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January, 1891- 
Vegetable Notes for January. 
The Late Crop of Irish Potatoes — Storing 
Celery — Sowing Early Peas — Neic Varieties 
in the Garden — Treatment of Plants in 
Frames — Keeping Vegetables in Pits — Start- 
ing the Hot Bed—Soicing Tomato Seed. 
On December 6th we dug our last planting 
of Irish potatoes. These were planted the 
middle of September They were fairly 
well matured, but their tops were still 
green when cut down by the frost 
December 2nd. The crop was a better 
one than those pi .nted middle of 
August, and but for the very dry 
weather would have been better still. 
But there was no rain on them from 
the middle of October until they were 
dug. From our observations this year 
and last, I am satisfied that in this 
latitude the late crop of potatoes 
will succeed best planted about the 
last of August. The practice of 
growing this fall crop has extended 
until now, very few of our market 
growers depend upon northern seed 
for spring planting, except just 
enough to produce seed for the fall 
crop. The home grown seed from 
this fall crop are found to gi"e the 
best crop of early potatoes the fol- 
lowing season. This arises largely 
from the fact that they are unsprout- 
ed, and therefore make a more vig- 
orous growth than those from which 
the sprouts have been nipped off in 
winter. 
One difficulty in celery growing in 
North Carolina, I find, is stopping the 
growth of the plant and preventing 
its running to seed in winter. I 
shall try this winter, about January 
1st, the northern plan of planting 
and storing in trenches, thus check- 
ing its upward growth and causing 
it to bleach better. When left where 
it grows, the crop in this latitude 
should be covered with straw by January 
1st, or perhaps a little sooner if the weather 
gets severe. The cover must be light or it 
will keep so warm that it will grow on 
through it. From Virginia northward, of 
course, the celery crop is covered from 
November 2nd to December 20th. 
* * 
* 
From Norfolk southward, in January be- 
gins usually the season for sowing early 
peas. Some growers here sow during the 
last week in December. This is a vt ry 
good time to sow the white Marrowfat va- 
rieties, but I have found that the green 
wrinkled sorts are apt to rot badly if wet 
weather continues too long, and had better 
be sown later, During the month of Jan- 
uary the main sowing of all early peas on dry and kept dry with a shed over it; 
should be made from eastern Virginia south- but if this soil is wet, cold is apt to pene- 
ward. trate and cause these tender roots to rot, 
*J h even though no frost gets through. By 
Further north, January is a good time to careful attention to keeping the soil-cover 
study the catalogues and determine what is dry we have kept sweet potatoes perfectly 
to go into the garden when spring opens, sound until June in out-door hills as far 
Half the pleasure in gardening is the testing north as Maryland. The same practice fur- 
of the novelties offered. Of course no one 
depends upon these new things for his crop, 
and we often get badly cheated, but we 
have the fun nevertheless. Try a few of 
the most promising new sorts in a small 
way, but stick to the old standards for a 
crop. 
Lettuce heading in frames and 
Burpee’s Bush Lima. Fig. 301. 
will need close covering at nights with mats 
or straw, and air should be given only by 
tilting up at the back in sunny weather. 
These plants being in a growing condition 
the frost must be entirely excluded from 
the frames. 
* * 
•si- 
One of the most important points in keep- 
ing vegetables buried in pits or hills out- 
doors is to keep the soil covering dry. It 
will always pay ( herefore to put a rude shed 
of boards over such buried vegetables. Dry 
earth keeps out a good deal more frost than 
wet earth. We find no trouble in keeping 
sweet potatoes in North Carolina in hills out- 
doors, covered with pine leaves or straw, and 
banked with soil, if the soil covering is put 
tlier north will be equally effective with 
Irish Potatoes, Beets, Turnips, etc. 
4c * 
* 
In North Carolina, the middle of January 
is the best time for starting a hot bed under 
glass for sowing seeds of Early Cabbage. In 
the latitude of Philadelphia a month later is 
better. We sow the seed thickly in the hot 
bed, or what is more convenient, in shallow 
pans or boxes in a warm greenhouse. 
As soon as they are large enough to 
handle we have other boxes about 
three inches deep, these are half 
filled with fine rotted manure and 
then filled with light rich soil. In 
these we transplant the cabbage 
plants two inches apart and then set 
these boxes in a cold frame. Keep 
the sashes closed till the plants 
recover, and then give air in all good 
weather so as to have the plants 
well hardened off ready here to set 
out in February in the open ground 
or in March in New Jersey. We like 
these plants better than those from 
fall sown seed. They never run to 
seed without heading as fall sown 
plants frequently do here, and being 
planted in freshly worked soil grow 
Joff better in spring. 
* * 
* 
The last week in the month in the 
latitude of North Carolina sow seed 
of early tomatoes in boxes in a warm 
greenhouse or warm simny window. 
These are transplanted to other boxes 
as soon as large enough to handle, 
an inch or two apart, and still kept in 
a warm place. Their after treatment 
we will describe later. A month later 
is best for latitude of Philadelphia. 
We find that frequent transplanting 
of tomato plants before their final 
transplanting in spring is a great 
advantage to them. Tomato seed for 
early planting should be sown from 
eight to ten weeks before they can be safely 
put out of doors. 
* * 
* 
If the garden has not been roughly 
plowed or dug in fall, have it broken at any 
open time this month so that the frost can 
mellow it and so enable you to work earlier 
and better in Spring. 
* * 
* 
Plants of Cabbage, Cauliflower, etc. being 
wintered over in frames will need careful 
attention to prevent their getting into a ten- 
der growing state, making them liable to 
injury by sudden cold. Strip the sashes 
entirely off when when the weather is above 
freezing and give plenty of air, when 25° 
or over. If snow falls on these cold frames 
