THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



127 



may be interested in these observations, to pre- 

 serve carefully this present number of the 

 Planter. 



The following Calendar of work for the gar- 

 den for the year is added, in the hope that it 

 may be found useful to some persons: it will, 

 at all events, make our present article on the 

 kitchen garden more complete than it would 

 otherwise be. A literal compliance with its 

 terms is not perhaps to be expected, as the gar- 

 dener's operations must, to some extent, be con- 

 trolled by the state of the weather. 



January. Make hot-beds and sow Cabbage, 

 Tomato and Egg Plants ; and if you have more 

 framing than is needed for these things, you 

 may sow a few radishes, beets and lettuce in 

 the hot-bed. 



Collect pea sticks and bean .poles and place 

 them conveniently for use at the proper season. 

 Haul manure, repair gates and fences, and 

 rake and clean the garden from all trash, litter, 

 leaves, etc. 



February. Late in this month you may sow 

 a few Lettuce, Cabbage and Radish on a warm 

 border, which is well defended from cold winds 

 by a fence, wall or anything of the kind. 



Sow Spinach in a dry warm situation, the 

 prickly seeded is best for this season, being 

 more hardy than other. Sow broad-cast or in 

 drills about fifteen inches apart. 



A few beets may be sown, in rows eighteen 

 inches apart. Sow only a few as it is an experi- 

 ment. 



Parsnips are hardy and may be sown this 

 month, in rows eighteen inches apart. Sow 

 Parsley seed broad-cast. 



March. In this month put in a full crop of 

 Peas, Salsify, Carrots, Radish, Lettuce, Celery 

 and Potatoes. Late in the month plant Kid- 

 ney Beans or Snaps. Corn for Roasting Ears, 

 Lima Beans and Pepper, may also be planted. 

 Fork up the Asparagus beds slightly, and late 

 this month make new plantations. Sow Onion 

 seed, of the Silver Skin or Portugal variety, 

 plant Onion Buttons, sow Okra and Salad for 

 the Spring. 



April. Any seeds not sown last month may 

 be put in now, and additional sowings of 

 radish, peas, kidney beans, &c, may be made. 

 Earth up and stick your peas, and sow marrow- 

 fat for a y,t§ supply. Cabbage seeds may be 

 sown in the open ground, flat dutch, drum 



head, and savoy. Sow cauliflowers, cucum- 

 bers and melons. Remove cabbage plants 

 from the plant beds to the open ground, and 

 any time after the 15th of the month trans- 

 plant lettuce and tomatoes. Transplant all 

 kinds of herbs, and plant out for seed, the cab- 

 bages, turnips, carrots, salsify, beets, &c., 

 which have been reserved for that purpose. 

 The border will here serve an admirable pur- 

 pose, as these several vegetables can be so dis- 

 posed at points distant from each other that 

 any mixture of the semen of the different 

 plants may be prevented, and the purity of the 

 seed be preserved. 



May. Sow another crop of peas, snaps and 

 butter-beans. The first of the month is a good 

 time to sow a supply of cabbage seed for 

 winter use. The plants will be large enough, 

 to be transplanted about the first of July. The 

 latter part of the month, plant out egg-plants. 

 Thin your carrots, parnsnips, salsify, beets and 

 okra, leaving them stand from three to # five 

 inches in the row. A few radish may also bo 

 sown. When very early tomatoes are desired, 

 you should begin to trim the vines so soon as 

 the bloom appears, as directed in our article in 

 the Planter for 1857. 



The want of space forbids the completion 

 of this calendar in the present issue of the 

 Planter, but we shall continue it in the number 

 for the month of March, until the directions 

 for the whole year have been given. 



Cultivation of Asparagus. 



In old times, gardeners used to have a good 

 deal of ceremony in making asparagus beds, 

 paving the bottoms with stone, and using cer- 

 tain definite proportions of this compost and 

 that, without which, they asserted, asparagus 

 would not grow. Experience has proved this 

 to be all unnecessary. A light loam, made 

 very rich, pretty deep down, is all vou need for 

 abed. 



The asparagus is a native of the seashore. 

 Of course, it likes a sandy chance and some 

 salt. It has a profusion of long stringy roots 

 which like to spread over a large surface, and 

 to plunge deep. Give them a chance, by 

 spading up a light loam, two feet deep, and 

 make it as rich with good old manure as you can. 

 In order to -have lapge stalks, give each root 

 fair elbow room. Make rows not less than a 

 foot apart, and two feet would be better, if you 

 had room enough, and set the roots ten inches 

 apart in the rows. If put nearer together, 

 you must feed high and apply the dressing 

 often. In regard to the time of setting out, 

 the fall is a good time, but be sure to mulch. 



