Book of Gardens 
101 
March 
Now is the time to 
start putting in cut¬ 
tings of the bedding 
plants 
The manure mulch 
on the lawn should 
be raked tip and 
carted away 
Barrels or tall bas¬ 
kets placed over the 
rhubarb will make 
better stalks 
THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Third Month 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
30. Most of 
the diseases to 
which potatoes 
are heir are 
caused by dry, 
hot weather. 
Potatoes like 
cool, moist soil. 
Prepare a piece 
of ground and 
plant them 
now, or as soon 
as the soil can 
be worked. An 
early 3 tart 
makes success. 
31. Rhubarb 
should now be 
showing some 
growth. Bar¬ 
rels placed over 
the plants will 
give earlier and 
better stalks. 
Beds that were 
not mulched 
should have a 
good applica¬ 
tion of manure 
dug into them 
at about this 
time. 
This calendar of the gardener’s labors is 
aimed as a reminder for undertaking all his 
tasks in season. It is fitted to the latitude 
of the Middle States, but its service should 
be available for the whole country if it be 
remembered that for every one hundred 
miles north or south there is a difference 
of from five to seven days later or earlier 
in performing garden operations. The 
dates given are, of course, for an average 
season. 
But now the 
moon's a ghost 
in silver mail, 
As, blowing 
through a 
storm of stars, 
the earth 
Dips downward 
into dawn, de- 
l u g e d with 
light — 
Sunlight which 
is the golden 
laugh of Ood. 
-Harry Kemp 
1. If you 
have not al¬ 
ready planted 
them, seeds of 
cabbage, cauli- 
flowei, celery, 
parsley, let¬ 
tuce, tomatoes, 
egg-plant, pep¬ 
pers, leek and 
onions should 
be sown. See 
page 41 for de¬ 
tailed informa¬ 
tion on this 
work. 
2. All the 
necessary 
pruning must 
be attended to 
now. Foliage 
trees and 
stirubs, all the 
flowering types 
that blossom 
on the term¬ 
inals of the 
new growth, 
such as roses 
and fruits of all 
kinds require 
attention. 
3. Chrysan¬ 
themums for 
next fall must 
be propagated 
now. If the 
space is avail¬ 
able it is a good 
practice to put 
in a batch of 
cuttings every 
four weeks un¬ 
til June to as¬ 
sure a long 
period of 
bloom in the 
autumn. 
4. Asparagus 
is one vege- 
table that 
starts growth 
very early, so 
dig the winter 
mulch under 
now, hill up the 
rows on the old 
plantings, and 
apply salt lib¬ 
erally to the 
bed. New 
plantings 
should be 
started now. 
5. All new 
plantings of 
hardy stock 
must be set 
out. The earlier 
in the planting 
season this is 
done the less 
losses you will 
have. Just as 
soon as the 
frost leaves the 
ground is the 
proper time for 
work of this 
sort. 
6. Changes 
of ail kinds 
where the mov¬ 
ing of plants, 
sod, hedges, 
volved must be 
carried into ex- 
ecution at 
once. This also 
applies to gar- 
den walks 
which, if 
altered in early 
spring will set¬ 
tle by summer. 
7. Cuttings 
of all the vari¬ 
ous types of 
bedding plants 
should be 
started in sand 
in the green¬ 
house early 
this month. 
Coleus, geran¬ 
iums, lantana, 
heliotrope, ag- 
eratum, etc., 
are some which 
come under 
this heading. 
8. All the 
exotic plants, 
suchaskentias, 
cocos, arecas! 
etc., should be 
re - potted at 
this time. Use 
pots about 1 - 
inch larger 
than the plants 
now occupy. 
The soil must 
be light, con¬ 
taining plenty 
of leaf mold. 
9. Where 
absolutely ne¬ 
cessary, bay 
trees, hydran¬ 
geas and other 
ornamental 
plants should 
be re-tubbed. 
Others can be 
re-fertilized by 
digging out 
some of the old 
soil with a 
trowel and fill¬ 
ing in with a 
rich mixture. 
10. Cannas, 
especially the 
newer or better 
types, should 
be divided by 
cutting the 
eyes separate¬ 
ly. They can 
then be rooted 
by placing in 
sharp sand, or 
they may be 
potted up in a 
very light soil 
mixture if you 
prefer. 
11. Sowing 
of all the more 
common types 
of annual flow¬ 
ers should be 
attended to 
now. Asters, 
zinnias, calen¬ 
dula, balsams, 
salvia, mari¬ 
gold, scabiosa, 
pansies, stocks, 
etc., are some 
of the many 
varieties that 
maybeplanted. 
12. Have 
you everything 
in readiness for 
the opening of 
the big garden 
drive next 
month? Seeds, 
garden line, 
plant labels, 
measuring 
stick, pea 
brush. bean 
poles and 
tomato sup¬ 
ports are a few 
essentials. 
13. Better 
make arrange¬ 
ments now to 
use your green¬ 
house for some 
useful purpose 
this summer. 
Potted fruits, 
chrysanthe¬ 
mums. melons. 
English forcing 
cucumbers, 
etc., are some 
of the many 
possible prod- 
14. Any 
changes in old 
plantings or 
new plants 
contemplated 
for the peren¬ 
nial border 
. should be fin¬ 
ished up at the 
earliest mo¬ 
ment. Those 
which are 
planted early 
in the season 
will flower late 
this summer. 
15. Make a 
habit of heel¬ 
ing in your nur¬ 
sery stock the 
instant it ar¬ 
rives. Stock 
that is allowed 
to lie around in 
the wind and 
sun is certain 
to show heavy 
losses, because 
its roots will be 
dried out and 
the smaller 
ones will die. 
16. Specimen 
trees of all 
types that are 
not growing 
satisfactorily 
can be invigor¬ 
ated by cutting 
a trench en¬ 
tirely around 
the tree about 
four feet 
from the trunk 
and tilling it in 
with good rich 
earth well 
tamped down. 
17. This is 
the time to 
t hink of flowers 
for next winter 
in the green¬ 
house. Primula 
of the Chinese 
or Obconica 
type, cyclamen 
and antirrhin¬ 
um are three of 
the best sorts. 
They should be 
started from 
seed now under 
glass. 
18. Before 
the buds burst 
on the decidu- 
shrubs, the 
whole growth 
should be 
looked over 
carefully for 
any caterpillar 
nests, which 
can easily be 
destroyed by 
burning with¬ 
out injuring 
the plants. 
19. Small 
fruits of the 
different types 
can be planted 
now. Grapes, 
raspberries, 
blackberries, 
etc., can be 
trained on wire 
trellises, or 
stakes may be 
used. The lat¬ 
ter are neater 
and more^eco- 
space. 
20. All the 
best varieties 
of dahlia roots 
should be 
started into 
growth so that 
cuttings can be 
made of those 
desired. If the 
roots are laid 
upon a few 
inches of sand 
and watered 
freely they will 
soon start into 
growth.; 
21. If you 
are considering 
new lawns this 
spring get the 
ground ready 
for seeding just 
as soon as it 
can be worked. 
Early sowings 
will prove to be 
much freer of 
weeds than 
those which are 
made during 
the summer 
months. 
22. The cov¬ 
ering on the 
strawberr les 
should be re¬ 
moved and 
burned and the 
manure mulch 
can be dug un¬ 
der. In cases 
where for some 
reason no fall 
mulch was ap¬ 
plied the bed 
should be well 
manured and 
dug in. 
23 All the 
various garden 
tools will soon 
lie in use regu¬ 
larly. Are they 
in proper con¬ 
dition? Good 
work is impos¬ 
sible with poor 
or dull tools. 
Go over all the 
implements. 
removing any 
rust, and sharp¬ 
ening the 
cutting edges. 
24. The top 
protection on 
the rose bushes 
can now be re¬ 
moved; dig the 
winter mulch 
of manure well 
under. A lib¬ 
eral applica¬ 
tion of bone 
meal to the soil 
will produce 
worth-while re¬ 
sults during the 
flowering sea- 
26. Sweet 
peas may be 
sown out of 
doors now. Dig 
trenches about 
two feet deep 
and the width 
ol a spade. Fill 
the trench with 
good top soil 
and manure 
well mixed and 
sow the seed 
inches below 
the surface. 
26. Boards, 
straw, burlap, 
cornstalks and 
other winter 
covering ma¬ 
terials for box¬ 
wood and such 
tender plants 
must be re¬ 
moved now. If 
possible, select 
dull, cloudy 
weather for 
carrying on 
this operation 
important. 
27. Mulches 
of all kinds ap¬ 
plied to shrub¬ 
bery holders, 
perennial 
plantings, flow¬ 
er beds, etc., 
should be dug 
under. In doing 
this, get the 
manure as deep 
as possible and 
see that it is 
thoroughly in¬ 
incorporated 
with the soil. 
28. Manure 
applied to 
lawns last fall 
must now be 
raked up. All 
lawns should 
be raked clean 
and rolled or 
tamped. A top 
dressing of 
wood ashes and 
bone meal will 
help to produce 
a good vigor¬ 
ous growth of 
29. All trees 
and shrubs 
that are sub¬ 
ject to attacks 
of San Jose 
scale should be 
sprayed with 
one of the sol¬ 
uble oil mix¬ 
tures before 
the buds swell. 
At least forty- 
eight hours are 
needed to 
smother these 
pests. 
7 RECKON ye’ll think I’m a crazy old fool when I tell ye what I done this morninj, but I couldn’t help it 
1 no more’n a song-sparrer settin’ in the sun down along the brook can help whisperm away to himself 
about how spring's cornin’ in a couple o’ days. Wa’l, here it is, anyway—I went out m the pasture lot an 
flew a kite till ’Liza hollered fer me ter come in ter dinner! Dunno jes why I done it, cause ye know 
I’m shadin’ seventy year an’ the rheumatiz’s been pesterin’ me all winter. Somethin’ in the feel o the, 
wind though, an’ the'way the cloud shudders raced, kinder reached ’way down inside me an took a-holt an 
I ies’ had ter go. Fun? Why, say, stranger, I ain’t had such a good time in I dunno when! Reg lar kid 1 
was a-settin’ aa’in the sunny side o’ the barn, feelin’ that queer springy pull on the string an watchm the 
' kite swingin’ lazy-like away up thar between the clouds. Sent some paper messages up the string, too; 
funny how dark they looks when they gits up a ways, an’ then all silvery as the mud dtps em around so they 
ketches the sun. Made me feel twenty year younger, .»-»!, I don t care if thejrheumat,. •»«»*» 
tonight! 
The mulch under 
shrubbery, roses, 
etc., shoidd be dug 
under this month 
Clean, fine sand ap¬ 
plied to the lawn 
will kill off many 
weeds 
Most roses need se¬ 
vere pruning now. 
Leave two or three 
buds on new wood 
Potato planting may begin just as soon as 
the ground can be worked. Cool, moist 
soil is the best 
All the plowing should be finished as soon 
as possible. Use a subsoil plow and get 
down really deep 
Keep the soil well stirred around the plants 
in the cold-frame. A small “claw" is the 
best tool to use 
n /*&&& 
