CHAPTER XIX 

 GARDEN CALENDAR FOR SOUTHERN STATES 



There is less need for making a gardeners' calendar for 

 the southern states than there is for the northern states. The 

 planting seasons in the South are always longer than in the 

 iSTorth, and there is much greater opportunity for choice in 

 the matter of dates for starting the various kinds of crops. 



The calendar for southern states is given for those who are 

 not very familiar with the climate; and for those who may 

 know the climate, but who are not so well informed about the 

 hardiness and adapta/tion of different plants; and those who 

 do not know the best temperature or kind of weather in 

 which various garden crops thrive best. The calendar should 

 'be considered as suggestive in its nature rather than as a set 

 of rules to be followed absolutely. The latitude to be kept 

 in mind in the reading of this chapter is about 33° or 34°, 

 where the average date for the first killing frost of winter 

 is from the first to the middle of . ISTovember. For regions 

 farther south or north the dates may be varied somewhat. 



For the parts of Florida south of the annual frost line, 

 the planting season really begins about the first of September 

 and extends through to the hot weather months when the 

 starting of most garden crops must cease because of the 

 burning sun. 



Market demands for the various crops often govern the 

 times for planting in the southern states. In certain regions 

 of commercial gardening the market has more influence than 

 the season in this respect. For example, celery may be 

 planted to get the crop into market ahead of the northern 

 grown crop. Independent of season in Florida, celery is 

 planted in January, October and April. 

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