BODDINGTON'S 'WiIaI2l>V SEEDS 



71 



Calendar of Operations for Growing Vegetables for 



Home Use or Exhibition 



By EDWIN JENKINS. Bellefontaine Gardens, Lenox. Mass. 

 [For the purpose of reckoning dates. New York is generally laken as a standard. Allow six days' difference for every hundred miles of latitude.] 



JANUARY. Those who wish to have exhibition stock of 

 Ailsa Craig onion and leeks, should sow these in flats or pans 

 this month. Sow for general use globe artichokes, White Plume 

 celery and tomatoes, the latter for greenhouse use only. 



FEBRUARY. Put the leeks and onions into small pots as 

 soon as they are large enough to handle, giving them a rather 

 rich soil. Sow eggplants, peppers, cauliflower and early cabbage, 

 and toward the end of the month make another sowing of celery. 



MARCH. The preceding notes are useless except to those 

 having a greenhouse. Those who are without these facilities 

 should "make up hotbeds as early as possible this month and 

 sow the beforementioned seeds; with care they will not be far 

 behind when planting-out time arrives. Sow now, Brussels 

 sprouts, lettuce, parsley, and the main crop of tomatoes. By 

 the middle of this month the onions, leeks and artichokes should 

 be nice thrifty plants in 4-inch pots, and should be kept in a 

 night temperature of 55°; syringe regularly to keep down red 

 spider, but be careful not to break the leaves. Eggplants, pep- 

 pers, cauliflower and cabbage should be potted or pricked out in 

 flats, giving liberal room for growth; all these are subject to 

 attacks of green fly and the best way to deal with this pest is 

 to dip all the plants in a one-to-forty mixture of X-L-All Insecti- 

 cide. Another sowing of all the kinds sown in February should 

 be Made now and as soon as the heat has partially subsided in 

 the hotbeds, sow forcing carrots, beets, early Barletta onion, 

 radish and spinach. For those who can aff'ord the room it is a 

 good plan to start some peas in boxes with removable bottoms, 

 and when outside weather conditions permit, plant them out; 

 they will be ready generally a week or more in advance of those 

 sown outside. As soon as the frost is out and the ground has 

 dried enough to walk on without sticking, sow carrots, beets, 

 spinach, parsley and several rows of different varieties of peas. 



APRIL. Dress the asparagus bed with nitrate of soda at the 

 rate of five hundred pounds to the acre. If the strawberries 

 have lifted with the frost roll with a heavy iron roller and 

 give them a sprinkling between the rows with some complete 

 fertilizer. All the various herbs should be sown now, as well 

 as more peas, beets, carrots, etc. Sow some rhubarb and as- 

 paragus, so as to have good young plants coming along to take 

 the place of those dug up for forcing, chicory, witloof and 

 sea kale are valuable additions to the winter vegetables, which 

 may be had if sown now. Toward the end of this month the 

 cauliflower, cabbage and celery sown in the greenhouse may be 

 planted outside, and another sowing should be made. April is a 

 month of treacherous weather, and great care should be taken 

 with the ventilating of frames, not to check any of the plants 

 with cold draughts and still admit all the air possible; cover the 

 frames and hotbeds every night with litter or mats. Remember 

 the old adage "safe bind, safe find." Those who have the room 

 should start one planting of sweet corn in pots; with reasonable 

 care it will be a week or more in advance of the crop sown out- 

 side. (For preparation of ground for the exhibition roots, etc., 

 see October notes.) 



MAY. Sow main crop of onions as early as local weather con- 

 ditions will permit; sow all the tender vegetables, as lima and 

 string beans, corn, squash, melon, cucumbers, okra, etc. While 

 there is always a chance of losing a sowing of these, yet it is 

 worth while running the risk for the chance of getting a week 

 to ten days longer season. The artichokes, onions and leeks 

 should be planted out during the first or second week and great 

 care should be taken to prevent wilting from hot, drying winds; 

 an occasional spraying on hot days will be found very beneficial. 

 On ground specially prepared, and during the first week in the 

 month, sow the roots for exhibition (carrots, parsnips, long 

 beets and salsify); when large enough to handle thin them to 

 about 10 or 12 inches apart. Sow succession crops of beets, 

 carrots, peas, lettuce, radish, spinach, cauliflower and cabbage; 

 the winter crop of celery should be sown now. 



JUNE. The main planting season is now over, but do not 

 forget to keep up the succession sowings of lettuce, beans, pieas, 

 beets, radish, cauliflower, etc.; it should be the gardener's 

 pride to keep up a steady supply of fresh young vegetables of 

 all kinds. Give the onions, leeks, carrots, etc., growing for 

 exhibition, an occasional light dressing with bone meal, guano, 

 soot, lime, or any good complete fertilizer. Dust the melons, 

 squash and pumpkins with Slug-shot to keep down the squash 

 bug. Spray the potatoes with Bordeaux and arsenate of lead. 



JULY. Make another sowing of corn and spray the potatoes 

 at least twice this month with the same mixture as above. 

 Plant out winter celery on well-enriched land, either in trenches 

 or on the level. There is usually some difficulty in getting good 

 head lettuce from the middle of this month until the end of 

 August. Our experience has been that with good rich soil in 

 open frames, and with water at hand, there is no difficulty. We 

 have found the variety Big Boston the most satisfactory. Weak 

 doses of liquid manure will be of great assistance to all the 

 exhibition stock. Plant out liberal quantities of cauliflower 

 now for fall use. Sow tomatoes and cucumbers for winter use 

 in the greenhouse. 



AUGUST. Run the cultivator between all crops where it is 

 possible, as this will conserve moisture and keep the weeds down. 

 Sow in frames dwarf peas, beans, radish, spinach, and lettuce. 

 Make and spawn mushroom beds. If you have no regular mush- 

 room house, under the greenhouse bench or a shed or barn cellar 

 will do. The exhibition onions will have finished growing by 

 the end of this month and should be carefully lifted and put on 

 excelsior to dry in a sunny, airy place. Handle with care as they 

 are easily bruised. 



SEPTEMBER. In many parts of the country- frost may be 

 expected this month and tender things should be protected with 

 mats, boxes, pine branches, or anything that is handy; usually, 

 if we can get through the early fall frost without injury, there 

 is a few weeks of good weather afterward. 



OCTOBER. This is a month of strenuous work for the man 

 who wishes to have good exhibition vegetables next year, and 

 right now the ground should be selected for growing peas, lima 

 beans, artichokes, onions, leeks, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, 

 carrots and other root-crops. First try to select a place where 

 water is near-by; next where the soil is naturally deepest, then, 

 after determining how much space the several kinds will take, 

 proceed to open trenches at least 3 feet deep and from 4 to 6 feet 

 apart (the reason for making the trenches so far apart is to use 

 the top soil from between for filling, disposing of the bottom 2 

 feet from the trench in this space). This may seem rather a 

 wasteful method, and of course can hardly be practiced where 

 land is very scarce; still with a liberal amount of manure in this 

 sub-soil lots of crops may be grown in it. Do not mix anything 

 but well-rotted manure and about a pailful of bone meal to 

 each 20 feet of trench, unless it is a sprinkling of lime. If the 

 land is level a good plan is to leave the trenches open all the 

 winter so as to let the frost exert its pulverizing influence on the 

 soil, but if the ground slopes much it is better to refill at once 

 to avoid washing in the spring thaws. Land prepared this 

 way is better for all crops and will not suffer when the dr>-, scorch- 

 ing summer weather wilts and shrivels crops on shallow soils. 

 Forcing asparagus and chicory' may be commenced this month 

 and these will be much appreciated as other fresh vegetables be- 

 come scarce. Tie up endive and cover with straw to blanch. 



NOVEMBER. The work of the foregoing month should be 

 continued as long as the weather will permit. Dig up roots of 

 rhubarb and asparagus for winter forcing. Store winter celery 

 and all root crops not already in. 



DECEMBER. Profit by the past season's experience with 

 the several varieties of all the different crops and make up 

 your seed order with the idea of getting the best. 



