\March! Whoever it was, he cer- 

 tainly chose a good name for this 

 month. Thus far we have been 

 marking time, planning our cam- 

 paigns, sharpening our weapons, 

 girding up our loins, and making 

 all manner of preparations. Now 

 comes the definite forward order 

 — and the "march" begins. Let each 

 of us keep well up with the proces- 

 sion and abreast of the seasons 

 schedule. 



^IKq £Montr?s ^emmc/er 



MARCH 



The Reminder is to "suggest" what may be done during the next few weeks. Details of how to do each item 

 are given in the current or the back issues of The Garden Magazine — it is manifestly impossible to give 

 all the details of all the work in any one issue of a magazine. References to hack numbers may be looked 

 up in the index to each completed volume (sent gratis on request), and the Service Department will also cite 

 references to any special topic if asked. 



In calculating times to plant out of doors New York City is the usual standard. Roughly fifteen miles a 

 day is the rate at which the season advances. Thus Albany which is one hundred and fifty miles from New 

 York would be about ten days later, and Philadelphia which is ninety miles southwest about a week earlier. 



Dr. Hopkins (page 20 Feb. issue) estimates four days for each one degree of latitude or five degrees of longitude, 

 or four hundred feet of altitude. 



^Govern your sowings and plant- 

 ings more by nature's indications 

 than by dates. When currant 

 and gooseberry buds begin to open 

 it is safe to sow hardy vegetables 

 and flowers and to transplant out- 

 doors well-hardened off specimens of 

 the same species. When apple 

 trees and Lilacs are in bloom is 

 plenty early enough to sow seeds 

 of tender sorts, and bring tomato 

 and other tender seedlings outdoors. 



General Orders for General Use 



When you remove the mulch from the 

 bulb borders and strawberry bed, 

 leave some of the litter in a pile 

 near by for a few weeks, so that if 

 there is a sudden brief spell of cold 

 weather, you can spread a thin covering over 

 the plants and perhaps save them from destruc- 

 tion. 



Remove most of the mulch from asparagus and 

 rhubarb beds, so that the onion sets planted last 

 September will grow well, or dig in the finer part 

 of the mulch, around all the perennials, including 

 French artichoke and seakale. Scatter salt 

 (half a pound per square yard) around the as- 

 paragus and work it in, unless you live near the 

 seashore. Uncover multiplier onions, too, about 

 this time. 



Have you bought all the tools you will need this 

 season? A wheel hoe, by the way is practically a 

 necessity these days in any garden of more than 

 25 x 25 ft. 



If you are buying a wheelbarrow get one of the 

 regular garden type with removable sides. It is 

 really two distinct implements, one suited to 

 carrying the largest possible loads of dirt, manure, 

 etc.; the other a flat affair for moving all sorts of 

 bulky objects — hotbed sash, barrels of water, a 

 rack for carrying huge heaps of leaves and mulch- 

 ing material, and the like. 



As soon as you have used up the last of the 

 winter supply of potatoes, roots, etc., from the 

 cellar, clean out the storage space thoroughly. 

 Sweep up and burn all bits of vegetable matter 

 that might decay, take out and empty all boxes 

 of dirt, sweep the wall, ceiling, and floor with a 

 stiff broom, then spray with strained whitewash 

 and sprinkle some lime or charcoal around to 

 freshen the place up. 



Did you include in the seed order the following 

 — they used to be novelties, but they are well 

 known and with excellent reputations -now, 

 Kochia, the burning bush; the diminutive in- 

 dividual watermelon; winter or Chinese radish, 

 milder than any spring or summer sort and easily 

 kept until early spring; pe-tsai the Chinese or 

 celery cabbage, really easier to raise than lettuce; 

 plenty of wax beans, which are good green, a little 

 more mature as shell beans, and still later, when 

 dried, excellent for baking; both early and late 

 Cosmos, the combination providing a summer 

 and autumn full of flowers. 



FROST, FORESIGHT, AND OTHER FACTORS 



Remember that clear, dry air is favorable to 

 frost. Watch out for the days when the sun is 

 very bright, the shadows very dense, and the 

 air very still, especially if the morning tempera- 

 ture was anywhere near 35 degrees. 



If frost threatens: (1) Build smudge fires around 

 the garden, to create a smoke blanket; (2) leave 

 a sprinkler running so as to fill the air with 

 moisture; (3) cover the plants that are most 

 likely to be injured with newspaper or light litter 

 of some kind. It will help even to run the culti- 

 vator up and down the rows just before dark to 

 turn up moist soil and add to the moisture in the 

 air. 



// a frost happens, sprinkle the plants that 

 were touched before the sun strikes them next 

 morning; this "draws" the frost and often saves 

 a frosted crop. 



The Lawn, the Trees, and the Shrubbery 



The early spring treatment of the lawn 

 has a lot to do with its appearance 

 and vigor all the rest of the year. 

 If it was manured last fall, rake off 

 most of the dressing just before the 

 ground gets soft and add it to the 

 compost pile; the best of the plant food it con- 

 tained has long since been washed into the 

 ground. 



Next, as soon as the frost is out, roll the lawn, 

 and sprinkle over it bone meal (half a pound per 

 square yard) and, if you have them, about half 

 as much wood ashes. If no manure was applied 

 in the fall, an application of prepared sheep man- 

 ure will do much good right now. Later, when 

 growth starts, two ounces of nitrate of soda per 

 square yard will act as a tonic. Last year this 

 couldn't be had for garden uses. 



After the final spring thaw, dig out dock, 

 dandelion, plantain and other perennial weeds. 

 Cut the roots several inches below the surface. 

 Then sprinkle a little soil over these and any 

 other bare spots, rake in a little fresh seed and 

 roll down. 



Before the soil loses its spring supply of mois- 

 ture — but of course not while it is wet enough 

 to puddle — is a good time to do grading, sodding, 

 terracing and other types of garden construction 

 work. Paths made now will quickly lose that 

 ugly, new appearance as the grass and flowers 

 spring up around them. 



Concrete work can be completed even before 

 freezing weather is over, provided the sand is 

 warmed before being mixed with the cement, 

 and the finished surface protected from freezing 

 by tarpaulins, hotbed mats, etc. 



Southern gardeners take notice — this is one of 

 the best times for you to transplant evergreens. 

 In every case keep the roots from drying out and 

 avoid all possible injury to the fine feeding sys- 

 tem. Hollies should have all their leaves stripped 

 off as soon as they are planted. If the sun comes 

 out strong, or a warm, drying wind springs up 

 soon after such things are set, cover them with 

 large sheets of heavy paper or with wet burlap, 

 to check evaporation. 



Northern transplanting in March includes about 

 everything but the evergreens. Be sure to cut 

 back all shrubs, trees and woody vines moved 

 now, so as to compensate for the inevitable 

 root injury. 



Of the shrubs already in place prune, before 

 they start into growth, those that will not bloom 

 until July or later, as for instance, Camellia. 

 Clematis Jackmannii, Hydrangea, Philadelphus, 

 etc. 



Pruning is the means whereby shrubs, trees and 

 vines may be guided or trained into desirable 

 habits of growth and shape, and is best done 

 when they are dormant and still young. 



How many grand old trees can you remember 

 that gradually rotted away and finally blew over 

 or were chopped down because a decade ago tree 

 surgery and the restoring of cripples to strength 

 and a greatly increased lease of life were un- 

 known arts? Are there any trees on your place 

 that are going the same way for want of a little 

 simple attention now? 



Don't forget that shrubs and ornamental trees 

 are often infested by scales and other insects; 

 the Poplar commonly known as Balm of Gilead 

 is almost always a prey to the oystershell scale, 

 and the San Jose attacks Roses, flowering 



78 



Almonds, etc. If you find signs of their presence 

 spray now just as for fruit enemies (see below). 



Have you had difficulty in training vines, 

 shrubs, etc., to walls and the sides of buildings? 

 The wall nail, carried by most seedsmen, should 

 solve the problem for you. It carries a soft 

 lead clip that may be bent around the stem after 

 the nail is driven into place, and which will hold 

 without injuring. 



Now is the time to bring into the garden those 

 small shrubs and trees, vines and all sorts of hardy 

 perennials that you discovered during your ram- 

 bles last fall and marked as your very own. So 

 also it is the time to thin out shrubbery plantings 

 that have grown too dense. Spaces created now 

 will be hardly noticeable by July. 



Plant, Prune, and Protect the Fruits 



This is fruit planting time. Be- 

 ginning with apples, pears, and 

 quinces and ending with peaches, 

 all the fruit you planned to add to 

 the garden in 1919 — and a little 

 more — should be in place before the trees now 

 growing burst their buds. 



Standards or dwarfs? The latter are shorter 

 lived and require more care, but then they need 

 far less space, bear earlier and usually higher- 

 quality crops, and can be cared for practically 

 from the ground whether it is pruning, spraying 

 or harvesting that is on the programme. Dwarf 

 apricots, for instance, can be covered over with a 

 sheet when a late frost threatens the blossoms. 



Cherry and plum trees in the chicken yard pro- 

 vide grateful, beneficial shade; the chickens de- 

 stroy many insects — especially the curculio — 

 that attack these fruits. 



One of the first tasks this month is to prune 

 or finish pruning the grapes. If left any longer 

 they will bleed seriously when the work is done. 



Finish all the other pruning, including the 

 heading back of trees, the removal of one of each 

 pair of interfering branches, the removal of old 

 canes from all bush fruits, and the shortening and 

 tying up of the three or four most vigorous new 

 ones. Blackberries, gooseberries, loganberries, 

 and other tall growing, semi-drooping sorts. 



Loganberries, by the way, are good, but how do 

 you know your soil and climate suit them? The 

 Department of Agriculture says they are suited 

 only to a few humid sections of the Northwest 

 and California, and similar situations with similar 

 soil and climatic conditions. 



Late this month, or early next, graft over to 

 better varieties, the trees that yield fruit that you 

 don't care for or even try a new sort or two on a 

 few branches of some of your better trees. Use 

 the grafts that you selected and stowed away in 

 sand in February. 



One thorough spraying with "winter strength " 

 lime-sulphur solution, or miscible oil now while 

 the trees are dormant, will do more good 

 in checking pests than three applications 

 of "summer strength" later on. Of course 

 both may prove necessary. 



A good way to lessen the chances of having 

 brown rot on your stone fruits is to spray the 

 ground around the trees with any strong fungicide 

 just before the buds open. Do this if possible 

 just before rainy weather which stimulates the 

 germination of the spores of the disease. 



Directions for the spraying of the apple and 

 pear are common enough. The reason less is 

 said about quince troubles is that just about the 





