THE MONTH'S REMINDER, MARCH, 1918 



The purpose of the Reminder is to call to your attention the things which should be thought about or done during the next few weeks. For full 

 details as to how to do the different things suggested, see the current or back issues of The Garden Magazine. {An index of contents is prepared 

 for each completed volume, and is sent gratis on request. The Readers' Service Department will also cite references on any special topic if 

 asked — that's its job.) To get the full benefit of this, check off with a pencil — in the square provided for that purpose before each paragraph, the 

 items thai apply to your own case, and use the page as a reference list. 



DON'T be too impetuous! An over- 

 early start gains nothing. Unless you 

 are an exception to the rule, you can 

 use the bad days in March just as 

 profitably in completing your preparations as 

 you could in beginning actual operations out 

 of doors. 



In the Vegetable Garden 



/^•ET manure on the ground as quickly as 

 ^"-* possible; spread it evenly, break up all 

 lumps; don't wait until ready to plow or spade. 



□ Be wise in time and order your supply 

 of chemical fertilizers now. 



DDon't be in too much of a hurry to work 

 the ground. If it is plowed or spaded while still 

 wet, it may be injured for several seasons to 

 come. As soon as ground is dry enough 

 to work, plant first early things, regardless of 

 temperature; these include D onion sets, 

 D round peas, D asparagus and Q horse- 

 radish roots, D beets, D turnips, D onions, 

 D spinach, Q lettuce and radish. 



Make the first plantings of seeds very 

 shallow: also, sow seed very thick as germ- 

 ination will not be as good as later. 



To get the earliest and surest results, use 

 plant forcers both for individual plants set out, 

 such as cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower; and for 

 vegetables planted in rows, such as beets, 

 lettuce, and radishes. After these early crops 

 are well started, the forcers can be used the 

 second and the third time for later vegetables. 



D Get ready for use next month, bean 

 poles, brush for pea supports, tomato poles, 

 etc. □ Also put in stakes and labels where 

 vegetables are to be planted later. 



□ Remove parsnips and oyster plants 

 from the ground as soon as possible; store the 

 surplus in a cold cellar or cover with soil 

 and thick mulching on top of frozen ground, 

 in a shaded place. 



In The Flower Garden 



"D EMOVE mulch from hardy perennials, 

 -*-^- bulbs, and flower beds gradually, a third 

 or so at a time, so as not to keep the plants in 

 cold storage too long on the one hand, nor to 

 make them make a tender growth under the 

 mulch on the other. 



□ Clean up and burn all remains of last 

 year's plants! Most diseases and insect pests 

 are carried over in the refuse of old stalks, 

 fallen leaves, etc. □ Cut the old stalks off 

 to within an inch or two of the ground — or if 

 they are loose, remove altogether. 



D Begin work on edges of walks, and bor- 

 ders, as soon as possible. □ Save time 

 this year by getting a regular edging machine 

 for this purpose. □ In trimming the edge, 

 do not cut back too far to get even lines. A 

 deep cut invites injury from wagons, wheel- 

 barrows, trade carts, and the sod dries out. 



D Make use of roller on edges and borders, 

 especially when the ground is still soft and wet, 

 as it keeps them even and discourages mold. 



□ As soon as the new growth begins the 

 roots will be looking for an abundance of 

 plant food — fine ground bone spaded in or 

 raked about plants, washed down to roots by 

 the spring rains, will enable them to make a 

 quick, strong growth. 



D Transplant perennials early; don't wait 



for growth to begin. □ Fine, well rotted 

 manure and bone should, of course, be mixed 

 with the soil before plants are re-set or 

 transferred. 



The first things put into the ground out- " 

 side from seed, should be Sweet Peas. □ A 

 trench should be dug out eighteen inches or 

 more in depth and a dressing of the best 

 manure obtainable, put in the bottom to the 

 depth of at least six inches. □ Replace the 

 best of the soil, and make a second applica- 

 tion of bone fertilizer. A little dried blood or 

 tankage worked into the surface will help to 

 produce the best Sweet Peas you have ever 

 had. Do not plant seed too thickly; to make 

 sure of getting the best results possible, inocu- 

 late with one of the reliable bacteria cultures. 



If you are setting out many new perennials, 

 fruits, and things of that kind next month, 

 □ get the ground ready in advance by 

 thorough spading, generous applications of 

 bone, and manure or commercial fertilizer so 

 that these things may be planted immediately 

 upon receipt. Remember that the hardest 

 varieties of seed should be slightly filed or 

 notched — being careful not to injure the eye 

 — before being planted. 



In The Greenhouse 



D A/TJKE ROOM.' Overcrowding in the 

 greenhouse in March and April is the 

 cause of poor plants. Much extra space can 

 be obtained temporarily, however, by using 

 post and rafter shelf brackets, utilizing 

 many corners under the benches, etc. Get 

 this extra room ready in advance. 



□ Go over all greenhouse benches and 

 discard all plants that are not actually needed. 



□ Transplant early! Part of the secret 

 of getting strong plants is in never allowing the 

 little seedlings to get big enough to crowd. 



Keep as near as possible to glass after 

 transplanting and give plenty of fresh air. 



□ Pot up cuttings while roots are still 

 short, if the cuttings are not rooted evenly, 

 go over them and pick those which are ready 

 and replace the others if desired. 



Don't let growing plants in pots crowd. 

 If they are not quite ready for repotting 

 change them about on the bench to prevent 

 their rooting through, and to give them more 

 room. Loosen up soil on top and remove 

 any small weeds which may have started. 



D Pinch back young growing plants. 

 Plants that have become spindling should be 

 pinched out in time to form a good branching, 

 stocky specimen. If they have become too 

 tall, it may be necessary to cut them back a 

 third to a half. Top cuttings may be made 

 of any variety which it may be desired to in- 

 crease — but they must be handled carefully, 

 as they are likely to be a little soft. 



□ Start late vegetables such as toma- 

 toes, eggplant, peppers, etc. now, to follow 

 the lettuce, beets, cabbage, etc., started 

 last month. □ Give them ten degrees more 

 temperature if possible. □ Celery should be 

 grown "cool." Celery seed is very fine and 

 slow to germinate and should be soaked until 

 ready to sprout before planting and then 

 covered very lightly. 



For best results, pot up vegetable plants. 



69 



For the home garden it is not very much 

 work to pot up even such things as cabbage 

 and lettuce in two inch paper pots. Tomatoes, 

 peppers and eggplants if transplanted once 

 to pots and then put into four or five inch 

 square paper pots will give plants with the first 

 formed clusters of fruit already set by the time 

 they are to be put into the open, and they can 

 be transplanted with less danger of frost than 

 in setting out plants from the flats in the old 

 way. 



To get quickest, surest results with Dahlias, 

 Cannas, Caladiums, Tuberous Begonias, etc., 

 pot up the roots already started as described 

 last month. These, also, may go into a rich 

 compost in paper pots. 



□ Keep flowering plants well fed. Fine 

 bone meal worked into the soil and nitrate 

 of soda as a liquid manure, will do wonders 

 to bring up flowering plants in pots or in the 

 bed which have begun to "lag." 



The Frames 



pOLDFRAMES and hotbeds should be 

 ^-^ "warmed up" now, with all the sash 

 thoroughly repaired and in place and every- 

 thing ready to take the overflow from the 

 greenhouse, or the plants started indoors and 

 ready to transplant now. 



□ Ventilate daily! Only on the' stormiest 

 days should sash be left down tight. 



Watch watering carefully. Water accord- 

 ing to the condition of the soil, not by rule of 

 thumb. The plants may not need watering 

 for several days in cloudy or in stormy 

 weather. 



□ Set out or sow vegetables, such as let- 

 tuce, cauliflower, beets, radish, carrots and 

 onion sets for earliest spring use. These may 

 be planted a third to a half again as close 

 as they are usually put out of doors. □ Sow 

 seed thinly — conditions for germination are 

 much better than out-of-doors. 



Make additional temporary frames if crowd- 

 ed for room. Any old boards put together 

 so that they will give the plants head room 

 and form a support for the sash will answer 

 the purpose. Glass storm sash are not needed; 

 frames covered with cloth or muslin will do. 



The Rose Garden 



LATE this month, remove the mulching 

 from the hardy Roses. 



□ Prune rugosas as soon as possible. Old 

 canes should be cut down clear to the ground. 

 The others may be allowed to grow for length 

 or cut back, as required, if a formal or semi- 

 formal hedge is wanted. 



□ Prune the hardy garden Roses, Rugosa 

 Hybrids, and Hybrid Perpetuals as soon as 

 severe freezing weather is past. The Tea 

 and Hybrid Teas should be left until later. 

 In pruning, remember the more severely 

 you cut the plants back, the better flowers you 

 will have. If a great quantity of bloom is 

 preferred to size, prune less severely. 



D Begin cultivation as soon as the ground 

 is dried out enough to work without being 

 sticky. A good dressing of bone meal should 

 be worked into the top soil and forked in 

 around the plant. 



Plant dormant Roses as early as possible. 

 If you expect to use dormant roots, be ready 



