M ARCH, 1910 



THE GARDEN MAGAZ1 N E 



93 



Planting and Transplanting 



MARCH is a very busy month for the pro- 

 gressive gardener. Seed sown now sprouts, 

 but because of cool nights the top growth is slow. 

 The roots, however, are foraging and as soon as 

 climatic conditions are right, you have a big-rooted 

 plant ready to push right ahead. 



Last month we recommended sowing some of the 

 early vegetables in the hotbed or greenhouse. If 

 you haven't done this, do it now. Sow onions, 

 cabbage, cauliflower, celery, leek, lettuce and 

 Brussels sprouts; and you can also sow some of 

 the heat-lovers, such as peppers, tomatoes and 

 egg plant which were left out last month. If the 

 temperature goes too low for these soft, sappy 

 plants they soon turn yellow and it takes a long time 

 to get them back to normal condition. But in a 

 properly prepared hotbed it is safe to sow them any 

 time after March 15th. A good plan is to partition 

 off the section used so that it can be kept slightly 

 warmer than the balance of the frame; and if you 

 have space to spare in the cool part of the frame, 

 sow some beets, carrots and parsley. These should 

 be sown broadcast and rather thinly, as they need 

 not be dibbled off but can be transplanted directly 

 to the garden when the proper time arrives. 



Seed planted last month should by this time 

 have developed young plants quite well advanced, 

 and they will soon be ruined for want of light and 

 air. We must now prepare some sash for receiving 

 the young plants. Put the hot manure in the frame 

 the same as you did for the seeds; put the soil on 

 top, but this time it should be rich. When it has 

 become well warmed, the frame is ready to receive 

 the plants. Take a 4-inch board the length of your 

 frame, place it against the end of the prepared 

 ground and mark along the inside with a sharpened 

 stick. Turn the board over and mark again, and 

 so on until finished. You will not need to mark 

 the opposite way if you use a little care in setting 

 the plants. If you get the first row right — the 

 plants four inches apart — the others will follow 

 right along; but always "break" the rows — that 

 is, plant opposite the spaces, aligning the plants of 

 alternate rows. 



In setting out the plants or dibbling off, a little 

 care must be used. To begin with, the plants 

 must not get frosted; so select a nice, sunny day, 

 take a seed pan or board and lift a clump of the 

 young seedlings, covering them well if the weather 

 is cold and with a news- 

 paper if the sun is shin- 

 ing. Do not take out 

 any more than fifty at 

 one time. When these 

 are planted, return to 

 the seed bed for more. 

 Use a little judgment in 

 regard to the condition 

 of the soil both irt the 

 seed bed and frame. 

 The soil should be 

 moderately moist, and 

 in the newly prepared 

 bed it should be about 

 the same as in the seed 

 bed. The advantage in 

 this is that the roots will 

 bind more quickly. 



Take a sharpened 

 stick about three or four 

 times the thickness of a 

 lead pencil, stick it in 

 the ground and turn it 

 around, bearing on the 



outside of the hole. With the left hand hold the 

 young plant by the top of the few leaves, drop 

 the roots of the seedling into the newly made hole 

 and firm. This is done by pressing down with the 

 end of the stick, holding it almost horizontal instead 

 of perpendicular. The depression made in the 

 ground is left, as that forms an excellent medium 

 for watering the young seedlings. Be careful to 

 plant the seedlings at the proper depth — a 

 mere trifle ^deeper if they have had plenty of 

 air and light m the seed bed. If they have been 

 allowed to stay in the seed bed too long, or if 

 the seed was sown too thickly, the seedlings 

 are very apt to "draw up" or get spindly, and they 

 will have to be set deeper accordingly. This 

 applies more particularly to the cabbage family. 



The proper time to start dibbling the young 

 plants is when the third leaf is almost developed; 

 but if it is neglected until after the plants have 

 passed this stage, a good plan is to pinch them back 

 slightly after planting. By removing about one- 

 half of each leaf from cabbage, cauliflower, celery, 

 etc., the plants, having less to sustain, are not so 

 liable to flag and will quickly start root action. 

 Sprinkle the plants well after planting but do not 

 flood them. If the young plants are moistened 

 every fine day in the morning, with a sprinkling can 

 with a very fine rose, they will pick up quickly. 



Another good scheme for small gardens (but 

 is impracticable for large places because of the time 

 consumed) is to plant the seedlings in paper 

 flower pots. I do not mean the heavy paper kind, 

 but the cheap ones made of pasteboard. They can 

 be set very close together and when planting-out 

 time comes it saves the plants from a second check. 

 You need not wait for a dark rainy day, either, to 

 do your planting, as the roots, being confined, form 

 a ball and none are lost even though the pots 

 have been torn or destroyed. I do not recommend 

 pots for celery plants, but for cabbage and cauli- 

 flower they are excellent. I always advise the use 

 of pots for egg plants and peppers. Use flats or 

 pots in greenhouse work, as explained last month, 

 because they are easy to handle and the plants can 

 be gradually hardened off before planting out. 



We are not confined to the hotbed and greenhouse 

 for the month of March. There are numerous 

 things outside that can now be done. Plant some 

 early potatoes about the end of the month. This 

 is not a joke; the sooner you realize that all potatoes 

 are better when planted early, the better it will be 

 for you. I always try to have them all in by the 

 middle of April, for by planting early the plants get 

 well established before the dry weather of summer 

 comes on. 



In any event, do not permit March to pass without 

 getting in a few rows for use about the latter part 

 of June in this locality. In planting early potatoes 

 always use manure in preference to other fertilizers, 

 as it keeps the ground slightly warm until the eyes 

 throw out shoots. In case of a late frost after the 

 shoots show above ground, go along the row with a 

 hoe and draw a little soil over them. In cutting 

 seed potatoes always cut to one eye and remove 

 entirely the butt end with all the eyes on it. After 

 cutting the potatoes dip them in sifted ashes and 

 spread them out on the cellar floor for a day or two 

 to dry well before planting. 



Lettuces newly dibbled. Plants are 

 right size 



just at the 



Seedlings: Thi 



large plants in background are ready for planting out ; second size were dibbled about 

 two weeks ago; small ones have just been dibbled 



This is also a good time to think about setting out 

 an asparagus bed. Do not get large roots as they 

 are very slow in starting. The two-year-old roots 

 will be found preferable to the larger sizes. To 

 grow really good asparagus you simply must make 

 a perfect bed: trench the ground three feet deep — 

 four is even better — and add an abundance of 

 well-rotted manure. Put four layers of manure in 

 each trench. A year ago I put into a bed 180 feet 

 long and 100 feet wide about 100 loads of manure. 

 Dig a trench about six inches deep and about 

 twelve inches wide, go along the trench and place 

 the young plants, crown up, about eighteen inches 

 apart, taking care to spread the roots nicely. Run 

 the rows north and south, if convenient. Throw a 

 couple of inches of soil over the roots and firm nicely 

 with the feet, but don't tramp on the crown. About 

 the middle of summer pull another couple of inches 

 of soil into the trench and in the fall level of the surface. 

 Now is the time to give the established asparagus 

 bed its first application of salt. Apply liberally, as 

 it not only kills weeds but is a valuable fertilizer for 

 asparagus. Salt is also a wonderful catcher and 

 holder of moisture. 



The old asparagus bed should be spaded over 

 and manure turned in, if it was not done last fall 

 Do not be afraid if you break a few roots in doing 

 this, because new roots will quickly shoot out. In 

 cases of old beds, where the crowns have raised 

 themselves nearly level with the ground, a good 

 plan is to ridge them up, and if you like your aspara- 

 gus white pile about six inches of soil on the roots. 

 If, however, you prefer it green, leave the bed as it is. 

 You can also start work now on a rhubarb bed 

 and if you have an old one that shows sign of age 

 and is getting seedy, dig up the roots, chop them 

 into quarters and reset them, using plenty of manure 

 in the ground. This must be done now or not at 

 all, as rhubarb is one of the first vegetables to start 

 growth and you cannot get good, heavy succulent 

 stalks from an old, seedy bed. 



You will save a lot of needless confusion if you 

 dig over a space in the garden for the first lot of 

 outside seeds. Use plenty of well rotted manure 

 and dig the manure well under, as the deeper the 

 manure goes the deeper the roots will penetrate. 

 Do this toward the end of the month, and if the 

 weather is good, and the frost is out of the ground, 

 sow some seeds of onions, lettuce, peas, etc. If, 

 however, the ground has been left by the frost in 

 a soft and sticky condition, wait until it dries out, 

 which is usually about April 1st. 



The various beds that 

 were mulched last fall, 

 such as the small fruits, 

 strawberries, currants, 

 gooseberries, etc., had 

 best be dug under as 

 soon as frost leaves the 

 ground. In digging in a 

 mulch, do not cut any 

 more roots than you can 

 help, but get the manure 

 in as deep as possible. 

 Manure near the surface 

 draws the roots up, and 

 the hot weather dries 

 them out. 



W. C. McCollom. 

 New York. 



(Editor's Note. — 

 Next month's article will 

 be devoted to seed sow- 

 ing; and to the prepar- 

 ation of the ground, 

 essential to a 

 garden, etc. 



