THE GARDEN MONTH BY MONTH 
Applying to the Vicinity of New York 
How to Use This Guide. Roughly, the season advances northward fifteen miles a day. Thus, Albany, 
which is one hundred and fifty miles from New York, would be about ten days later, and Philadelphia, which 
is ninety miles southwest, about a week earlier. Also allow four days for each degree of latitude,'-iov each 
five degrees of longitude, and for each four hundred feet of altitude. 
JANUARY. If you have neglected to cover your 
rose-beds, do so at once, using rough manure or leaves. 
A mulching of manure is also beneficial around fruit 
and ornamental trees and shrubs. Asparagus beds may 
be covered with manure, and strawberry beds with salt 
hay or leaves. Pruning had probably better be done 
in February and March, but if you have many trees, 
you should begin to thin out and cut away dead 
branches. The bark of old fruit trees should be 
scraped, and on mild, calm days, spray them with 
Scalecide to remove insects which may be lodging in 
the bark. 
In the Greenhouse. Sow seed of such annuals as 
lobelia, stocks, petunia, begonia, heliotrope, pansies, 
forget-me-not, bellis, snapdragon, verbena, and vinca. 
Look over your garden tools and make notes of 
what you will need for the season. Plan your garden 
now and secure your seeds as early as possible. Plan 
for big crops. Remember that it is false economy to 
buy cheap seeds. Get only the best; they are always 
the cheapest in the end, and assure crops of largest 
quantity and finest quality. 
Be sure to lay in a stock of insecticides and fertilizers. 
You will need Black-Leaf 40, Snarol, and Slug Shot. 
FEBRUARY. Directions for January will apply to 
this month, except that now preparations should be 
made for the making of hotbeds. Look up and repair 
the sashes and prepare to have a hotbed ready by the 
middle of the month. Sow-early cabbage, cauliflower, 
radish and some of your favorite flowers so as to have 
them in bloom real eariy.. 
For the varieties of vegetable seeds to be sown this 
month, see 3d Cover page. We strongly advise giving 
the new onion-culture a trial. Procure some seed of 
Ailsa Craig and sow in the hotbed now, transplanting 
them to the open ground in April, and you will obtain 
onions of enormous size. (See page 81.) 
Prune all of your grape-vines, currant and goose¬ 
berry bushes. Prune and thin out peach and all other 
trees, and utilize the mild calm days to spray with 
Lime Sulphur for San Jose scale and bark insects. You 
will be richly rewarded for this in more and better 
fruit. (See page 117.) 
Aside from the flower seeds mentioned in January, 
sow salvia and cobaea in the hotbed or greenhouse. Be 
sure to give ventilation on bright days, and water 
sparingly in dull weather. The best time is in the 
forenoon. 
MARCH. Nearly all pruning and spraying for bark 
insects should be done now. Prune your rose bushes 
the latter part of the month. Remove all weak and 
dead wood and cut back the strong shoots to four or 
five eyes. 
Sow in hotbeds all the vegetables mentioned in plant¬ 
ing calendar on 3d Cover page. Start a few sweet peas in 
paper pots to set out in April, and you will get some 
very early blooms. Be sure to sow your early cabbage, 
lettuce, onions, eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes this 
month at the very latest. If you do not have a hotbed, 
these seeds may be sown in coldframes. Most of the 
annual flower seeds, except those that cannot be trans¬ 
planted, can be sown in the coldframe for early flow¬ 
ering. Make another sowing of them outdoors in May. 
Sow sweet peas outdoors as soon as the ground is 
ready. Follow directions included in packet. 
Reseed, top-dress, fertilize and roll the lawn as soon 
as the frost is out of the ground. Bone-meal is a clean 
and lasting fertilizer; apply at the rate of three pounds 
for every 100 square feet. 
APRIL. April is the important month in the garden, 
as most of the work will have to be done now. Consult 
carefully the planting calendar on 3d Cover page of 
this book for varieties of vegetables to be sown out¬ 
doors. If you have not already done so, give your lawn 
a top-dressing of bone-meal or sheep manure. Sow 
grass seed in bare and thin spots and roll your lawn 
thoroughly. New lawns are best made in the early 
part of the month, when the soil is moist and cool. 
(See page 1.) Remove all the winter covering from 
rose and strawberry beds. If you have used salt hay 
on your strawberry beds, just uncover the plants and 
leave the mulch between the rows—it will keep the soil 
moist and the berries clean. Asparagus beds should be 
forked over lightly; some manure should be dug in. 
Manure and lime your garden where needed. Sow 
your garden peas and sweet peas just as soon as the 
frost leaves the ground. Read carefully what we say 
on page 82 about peas. 
Try our Long Season Collection and follow directions 
carefully. It is the only way you can have peas con¬ 
tinuously through the summer. Sow beets, carrots, 
spinach, radishes and all the hardy vegetables in the 
early part of the month, and make successive plantings 
at intervals of two to tiuee weeks. Full directions are 
given under each heading in this catalogue. Kitchen 
herbs, such as parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram, and 
chives, etc., give zest and relish to dishes that have 
little individual flavor of their own. Plan an herb 
border. (See page 79.) 
Plant potatoes and set out plants of cabbage, cauli¬ 
flower, early lettuce, and onion. Plant onion sets and 
also all the hardy flowers. Rose bushes, fruit trees, 
berry bushes, and all nursery stock are best planted in 
April. Pansies, forget-me-nots, and English daisies can 
now be bedded out. The first gladiolus bulbs should be 
set out the latter part of the month, and later plantings 
should be made every two to three weeks, until July, 
in order to have flowers until frost. In the coldframe, 
transplant all seedlings where necessary to get stocky 
plants. Sow there seeds of all your favorite annual 
flowers. In the orchard and on the lawn, loosen the soil 
around the trees and shrubs and dig in some fertilizer. 
Wood-ashes are excellent for either fruit or shade trees. 
The best way to fertilize old fruit trees is to take a 
crowbar and punch holes every 2 feet in a circle of 15 
feet or more, around the tree, and in each hole put a 
good handful of an equal mixture of bone-meal and 
wood-ashes; fill the holes with soil. 
MAY. Consult our planting calendar for this month 
on 3d Cover page. Sow string beans and beans for bak¬ 
ing, sweet corn, cucumbers, melons, squashes in early 
May, and make successive sowings at intervals. Make 
other sowings of crops planted in April; thin out plants as 
they get large enough to allow for proper development. 
Start a few lima beans in pots or coldframe in early 
May. Set out tomato, pepper and eggplants as soon 
as all danger of frost is past. Plant lima beans when 
the ground is dry and warm, inserting seed edgewise, 
with the eye down. Give support to peas and sweet 
peas as soon as they are from 3 to 4 inches high. 
An application of Stim-U-planT at this time will 
assure good growth and largest flowers. It is the 
quickest stimulant we have. Watch carefully for insects 
on all plants. Prevent the cutworm from eating your 
young plants by the use of Snarol. Dust cabbage 
and cauliflower with Slug Shot for the cabbage worm. 
Spray with Bordeaux for blight. Dust Slug Shot powder 
on currants and gooseberries. Spray fruit trees with 
Arsenate of Lead as the blossoms fall. 
May is the month for sowing all the annual flowers 
outdoors. Transplant all seedlings of flowers raised in 
hotbeds, coldframes, and greenhouses and set out 
geranium and other bedding plants. Plant dahlia, lily, 
gladiolus, and all the best summer-flowering bulbs. 
(See page 100 to 106.) 
Cultivate regularly and, at least once a month, 
apply a fertilizer as a top-dressing between rows and 
hoe in. Nitrophoska 15-30-15 is the best we know. 
It has all the elements of food that plants want, 
quickly available. 
Seed of late cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, 
kale, rutabaga, and fall turnips should be sown at the 
end of the month for fall and winter crops. 
30 
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