May. 1 9 W 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



253 



Conducted by Ellen Eddy Shaw 



Work of the Month 



THIS is a busy month in gardens. It is 

 the most active time of all in the school 

 garden. It is possible that some of you 

 have not yet started your garden work. 

 Perhaps the garden spot is damp. If so 

 dig down for two feet and put in several 

 inches of broken pot or stone. This will 

 form a drainage area and convert the damp 

 area into a dry garden spot. 



Sowing of seed is really a continuous 

 performance. This is true because the wise 

 gardener does not have space lying idle in 

 the garden. So he sows and resows. Seeds 

 may be classified as small, medium size and 

 large seed. Small seed, such as lettuce, 

 should be sown one fourth inch deep; 

 medium sized seed, as beet seed, one half 

 inch deep and large seed, like beans one 

 inch deep. Beans, corn and melons are 

 usually planted in hills. This is so that 

 a better and deeper root area may be pro- 

 duced and be less affected by dry weather. 



In order that there may be always a 

 tender, new crop of lettuce, radish and 

 carrot, sowings must be made frequently. 

 When the first lettuce plants appear above 

 the ground make a second sowing and so 

 on. Plant radish and carrot seed every 

 week. Pick radishes when they are about 

 one half inch in diameter, after that the 

 radish begins to get pithy and stringy. 



Do not plant the seeds of tender vege- 

 tables until about the middle of May or 

 until all danger of frost is over. The tender 

 vegetables are beans, corn, cucumbers, 

 melons, peppers, pumpkins, squash, sweet 

 potatoes and tomatoes. About this same 

 time plant outdoors seeds of Oriental 

 poppy, phlox, petunia, nasturtium, sun- 

 flower, aster, balsam and coreopsis. 



There are certain things to watch out for 

 in May. Some day you may see a plant 

 all collapsed from no cause apparently. 

 This is the work of our old enemy, the cut- 

 worm. If some plants get frosted shield 

 them from the heat of the sun. Spray them 

 with cold water, this treatment may bring 

 them to. Never cultivate the garden im- 



mediately after a rain. When you see 

 flower buds appearing on the rose bushes 

 push things along by watering the plants 

 once a week with liquid manure. Do this 

 until color is seen in the bud. Then stop. 

 When shrubs are through blossoming cut 

 ,out all the old wood. Cut this old wood 

 way down to the ground. 



Plant bulbs of cannas and dahlias. An 

 excellent vine to plant at school is the 

 gourd. Interesting gourds for children to 

 raise are the dish cloth, snake, bottle, apple, 

 and gooseberry. The cucumber and bal- 

 sam vines are worth the planting. 



Would you like a red garden, a brilliant 

 one too? If you wish to have a dash of 

 red color appear in April you can have it 

 by beginning next fall. Plant Artus tulips 

 next October. They will bloom the follow- 

 ing April. Shrubs of flowering almond 

 carry on the effect in May. The Oriental 

 poppy helps out in June. Hollyhock is a 

 good one for July. The nasturtiums and 

 phlox begin their good work too. Firefly 

 snapdragon is in a blaze of glory in August. 

 The red-hot poker or tritoma is a good 

 flower for the September garden and the 

 Japanese lantern plant shows its red fruit 

 in October. A part of this effect can be 

 produced this year. 



This month add to the wild flower garden 

 columbine, lady's slipper, violet, quaker- 

 lady and forget-me-not. 



St. Mary's Park School Garden 



r I "HIS school garden, occupying a quar- 

 A ter-acre of unimproved park land, 

 in New York City is under the care of boys 

 from seven neighboring schools. 



The first planting last year was done on 

 Arbor Day, May 5th. One hundred and 

 eighty-eight boys received a model lesson 



in planting and then each planted his 

 4x8 ft. plot with seven vegetables. A 

 few days later a row of flower seeds was 

 added to each plot. 



Late in June three of the four sections 

 of the garden were cleaned up by the 

 farmers, each boy proudly displaying his 

 fine crops to the visitors and then carry- 

 ing home the results of his labors. 



The fourth section was left undis- 

 turbed, and formed a model for the vaca- 

 tion school class, which took possession on 

 July 10th. 



Plantings in the three sections were 

 made on July 12th, 14th, and 19th. To 

 give some idea of the yield in these small 

 plots, 947 radishes were pulled in one of 

 the quarter sections, and only one row 

 of radishes was planted in each plot. 



Several plots were devoted to unusual 

 vegetables, such as okra, sweet potato, 

 broom corn, flax, peanuts and about ten 

 other kinds of plants. 



The Nature Study Club of the 23rd and 

 24th districts, of the Bronx, has financed 

 this garden, space for which was kindly 

 granted by Park Commissioner Thomas 

 J. Higgins, formerly a member of the 

 Board of Education and a great friend 

 of all school children. 



One boy announced that his radishes 

 brought six cents a bunch, they were so 

 fresh, and another said a neighbor gave 

 fifteen cents a head for all the lettuce he 

 could spare, but his father said it was too 

 fine to sell. 



Two boys of the summer class have urged 

 their parents to move where they can have 

 their own gardens and feel confident that 

 they can keep the household supplied 

 with several fresh vegetables. 



Anna Hill, 



New York City. Garden Supervisor. 



St. Mary's Park garden (New York City) suggests the use of public land for children's gardens 



