbor substan- 

 tially and buy 

 only good vari- 

 eties of grapes 

 for it. Trench 

 the ground be- 

 neath the ar- 

 bor so that the 

 plants will 

 grow and pro- 

 duce abun- 

 dantly. 



29. All kinds 

 of hardy plants 

 that require it 

 can be pruned 

 at this time. 

 Young fruit 

 trees should be 

 pruned severe- 

 ly, while trees 

 that have at- 

 tained fruiting 

 size need only 

 very moderate 

 reducing. It is 

 well to look 

 them all over 



2. Spraying 

 ol dormant 

 trees and 

 shrubs may be 

 practiced 

 throughout the 

 winter months. 

 Any of the 

 soluble oil 

 sprays may be 

 used for scale 

 and other bark 

 infections. 

 Stronger solu- 

 tions may be 

 used now than 

 later. 



FRIDAY 



9. Chicory 

 and rhubarb 

 can be forced 

 under the 

 benches In the 

 green bouse. 

 Use a drop cur- 

 tain to exclude 

 the light. The 

 roots may also 

 be grown in 

 any warm cel- 

 1 a r . Mush- 

 rooms, too. 

 may be grown 

 in similar situ- 

 ations. 



16 Potatoes 

 and other 

 stored root 

 crops should be 

 picked over 

 aad any bad 

 tubers re- 

 moved. In 

 very diy cel- 

 lars where the 

 tubers are like- 

 ly to shrivel 

 they can be 

 covered with 

 salt hay or 

 straw to ex- 

 clude the air. 



23. Plants 

 that are grow- 

 i n g in the 

 house should 

 be top dressed 

 occasionally 

 with some sort 

 of concentrat- 

 ed plant food. 

 Prepared 

 |) 1 a n t foods 

 come for this 

 purpose that 

 are excellent 

 and odorless. 

 Your dealer 

 will have them. 



30. It will 

 soon be time to 

 start hotbeds 

 for the early 

 vegetables and 

 flowers. Fresh 

 manure must 

 be used for this 

 purpose; it 

 would be a 

 good policy to 

 start gathering 

 it now. so as to 

 have plenty 

 when the time 

 comes for using 

 it. 



3. New land 

 that is in- 

 tended lor 

 growing pur- 

 poses can be 

 made ready for 

 plowing by 

 burning the 

 longgrasswhile 

 it is dry. This is 

 also excellent 

 treatment for 

 the grass grow- 

 ing in orchards 

 and bordering 

 culti\'ated 

 fields, etc. 



SATURDAY 



10. It is a 

 bad practice to 

 scrape the 

 bark from 

 trees, as a con- 

 s i d e r a b 1 e 

 amount of the 

 live bark will 

 be Injured. 

 When the bark 

 is moss grown 

 it can be 

 cleaned h y 

 scrubbing 

 it well with a 

 stiff, hard bris- 

 tled brush- 



17. During 

 severe freezing 

 weather large 

 trees can be 

 transplanted 

 with absolute 

 safety. Dig 

 them with good 

 sized balls of 

 earth around 

 their roots and 

 let them ireeze 

 hard before 

 m o V i ng . A 

 stone-boat can 

 be used for 

 transportation. 



24. While 

 the vines are 

 dormant is an 

 excellent time 

 to take them 

 down for any 

 painting that 

 may be neces- 

 sary on build- 

 ings or fences 

 where they are 

 growing. 

 Necessary re- 

 pairs should be 

 made before 

 replacing the 

 vines. 



31. Many 

 evergi eens are 

 damaged every 

 winter by al- 

 lowing wet, 

 heavy snows to 

 accumulate on 

 their branches, 

 breaking them 

 down. Take a 

 wooden rake 

 and shake the 

 trees gently to 

 remove the 

 snow after 

 every heavy 

 storm. 



4. Don't ne- 

 glect to kee,i 

 up regular 

 sowings in the 

 greenhouse oi 

 those crop.--- 

 which require 

 frequent plant- 

 ings to assure a 

 supply. Bean.'?, 

 cauliflower, let- 

 tuce, radishes, 

 spinach, etc.. 

 are all true 

 croppers and 

 may be planted 

 in this way. 



11. Plants 

 that are being 

 wintered in 

 frames require 

 air and light 

 occasionally or 

 they will be- 

 come soft and 

 yellow. Open 

 up the frames 

 on e V e r J- 

 bright day. and 

 always water 

 them in the 

 morning so the 

 plants win be 

 dry at night. 



18. While 

 the trees and 

 shrubs are dor- 

 mant caterpil- 

 lar nests and 

 egg masses of 

 various insects 

 are readil>- 

 discernible . 

 Burn the nests 

 with a torch of 

 kerosenc- 

 soaked rags, 

 and paint the 

 egg masses 

 with a solution 

 of creosote. 



25. All edged 

 tools should be 

 looked over 

 now and those 

 that need it, 

 must be 

 sharpened . 

 Lawn mowers 

 that are in 

 need of repairs 

 ought to be at- 

 tended to at 

 this time, and 

 if the wheel- 

 hoe needs tink- 

 ering it. should 

 b? fl.'ied. 



W h al arc 

 these maples 

 and beeches 

 and birches but 

 odes and idyls 

 and madiigals? 

 What are these 

 pines and firs 

 and spruces but 

 holy hymns? 



— Oliver 



Wendell 



'pLIZA says it ain't right, with high prices tellin' us to save all the food we kin, but I ain't gain' to quit 

 fccdxn' the wild rabbits this winter. I raised quite a batch of extry carrots for 'em last summer, out 

 back of the cow barn — 'Lica called it my rabbit garden — an' saved all the knotty late apples that weren't 

 good for iiothin' else. Now that they'stwo foot of snow on the ground, an' it's colder'n a February moon, 

 I kinder like to feel that them little cottontailed devils ain't got empty stomachs. It's pretty hard sleddin' 

 (or 'em this weather — yon kin tell tluct by the mess of fresh tracks in the snow around the house every 

 mornin', where they been huntin' for food. Didn't take the furry little cusses long to find where I'd put 

 the carrots an' nubbins on the bare ground under the front piazza, though, an' now they hold mass meetin's 

 there rcg'lar every night. Mcbbe it's waste, bttt — well, I dunno but what it'll be forgiven me, 



— Old Doc Lemmon. 



Hyacinths, narcissus 



and other bidbs 



may be lifted a^id 



brought indoors 



Old croquet wickets 

 can be utilized to 

 hold the leaf mulch 

 over small plantings 



Liquid fertilizer is 



simply prepared by 



placing a sack of 



manure in water 



To retain the white- 

 ness of the cauli- 

 flower heads, break 

 the leaves over them 



A good tomato trellis pays for itself in im- 

 proved yield. It is a good plan to make 

 one this winter, building it in sections to 

 facilitate handling 



Straw mats are excellent covers for cold 



frames. They can be bought from supply 



men; or if you have enough long-ftbered 



straw you can make them yourself 



Cuttings from 

 grapes and green- 

 house fruit trees 

 should be taken now 



