The Garden Calendar 
JANUARY 
Look over your stock of garden implements, and if you have 
not already done so, clean them thoroughly and wipe with a cloth 
saturated with a good grade of oil. This will help prevent rusting. 
Carefully look over any root stocks which are stored away for the 
Winter. If the Dahlia tubers begin to look shriveled, add a slight 
amount of moisture. Also carefully check your Montbretias, as 
they should never be allowed to dry out over Winter in storage. 
If the Gladioli corms show any signs of being eaten by thrips, 
treat at once with naphthalene flakes. We will be glad to give more 
explicit directions for this treatment upon request. 
Greenhouse —Show seeds of Stocks, Verbena, Begonia, 
Heliotrope, Petunia, Vinca, Lobelia, Snapdragon, and Carnation 
for early Summer bloom. 
FEBRUARY 
All seed recommended in January may still be started this 
month. Get ready to start your hotbed. See that there are no 
broken panes in the sash, so that by the middle of the month 
operations may be started with seed which must be started early. 
Be sure that you have enough mats on hand so that the hotbed 
sash may be covered during severe cold snaps. Prune all small 
fruits, such as Raspberries, Currants, etc., and if possible, all 
fruit trees. 
Seed sown in January in flats or pots may have produced 
plants which are crowded by late February. These should be 
pricked off into flats or potted in 2s or 2J^s. 
Greenhouse or Hotbed —Sow seed of Salvia, Dahlia, Statice, 
Torenia, and Delphinium chinensis varieties. Iceland Poppies 
sown now will bloom in about five months, but should be sown 
in pots, (paper pots wall do), as they dislike being transplanted. 
Be sure to do all watering before noon and on sunny days. We 
cannot too highly recommend the using of soil which has been 
sterilized. It is very simple and inexpensive to sterilize the soil 
yourself with the up-to-date formaldehyde preparations such as 
Formacide. 
MARCH 
This is the month that seed may be started in the coldframe. 
Wait until the rays of the sun feel warm, but see that the sash is 
in good condition so that seed may be sown as soon as the wea¬ 
ther permits (about the third week). Again we strongly recom¬ 
mend the use of sterilized soil. We wall gladly give complete 
directions as to how you may sterilize your own soil quickly and 
thoroughly as any you may buy. .411 pruning should be done by 
the middle of the month except those shrubs wdrich bloom in the 
early Spring, such as climbing Roses, Forsythia, etc. Be sure 
your garden Roses are thoroughly pruned. Most of the present 
day varieties should be cut to 3 to o eyes and all weak or dead 
wood should be cut away. Spray all fruits with lime sulphur 
or Scalecide to kill scale and other insects or eggs carried over 
Winter on the bark. Complete and approved spraying charts 
will be sent upon request. 
Late March and early April is a good time for renovating your 
lawn. Re-seed, fertilize, and roll the lawn as soon as freezing 
temperatures are past. 
Coldframes —(See page 1 for directions.) Sow seed of all 
annuals from which you W’ant early Summer bloom, also those 
which require a long growdng season. Exception must be taken to 
those varieties which cannot be transplanted. Do all w’atering 
on bright days and only before noon. 
Outdoors —If your soil is sour, now is the time to apply lime. 
Three weeks must elapse after application before any seed or 
plants may be put into soil treated with hydrated lime. Clay and 
sand soils are benefited by adding peat moss, humus, or leafmold. 
and this may be done as well as putting on a general application 
of chemical fertilizer or well rotted manure. Note that manure 
and lime should never be applied at the same time. Lime first 
and then three w'eeks later apply the manure. 
During the last w’eek of March or even the first or second week 
of April, sow the followdng seeds: Larkspur, Poppy, Cornflower, 
Candytuft, Cynoglossum, Calliopsis, Dianthus, Eschscholtzia, 
Virginian-stock, Nigella and Sweet Pea. 
APRIL 
Keep a w’atchful eye on the hotbeds and coldframes, raising 
the sash slightly to give air on mild days. Garden enthusiasts 
having greenhouses will appreciate the convenience of having a 
deep frame into which the young plants started indoors may be 
hardened off. This will allow more bench space tor specimen plants 
in the greenhouse. These deep frames may also be used for over¬ 
wintering half hardy plants. 
Coldframes —Sow seed of all annuals where mid-season bloom 
is desired, also for slow maturing varieties. 
Outdoors —Remove all material from your beds and shrubs, 
used as winter protection. Spade, rake, and generally prepare the 
garden to receive the seed and seedling plants ready May 1st. 
Plant Roses, perennial plants and all nursery stock this month. 
Pansy plants, Beilis, and Forget-me-nots may be set out in beds 
the latter part of this month. Montbretias should be planted in 
the garden about the middle of the month. All seed mentioned 
under March for outdoor planting may be sown outdoors during 
this month. 
MAY 
Check your stock of garden spraying materials. Also see that 
spraying and dusting machines are in good working condition. 
Insects and diseases appear this month. Ask us about any ma¬ 
terial which you feel may have deteriorated. 
All annual seed may be sown now in the open ground. All annual 
plants started earlier in the season may be set out. When trans¬ 
planting, be sure to make the hole large enough to receive the 
roots without causing them to turn up towards the top of the 
soil. When watering the garden from now on through the Sum¬ 
mer, water deeply and not too often. Moisture which does not 
penetrate deeply will cause the roots to grow to the top of the 
soil where they may be burned by the hot Summer sun. As 
soon as your plants start growing, apply a small quantity of ferti¬ 
lizer around each plant, using care that none falls on the leaves. 
Water well after fertilizing to insure even distribution and to 
wash off any fertilizer which may have fallen on the plant itself. 
.4n abundance of water and a liberal amount of fertilizer will 
add to the length of bloom on your early flowering shrubs and 
vines. Gladioli and Dahlias may be planted now. For other 
Summer flowering bulbs, see page 50. 
JUNE 
Sow seed of all perennials and biennials now before the hot 
dry weather sets in next month. If you can spare the room, set¬ 
ting aside a small space and sowing all seeds where they can be 
watched and watered together will produce the best results. All 
seed should be covered very lightly with soil. Very fine seed 
should just be pressed into the ground. A light covering of peat 
moss will prevent washing out of seed and greatly aid in con¬ 
serving soil moisture. A few dollars worth of seed will give sev¬ 
eral hundred dollars w'orth of plants. We have refrained from 
offering seed of perennials best grown from cuttings or division. 
Water the garden when it needs it but avoid overwatering. 
Breaking up the top of the soil to form a mulch is very beneficial. 
Pull out the weeds before they harm your plants. Guard your 
Roses and Delphinium against blackspot or mildew by dusting 
with sulphur or Pomogreen. 
4 
CARL GIESSLER, INC 
