The Garden 



azine 



Vol. V— No. 1 



Published Monthly 



FEBRUARY, 1907 



One Dollar a Year 

 Fifteen Cents a Copy 



The Economy of Garden Plans 



MANY good dollars are wasted each year 

 because the garden is improperly 

 planned. To be a success, a garden should 

 bring in as much as, or more than, it costs. 

 There is only one way to have your garden 

 practically perfect, and that is to plan it 

 carefully during the early months of the year. 

 Make a definite scheme on paper, and stick 

 to it. Of course, there will be errors and 

 omissions, but the experience you will gain 

 will be worth a great deal in future years. 



Draw the plan on a fairly large scale, 

 so that each row in the vegetable plot can 

 be marked, and the vegetable which is to be 

 grown there plainly written in; also, indicate 

 on this plan what the second and third crops 

 are to be, with the probable planting date of 

 each. See the illustration on page 22 of this 

 issue of The Garden Magazine. 



The professional gardener always makes a 

 working plan which he hangs upon the wall 

 of the tool-shed. He finds that a garden 

 which has been planned before planting is 

 more nearly complete than one which has not 

 been planned. Planning enables him to 

 arrange for a much better succession; more 

 than that, there is more time now to scheme 

 and arrange than there will be later on; and 

 the ultimate result of work done now is 

 economy of time, money, and effort. 



Another advantage of making the plan 

 now is, that you will know at an early date 

 what seeds you need and can order them 

 promptly, and by early ordering, you avoid 

 the danger of finding that the stock of what 

 you most need has run out. 



In planning the vegetable garden, try to 

 have the space to be cultivated longer than 

 it is wide, because it saves time in turning 

 at the ends of the rows. If possible, have 

 these rows run north and south, rather than 

 east and west, because the plants will be less 

 shaded. 



You cannot accomplish much in the actual 

 growing of plants during this month; in fact, 

 outdoor work is at a standstill. But the seeds- 



men's catalogues are now ready; get them, 

 and by a careful study now, become acquain- 

 ted with all the novelties that are offered. 

 Make a selection of a few of these, but never 

 make the mistake of trusting your entire 

 garden to the season's novelties. Place your 

 reliance upon the old time, well-tried favor- 

 ites, or such recent novelty as has proved 

 itself worthy under your special conditions. 

 Very few varieties do equally well under all 

 conditions, and in all sections of the country. 



Read the various articles in the back 

 numbers of The Garden Magazine, such 

 as: " A Complete Garden for a Family of Six," 

 3:265. (These figures refer to the volume 

 and page; this reference meaning Vol. 3, 

 page 265.) 



A less pretentious garden, yet one which 

 supplied a family of three adults with all 

 its vegetables, is described in 2 :268. 



If you are a commuter, and have only a 

 few minutes each day that can be devoted 

 to the garden, read the results of devoting to 

 it ten minutes a day, 3:71. 



Now is the time to select the vegetables 

 which you are to eat at this time next year. 

 Read Mrs. Barron's article, "Fresh Vege- 

 tables All Winter," 4:183, and get some ideas 

 as to the requisite quantities and desirable 

 varieties. 



HOW TO ENSURE "SUCCESSION" 



But, after all, the most difficult thing is to 

 provide for a proper succession. The ground 

 should never be without a crop, and under a 

 proper system, a small plot of ground will 

 give as great a total return as a much larger 

 area. Study the classified planting tables 

 (3:155), which show the time taken for the 

 various crops to reach maturity; and what 

 varieties to plant for succession. In Mr. 

 J. T. Scott's article (3:332), are suggestions 

 for vegetables to follow the early peas, early 

 potatoes, etc. 



If you want to grow the very best vege^ 

 tables, that is, vegetables of quality, regard- 

 less of all other considerations, read: 



Cucumbers and Melons, 2:61; 



Lettuces, 3:318; 



Onions, 4:204, 306; 



Peppers, 3:325; 



Potatoes, 3:143, 158; 



Tomatoes, 3:223, 4:62; 



Unusual vegetables, 3 :2o. 



For the flower garden, valuable suggestions 

 can be had from reading the following art- 

 icles: 



Annuals, 3:28, 139, 226; 



Hardy perennials, 3:145, 212; 



Alpine flowers, 3:133; 



Asters, 3:166. 



Chrysanthemums, 3:274, 280; 



Sweet peas, 3:170, 172, 174. 



For the suggestions about planning the 

 fruit garden, read Pofessor Fletcher's articles, 

 3:68, 220, 276, 327; 4:10, 125 (especially the 

 last, where complete planting plans are given). 



If you would know what insect pests to 

 watch for, and how to combat them when 

 they come, read 3:64, 158, 232, 288, 329, 

 346; 4:12. 



SEEDS FOR FEBRUARY SOWING 



You can have early summer flowers in the 

 conservatory, and plants in flower for bedding 

 out in May, by starting seeds now in the 

 greenhouse or even in the window. Other- 

 wise, you must buy potted plants from the 

 florist. All these are easily handled: cocks- 

 comb, China aster, verbena, Marguerite 

 carnation, sweet sultan, periwinkle, and the 

 varieties of the Vernon begonia. If seeds 

 are sown not later than the first week of Feb- 

 ruary, they will make strong plants in 2^-inch 

 pots by bedding out time. 



Sow sweet peas for spring and early sum- 

 mer flowers indoors, or sow in pots for later 

 transplanting to the open ground as de- 

 scribed by Mr. Presby in the December 

 Garden Magazine, page 227. He had 

 them in bloom May 17th. See if you cannot 

 beat your neighbors next season, and send 

 us the record, with a photograph, for next 

 December's collection of "Achievements." 



Make cuttings of Lantana. Propagate 

 Bouvardia (by root cuttings) and Swain- 

 sonia. This month is the last for making good 

 carnation cuttings, and the earlier in the 

 month the better. March cuttings, if they 

 strike at all, rarely make strong plants. 



Sow seeds of Schizanthus and mignonette 

 for pot culture. 



TABLE DELICACIES FROM HOTBEDS 



Just for once, try a few extra early potatoes 

 forced in the hotbed or the small greenhouse. 

 Plant the tubers on end in flats of sand until 

 sprouted, then pot singly in 8-inch pots only 

 half full of soil, filling up as growth proceeds. 



Carrots of the Early Short Horn type 

 may be grown in deep flats, or in drills in 

 the hotbed itself. They will be ready in ten 

 weeks and nothing can be more welcome than 

 these early forced vegetables, of exquisite 

 tenderness and delicacy of flavor. Also sow 

 a drill of forcing radish every ten days. 



PLANTS FOR EASTER 



There is just time to have Crimson Ram- 

 bler roses in bloom for Easter, if forcing is 

 begun on January 15th. This gives exactly 

 ten weeks. Start in 50 to 54 at night, 

 syringe the wood every clear morning, and 

 when the buds break, raise the temperature 

 to 58 , which should be maintained until 

 the flowers open. 



