a att orale Li ~ Thirhra gate Resa OMTETBL ELSI AITe a ie ee en rs nee Sd 3 Hise i ears eat : if LYS a, Jun HN al /S We a yh IS ary, =) =i( 1800) )&)) A N 5 RY q 3 WR Nseries J e*a AES ‘ f Ve AS fi fig FS Y, WIS Fess s oy SS re COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT oe oS ae eae a a Oe = As he . AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK - BOSTON - CHICAGO - DALLAS ATLANTA + SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Lim1TED LONDON - BOMBAY - CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Lr. TORONTO me, Dies Pi Se , Aof pue yyyeey yI0q SuLq yey} SInoy Uspfos 94},,—]]® UT “WoOlyearooI pure uoreatdsut st a194} Sjojd JaMog oy} Suowly ‘asf1oxa poos pue SUIAT] 19}}0q SI o19Y} JO[d a[qejas0A ay} UT jUopIes ve savy pfhoys owoy AIOAT AROUND THE YEAR ey THe GARDEN A SEASONABLE GUIDE AND REMINDER FOR WORK WITH VEGETABLES, FRUITS, AND FLOWERS, AND UNDER GLASS BY FREDERICK FRYE ROCKWELL AUTHOR OF ‘‘ HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING,” ‘‘GARDENING INDOORS AND UNDER GLASS,” ‘‘ THE KEY TO THE LAND,” ETC. ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR AND E. R. RoOLuLINns New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1917 All rights reserved Copyvricnt, 1913, 1914 and 1915 By THE CURTIS PUBLISHING CO. DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO. . McBRIDE, NAST & CO. Copyricut, 1917 By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1917. SEP LS TSE? ©c.a476048 Fraternally DEDICATED - TO THAT GOOD FELLOWSHIP OF GARDENERS WHO, TILLING THEIR OWN SMALL PLOTS, INCREASE THE EARTH’S BOUNTY AND BEAUTY. ht Shi INVITATION In golden April weather, In sun and wind and rain, Let us fare forth and follow Beneath the spring’s first swallow By budding break and heather To the good brown soil again! With rake and seeds and sower, And hoe and line and reel, When the meadows shrill with “peeping” And the old world wakes from sleeping, Who wouldn’t be a grower That has any heart to feel? Delve in! The year’s before us; Spring’s promise fills the air. Descendants of Antzus, The brown earth’s touch can free us, Renew us and restore us, From the hand o’ carking care. Work, through the summer golden, And through the autumn’s glow, Till the months lay down their burden In the full garden’s guerdon, And earth, once more enfolden, Sleeps warm beneath the snow. And for our work—though showers And autumn frosts destroy— Our greatest pay’s not measured In fruit and flower we’ve treasured, But in the golden hours That brought us health and joy! FOREWORD This book is designed for the busy man or woman whose spare time available for gardening is limited, and who, con- sequently, is interested in utilizing every hour to the best purpose. Seasonable and definite directions are given for the various tasks encountered in caring for the garden and grounds on the moderate sized place, where the services of a professional gardener are lacking. On the other hand, piece-meal and didactic directions, and ‘‘calendar garden- ing,” have been avoided. The dates mentioned in con- nection with the chapters are for the convenience of the reader, as indicating when the work described should be given attention, or can be done to the greatest advantage,— in most instances well in advance of the time for actually doing the work, so that plans may be made, varieties selected, materials obtained, and annoying delays avoided. January: “cc 6c é 6é March: April: CONTENTS PAGE eeaceti Wy MR SS) ua ats ne ya 2c SEO R Aran NS eee I Make Your Plans Now for Spring and Summer Work. Sea UV MISES 6) hes ais 2 awe ae ee Ra 6 An Equipment of Tools for this Summer’s Success. PUTED NV RMS Snel dient ce! oe he oa 13 Up-to-date Tools. Use and Care. Suggestions about their Selection, LOOSE a 20 1G UN A Aa RR eR MP Sean A ea 1008 Vegetable Seeds to Order for the Summer Season. Riera Wy Hitt (Vb ely AN a a ene Oe Make a Plan now—and Follow it this Summer. SHEMINI SEI 5! GSA Ls Lace oa aig’ din wilh Salse glee ene Starting Seeds in Greenhouse or Hot-Bed. PE EE MeD RA Uy NUS yt See INE A i. tt Gee Plans for this Year’s Flower Garden. PrOUUNOREE, WU RIM Shoots Salers Oo or. slid trad acd nN a Making the Soil Rich; Manures; Fertilizers and Humus. RSW BIS 8G Bie). wcaiecte 4.2 'op) tonic igh ape emma Bush and Tree Fruits for the Small Place; Quantities Needed; Good Varieties. DENSON) PRINS Gi oad Ata te cal ecg oem PD en an Growing Strong Plants for Vegetable and Flower Gardens. PE ERD VRIES A acai Vaan oe ROR CRONE Be dy Saka The First Planting and Seeding in the Open Garden. BIGGIE: | VWASI RGB et a SR eich ui oo, First Planting of Flowers Out-doors; Pruning Roses; Work with the Hardy Border; Getting a Start with Annuals. LS ts OR 2 0) ge ee Ys edie 0? 21! A A a Pointers on Planting; Protection from Late Frosts; Labels and Markers; Care of Tools. xi 75 82 April: “ce May: 6e “ Smconm: Ware. Pe cc sated ae aes mae en Making New Perennial Gardens and Borders; New Straw- berry and Asparagus Beds. Pater Win oe au eae seen ote ek iia acpi hie es Putting the Home Grounds into Shape; Making Walks, Roads, Curves, and Grades; First Work with the Lawn; Propagating Cane and Bush Fruits. POUR UE VIC R be) 0d 0s: 8isl eos ake ace ee ee Keeping up with Garden Schedule; Hardening off Plants; Tender Plants in Paper Pots. TROT SVE os oa he side ova 'e) eb oly wks ta BR Spring and Summer Spraying for Fruit; Starting the Vine Crops Right. PERSP WER Ne oN oe ee Vee ee a Care of Asparagus, Rhubarb, Sea Kale; the Cane Fruits; Grapes; the New Strawberry Bed; Fall Fruiting Straw- berries. NS) O10. 52 lf 2105 A Pe aE MME Bier Gat sen ehh c1S (ih Flowers for this Summer’s Bloom; Planting Roses; Baby Ramblers; Dahlias; Asters. PAERRRD BUEN eos eh aS Gag, dd cae a Re Aad ew ae Fertilizing, Weeding and Thinning in the Vegetable Gar- den; Points on Picking. OUR TE WRG foie Sil ee Bie Controlling Insects and Diseases in Flower and Vegetable Garden; Sprays and Sprayers and their Use. PURSE WHEE so) Sloe ek Os etek & wen Weres deena Vegetables for Fall and Winter; Succession Crops. SHEGGINDD WRGENES ie). be Sb chaccsudle a Sek chon ide eit cclan Ee Fighting Dry Weather; Mulching; Watering; Modern Irrigation. THIRD: WGK o's oo; 265.5 arcravein ok oscccs sees ahae Sa eee eon Summer Work in the Rose Garden; Insects; Diseases; Summer Pruning; Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh. POORTH WHER. | O56 6455 Paasche ee Rae eis ee ene Celery for Fall and Winter; Buying Plants; Transplanting; Culture; Early Blanching. 93 102 108 116 129 130 135 141 148 153 159 july: , 6 September: CONTENTS LE gi 83) a ee EC hE cena gS ad Midsummer Work in the Vegetable Garden: Saving the Soil Moisture; Egg-Plants and Peppers; the Vine Crops, Transplanting in Dry Weather; Late Planting. SAPPY UN HAGE gry rah cs eto te araks Doral SPA codon oe La Starting Perennials and Biennials from Seed for Next Year’s Gardens. AUER ER NU EBIBGic E12 Soo wen cto dno Sos. oa oes Lea een Summer Work with Strawberries: Care of the Spring Planted Bed; Remaking the Old Bed; Potted Plants; Starting the New Bed; Fall Bearing Strawberries. PUREE: NY HES Ss ait, Sweet Salven o Dk we ek nla 4.2 bug ea Linking the Garden to the House; Summer Houses; Per- golas; Trellises; Vines to Cover them. "ASST. RRS Be Pea VaaE ay el eos CORA ON Laie | Oe SADRI gralaind Crops that Make the Garden Rich: ‘Green Manuring;” Soil ‘‘Binders” for Winter Cover; Inoculating to In- sure Success. EN ICH eh oe Ura ss PAIN Unie a GVA S Bla qucoie aise eee Getting House Plants Ready for Winter Bloom: New Plants from Seeds and Cuttings; Summer Care of Potted Plants; Plants from the Garden for Winter Flowering; Making New Rubber Plants. S20 EE 0) Sa RO cs a Ys Making a New Lawn; Remaking an Old One; Peonies to Plant Now. DIR WE a io ea a teu Ee Evergreens and Shrubs for Fall Planting: Planning an Artistic Planting; Varieties for Special Purposes. Orie Wire's ocho abla seme hah Mae iets 3, Planning and Building a Small Greenhouse: Materials; Construction; Heating. Wecrseees NURI! 3. Se suas ame amram terior iate bondi Late Work in the Vegetable Garden: Last Plantings; Getting Ready for the First Frosts; Preparing for Winter Work under Glass. 172 177 183 189 194 200 207 212 221 X1V CONTENTS PAGE September: SmeconD WHEE... i 02.56 sles e mbes oer ade eee 226 Fall Bulbs: Plan now to Secure a Long Season of Bloom ~ Next Spring; Types and Varieties. . eerie Wig 2) 3 cist ects as Cg ee RS belt area 235 Fall Planting of Shrubs and Other Ornamentals: When to Plant; Preparation of Soil; Treatment on Receipt; Pruning. 7 POURTE WHEE os 5 ob. ed De aes oe eee 240 Perennials for Planting and Replanting this Fall: Phlox, Iris, Peonies. - Furnes WEE. 2 5. eos te kee vce ee 248 Bulbs for Winter Bloom: Narcissi, Hyacinths, and Tulips for Forcing; Other Flowering Bulbs; Cuttings to Root Now. Ree rners MRT WHS. 6 aie oi ysis alk ns ksi ee 256 Hot-Bed and Cold Frame Gardening: Equipment; Soil; Heating; Varieties of Vegetables for Forcing. os SINT WEE sshd ke oes elt mie be 264 Planting Bulbs for Next Year’s Bloom: Propagating Roses. ‘7 CP PREHED, WeME spe io ood Su sa es ee arg ys Oke See eee ee 270 Saving the Season’s Produce: Harvesting and Storing Vegetables and Fruits. fh POURTE Wy Cis (fo Sei Salk baat oc 25s lak tala ae ee 276 Fresh Vegetables all Winter: Plan to Keep the Small Greenhouse Busy with Succession Crops until Spring. i Bima WRO Sis ote tie ede nate clas Cte Re 283 Concrete: What you can do with it: and how to use it. Iron Pipe for Many Purposes. pravermipers Vimor, Wet. fo on ss bes kia Palais oo eens ee 288 Making House Plants at Home for the Winter: The Condi- tions that Favor Healthy Growth; the Problem of Heating. Materials for next Spring. e GROUND WIE: 554 gs Seis 2 ee eee 205 Fruits and Vegetables in Storage; Odds and Ends of Out- side Work; Roots for Forcing; ‘‘Buds” for Grafting; Making Beds and Borders for Spring Planting. November: December: “ CONTENTS Putting the Garden to Sleep for the Winter: Protection of Roses; Shrubs; Bulbs; Perennials; Small Fruits. Chrys- anthemums for Stock Plants; Materials for Spring Work Indoors. IME EN oo oi. 5a oo aia ha = dae ee Work for the Home Tree Doctor: How to Repair Old Wounds and Splits. Fall Trenching and Draining. DM Ee ont elk Std k ap es a eae The Winter Window Garden: Ventilation; Moisture; Soil; Care. Propagating Bushes and Shrubs. POSOMEY WME 3 oie ef be oaths 25 hou ees doe ss The Winter Campaign in Orchard and Garden: Winter Spraying; Winter Pruning of Fruit Trees; Cane Fruits and Shrubs. 4000 Le ee ees ees See SRR Lae 7 The Care of Gift Plants after Christmas. How to Keep Them in Good Condition and Save Them for Another Year. Pick out Shrubs for Winter Beauty Now. RUTTER roars whois wy nds eK de ee Se ee Starting Plants for Next Summer’s Flower Garden: How to Make and Root Cuttings; Potting and Care. 3°99 315 322 329 336 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS \ FRoNTISPIECE.—Every Home Should Have a Garden! PLaTE 1.—A Warm Frame in a Cool Greenhouse for Starting Early Beces. ( ooming ceeds in a Plates soso. ok oe) ae PLATE 2.—Sowing Seeds of Different Sizes and the Depth to Cover Them. Seedling Plants Ready for Transplanting. Sub-watering of, Seedling’ Plants after Transplanting................ 222325 PiaTE 3.—An Attractive Arrangement of Quick Growing, Inexpensive LE OVE SURGES 9 os 7 RCO SPCR SES ete Ce 2 Pate 4.—Plants Ready for Repotting. The Proper Method of Re- moving a Plant from a Pot for Examining the Roots or Re- PLATE 5.—Double Plow Attachment for Wheel Hoe. Setting out Let- CLC EELS 1) Pas a tM NE ae a CU)? PLATE 6.—Using a Board for Sowing Seed in a Small Garden. Firm- MEG PCH ALECT SOWIE 5.6). since nigc see's, discs ora 4 oases a aoAIOe PLuA©e g—riant Forcers atid Protectors... . 2.2... 2.6. weed sacagsinn PLATE 8.—Firming the Soil about a Plant after Transplanting. Pro- tection of Transplanted Plants from Sun to Prevent Wilting... PLATE 9.—A Modern Combination Seed Drill and Wheel Hoe. Melons Started under Glass in Paper Pots for Setting out Later. Pot Grown Tomato Plants. Cabbage and Lettuce Plants Trimmed Ready tor Pransamie 20 ik statis ban peat aan ae PLATE 10.—A Good Type of Compressed Air Sprayer. A Supply of Insecticides and Fungicides such as Should be Kept on Hand fee ene Frome Garden. ls eG sae faa se Sar ean eis as clues PLATE 11.—The Proper Way to Thin out and Cut Back pameierake Aa etait USHER so. reals ert aaah edd oak ee aN wah hie te PLATE 12.—White Fly on Under Side of Foliage of Fuschia. A Good Type of Compressed Air Sprayer with Shoulder Strap for Use in eR MARIN 5 oa oo = a cles sh Ce Gein td one ie lds bs PLATE 13.—Iwo Types of Modern Spray Irrigation, Suitable for Either Plowerier Vegetable Garden. so Oe hee a aaa le ckcw es Facing page 4rr 66° 67” 79° (eel 84” 85” Togy 10m)” 122° XVill LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Facing page PLATE 14.—Nozzle Line Irrigation for the Lawns and Grounds. Valves and Turning Apparatus for the Control of Irrigation.......... 151“ PLATE I 5.—Home made Summer House and Home made Pergola.... 160” PLATE 16.—Shaded Frames for Starting Plants in Summer. Pansy Seedlings Ready for Transplanting)... 0 4. yea ee hee 161v PuaTe 17.—Making Potted Strawberry Plants. Strawberry Runner Reads for Transplanting ss. vad bye de pee eee 180” PLATE 18.—Flat of Celery Plants Ready for Transplanting. Celery Plants Trimmed back Ready for Planting.................... 181 ¥ PLATE 19.—Modern Method of Blanching Celery with Paper Tubes. Banking up Celery for Later Uses. 1.0 6. Coa Ree 194” PLATE 20.—Cutting Back and Potting a Geranium Plant for Winter Biles Py ROR RR i Oo 195 PLATE 21.—Method of Sowing Grass Seed to Get an Even Stand for a New Lawn. Chinese or Air Layering of Rubber Plant to get a New Shapely Plant from an Old One... ...5...04. S00 248” PLATE 22.—Bulbs Growing in Water. Cross Section of Pot Showing Method of ‘Growing Bulbs for Forcin®.': . ...:2..5 edges tee 249 PLATE 23.—Cold Frame with Double Glazed Sash for Winter Crops... 260” PLATE 24.—Crates and Barrels for Storing Vegetables. Beets and Carrots Packed in Moss for Winter Storage.................. 261” PLATE 25.—Method of Storing Cabbage for Winter. Ripening Toma- Pee ARETE FORE Sic! ni.%% otis F208 k Ra hfe weet ee ee ee ava PLATE 26.—Individual Rose Bush and Rose Bed Protected for the MV IRILED cc le's oar iipte bis cc's 4 cel tele Oe lbs sevue he CROs Ae eer 275” PLATE 27.—Progressive Steps in Clearing Out and Repairing Old Wounds in an Apple Tree... ook ce oe eS eee sie * PLATE 28.—New Trees from Old! How to Cut Back and Re-Form an CR RR ie et Sh ea he Ae Ae el Ne Ne ate, GN a a 324 PLATE 29.—Later Treatment of the Same Tree Showing the Formation Gr thie. Drew Eleaid 2 cle ha a eds Utes ed in ere 325 PLATE 30.—Geranium Cuttings Ready for Rooting. Begonia Cuttings Ready to Pot Up from the Cutting Bed. ...:........ 00. <2 336 PLaTE 31.—Geraniums Cut Back Preparatory to Making New Growth for Cuttings in the Spring). 3s.s'. och ses edb eadene les ceo 337 INTRODUCTION Timeliness, which is of importance in achieving success in almost any undertaking, is particularly important in garden operations. One may postpone building a garage, or buying a new car, for a week or a month, or even six months, and when he again considers. the matter find conditions the same as they were before; but the delay of a week or two in making a hot-bed, planting a hardy border, or setting out evergreens, may mean upsetting a garden plan for a whole season, the loss of a year’s time in getting results, or the waste of expensive plants. Conditions of temperature and soil are constantly changing, and unless one can keep the garden work caught up, or a little ahead, the routine tasks cannot be done successfully and with a minimum of labor, nor time be gained for those extra things which make it possible to build up and improve the place. On the other hand, the gardener who imagines that his work can be reduced to a set of rules and formule, followed and applied according to special days marked on the cal- endar, is but preparing himself for a double disappointment. Few things are so certain to be uncertain as the seasons and the weather; and these, rather than a set of dates, even for a single locality, form the signs which the real gardener fol- lows. That is the great trouble with much book and mag- azine gardening. But there is a more important argument against such follow-the-rule gardening, even were it possible to succeed with it. It would be a joyless gardening! It might be cheaper, but it would be little more attractive, than garden- ing at the grocers’ and the florists’,—where the most certain results are to be had with the least labor. No: to be efficient, and what is even more important, to find exhilaration and recreation in his work, or hers, the x1X Xxx INTRODUCTION gardener must know not only what to do, and when it should be done, but why it should be done. In fact the first two conditions are contingent on the third. To understand the habits and requirements of plants; the properties of the soil which contribute to their well- being; the signs and warnings and prophecies of Nature; so that one may work close and follow her leads—realizing always that she is a fickle dame who may not hesitate to trump a safe trick or play low on third hand with the most careful and experienced partner!—to develop, in a word, a sixth sense which keeps one en rapport with the ‘‘feel”’ of the soil and the season;—this is to become a member of the informal but world-wide fraternity of ‘‘gardeners.”’ The initiation is long, and to a degree strenuous,—and it must be self-administered. Let the gardener, then, read this book with a diligent eye for such advice and suggestions as he can apply to his own problems, but without any attempt to follow it blindly: for the real work, like the profit there may be (ten dimes saved is a dollar earned!), and the pleasure there is sure to be, must belong to the gardener, and cannot be put between the covers of a book. CRANMERE FARM, Apri, 1917. AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN HY yee J iP ae j an Pia ashes ah wo tae de oe OO ike AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN January: First Week MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW FOR SPRING AND SUMMER WORK With the beginning of the New Year thoughts turn to the coming season’s work in the garden. No matter how large or how small your plot, no matter whether you raise veg- etables or flowers or fruit, the advantages to be gained by systematic management are manifold. The first thing to do is to get a definite idea of the amount of ground at your dis- posal. The second is to make up a budget; in all probability you can figure up pretty accurately how much you will want to spend during the year for seeds, fertilizers, new plants, shrubs, tools, and so forth. A small plan of your grounds, drawn to scale, will enable you to calculate quickly the amount of space that can be devoted to any particular purpose. Such a plan will also make it possible to arrange the work of beautifying your grounds and home for several years ahead. The actual work of making the plan is a simple matter. Half an hour’s work with a tape measure will enable you to get all the dimensions you need. The plan drawn to scale from them may be as simple or as elaborate as you care to make it. A good method is to draw the permanent fea- tures, such as the boundary lines, drives, walks, buildings and large trees, 7m ink, and the things that you may possibly care to shift round, such as the vegetable garden, the flower beds, bulb borders and small shrubs, with hard pencil. Proposed additions and improvements, such as a hedge iL 2 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN along the front of the lawn, a pergola over the path leading to the garage, or a grape arbor i in the rear, may be indicated by dotted lines. Such a plan will enable you to see ata glance whether any new idea may be advantageously worked into the general scheme of improvement, and you can calculate, without having to go out into the garden, how many plants or bulbs or how much seed it will take for any particular planting you wish to make. No person who takes a place with the idea of living per- @ 2 eee Oe ew eee we © Ow ww ome men = ¢ N ’ H 240'X12 Make a Plan for Future EaUne A, Large shrubs at entrance. B, Narrow beds along front Walken hy wR ber Eloy? Decorative shrubs and trees. K, ‘Pergola. L, Tool/house. O, Hedge along street. C, M, N, O, P, Path, grape-arbor, strawberry bed, cahe-fruits, and bulb-border for future ‘planting. manently upon it should drift along from year to year with- out any definite plan of development. The place may be anything from a suburban plot to a 200-acre farm. There are latent possibilities in both kinds of places, but no two owners will agree as to the best way of developing any par- ticular place. It is also essential to select the particular ideal toward which your efforts are to be directed. If your aim is to have a home as beautiful as possible, and enough vegetables to supply the family table, make yourself familiar with ex- amples of good taste in planning the home grounds and master the details of vegetable growing; if you think you are a natural-born poultryman lay your plans for an in- creasing number of colony houses; if you have tackled the: JANUARY: FIRST WEEK 3 problem of making a living on a real farm pick out your specialty and lay out your lines for experiment and expan- sion with that in view. But first fix the mental photograph of what you want to accomplish. Then you can follow a step-at-a-time policy as circumstances permit, which will not mean wasted effort. A step at a time in a straight line toward a definite goal will mean rapid progress; steps in no fixed direction may mean no progress at all. Look Over Tools and Seeds Even on the very small place quite a number of vegetable seeds accumulate as the result of left-overs from former gar- dens. The garden-line breaks, trowels and hoes are lost, glass in the hot-bed sash gets broken, tools are lent to neigh- bors who forget to return them, and there are a hundred and one other little things that, if attended to now, may save a great deal of annoyance and delay and possibly consider- able loss later on. It is an excellent plan to put everything in order now in the tool shed and the seed boxes, to make any needed repairs, and to-make at least mental notes of the various things on hand and those that will be needed by spring. Seeds left over from the previous year’s garden may or may not be good. The first rule for the gardener is: When in doubt throw them away! Never for one moment let the price of a new lot of seed weigh against the possibility of even partial failure. Some seeds, however, keep for a num- ber of years, as follows: Beans, 3; beets, 6; broccoli, 5; cabbage, 5; carrot, 4; cauliflower, 5; celery, 8; cucumber, 10; eggplant, 3; endive, 10; gourds, 6; kohl-rabi, 5; leek, 3; lettuce, 5; sweet corn, 2; muskmelon, 5; onion, 2; oyster plant, 2; parsley, 3; parsnip, 2; pea, 2; pepper, 4; pumpkin, 4; radish, 5; spinach, 5; squash, 6; tomato, 4; turnip, 5; watermelon, 6. Usually there is no way of telling how old the seed is when you get it, so the only safe method is to test for germination any that may have been left over. Take a small box, such 4 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN as a cigar box, or a flat for a larger number, and plant fifty or a hundred seeds in each row. A more convenient way is to place the seed between pieces of moist blotting paper, or on a wad of cotton in a tumbler with a little water in the bottom. Planting in the soil, of course, corresponds more nearly to the conditions under which the seeds will be planted and gives a better idea of the percentage of germina- tion that may be expected. Of most kinds at least eighty per cent, and in a majority of cases ninety per cent, should sprout readily. Be sure that the soil is never allowed to dry out. In looking over your implements do not be content with merely being able to find things. They should be tuned up to work as well as new. First, get them sharp; on all tools with blades you should maintain a cutting edge. If your various tools of this character—hoes, wheel-hoe blades, weeders, sickels, scythes, and so forth—are in very bad shape, the services of grindstone or emery wheel will be re- quired; if they simply need ‘“‘touching up” whetstone and file will answer the purpose. Paint is Cheaper Than New Implements Second, you must fight rust at every possible point, not only because it will wear your tools out much faster than hard use but because it interferes with your work. Take off all of the nuts on the various attachments, soak them in kerosene until they can be made clean, then put on a little heavy oil or vaseline and work them until they can readily be turned on and off and any desired changes made without trouble. After use for a season or two the larger tools, such as the wheel hoe, seed-drill and wheelbarrow, will usually show many spots where the paint has been knocked off or has peeled off, allowing a foothold for rust. Rub down the edges of the raw spots with sandpaper or a wire brush, wipe the rest of the machine off clean and dry, and give the whole a light coat of paint over such portions as - JANUARY: FIRST WEEK 5 were painted when the machine was new. Paint is much cheaper than new machinery, to say nothing of the added pleasure of having clean, bright-looking tools to use. The hand sprayer, whether of the knapsack or the com- pressed-air type, should also be overhauled unless it has been used occasionally since summer for other jobs. [If it fails to work take out the plunger and soak the washer in oil for several hours; or if the washer is worn or cracked beyond use get a piece of heavy leather and cut out a new one, being sure to make it an exact duplicate of the old. If the nozzle or any valve or spring has become corroded soak it for a day or so in kerosene and then clean thoroughly. By all means go over the cold-frame and hot-bed sashes and put them into shape unless they are comparatively new. Few other things will deteriorate so quickly if neglected, so that water can soak through to the wood. Kept in good condition, on the other hand, they will last for many years. In making repairs it is important to use only the best grades of paint and putty. In putting in new glass or in patching, scrape back to sound dry wood, and give a coat of paint be- fore putting the putty on.- The putty should be applied under the glass as well as over it. What is known as liquid putty may be bought for about sixty cents a quart from your seedsman; this is a semi-liquid paste that is very good for this work, as it hardens on the outside but remains plastic inside, adhering better to glass than to wood and making future repairs much easier. After repairing the sash should be given a coat of “‘outside white” or of special greenhouse paint, applied extra thick over all joints and mortises. New sash should be ordered now if you are going to want any for this spring’s work. Get those of the best quality, even if they cost fifty cents or a dollar more. They should be so constructed that there is the least possible ex- posure where the pieces are mortised together. January: Second Week AN EQUIPMENT OF TOOLS FOR THIS SUMMER’S SUCCESS There is a saying that it’s a poor workman who finds fault with his tools. Nowadays it’s a poor gardener, if his time is worth anything, who is content with any but the best of tools. That does not necessarily mean the most expensive ones. All garden tools are cheap enough, but a poor tool, no matter what its price, is expensive in two ways —it is less efficient, and it gives out quickly, to say nothing of the fact that a poorly tempered tool makes an ill-tempered gardener. A sufficient equipment of garden tools is a factor in garden success. The man who is growing for his own table will frequently get along year after year, skimping on a few dollars’ worth of tools that he knows he needs. He argues with himself that he isn’t getting any money out of his garden, so he must put no more into it than he ab- solutely has to. He fails to realize that in all probability he is getting two or three times as much profit out of his crops as the commercial market gardener gets. His whole output is taken, if his garden is rightly managed, by the best market so far discovered—the home kitchen. It is worth at least as much as would be paid for stale stuff at the store. Another thing that keeps many people from buying needed small tools is that they do not calculate the actual cost. They decide that it will not pay to invest a dollar in a spading fork, or seven and a half dollars in a sprayer, or ten to fourteen dollars in a combination wheel hoe and seed drill. But if tools are well cared for they should last on an average at least ten years, which makes an annual 6 JANUARY: SECOND WEEK 7 cost of ten per cent of the purchase price; ten per cent more will under ordinary conditions cover the charge for interest and the cost of repairs. The saving made by not getting a spading fork that costs twenty cents a year, a spraying machine that costs a dollar and a half a year, or a seed drill and wheel hoe that costs two dollars a year—a man’s labor for one day—is often wholly imaginary. In the home garden it is often possible to lose several dollars by saving one. There are now special tools for doing most of the garden work, including the preparation of the ground, planting, cultivating, forcing and protecting plants from insects and disease, supporting vines and climbing plants, and harvest- ing. Some of these tools are of little practical use, but the great majority are of real advantage in getting better and quicker results in the special and particular work for which they are designed. Special Tools for Different Kinds of Work Of the various tools useful in handling and preparing the soil, one or two makes of hand garden plows are practicable for fairly light soil where there is no rubbish or manure to be turned under. The depth to which they will work is, however, quite limited, and for gardens too small for a horse and plow the trustworthy spade must be relied upon. The spade is put to frequent and severe use, so buy the best one you can find even if it costs a little more. A cheap one will not stand up under the work; the blade is likely to wear down quickly or to become bent, which is worse yet. A spade that has once been sprung is ever after a source of annoyance and delay. A poor spade is likely to give out where the blade joins the handle. A good spade should have steel straps, front and back, running well up the handle. Some persons prefer the spading fork to the regular spade. In many soils this will do just as good work, and do it more rapidly; it is lighter, goes into the ground more easily, and is better adapted to breaking up lumps of 8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN earth and to gathering up rubbish or manure that may be in the way. Any garden that is large enough for the use of a horse can be plowed better and more quickly than it can be dug. A one-horse swivel plow that is especially good for use on the small place or in the large garden costs about ten dollars. Its advantages over the ordinary one-horse plow are that it leaves no dead furrows and tramped corners; hillsides can be plowed; closer work can be done and any furrow can be turned either way. When you buy a plow by all means get a colter with it; with it litter, manure or a cover crop can be turned completely under so the harrow or rake will not drag it up. The iron rake ranks with the spade as an implement of prime necessity; every gardener must use it frequently, but few do use it so constantly as they could to advantage, especially after crops are planted. The bow type of rake costs only a few cents more than the other kind and is less likely to bend or break. A small attachment like a hoe blade, arranged so it may be fastened to the back of the rake, is very useful in cutting out weed stumps or clumps of , sod or grass that would probably break the end of the rake. Some Hoes You Should Have To the uninitiated a hoe is a hoe. But there are now numerous types, to say nothing about makes, on the market. At least three different kinds will be needed in the average- sized garden. The first is a sort of hybrid between a rake and a hoe—the flat-tined hoe. This is useful in leveling off and making fine ground that is too rough for the iron rake; in clearing and raking off litter or rubbish; in working the soil between rows too narrow for the use of a plain hoe; in working over manure; in gathering up stones; in digging — potatoes, and in other ways. The second kind is the ordinary garden hoe—but you should pick out one with a thin, sharp blade, a solid shank, not a ferule, and a “ hang” that is just right, so that it makes - JANUARY: SECOND WEEK 9 you want to get out into the garden and use it as soon as you get your hands on it. There is always more or less heavy work to be done during the season which makes such a hoe necessary. But for three jobs out of four in the garden, except in a very heavy soil, the small, light onion hoe is to be preferred. When you use one of these for the first time it seems like playing at gardening instead of working—but you will notice that the work gets done with a great deal less elbow grease. Then there is the warren or heart-shaped hoe, which is especially good for opening and covering furrows, digging holes for plants, and so forth. The scuffle hoe or push hoe is different from all the preceding. When a wheel hoe is used there is little use for the scuffle until late in the sea- son, when the crops are so large that the wheel hoe cannot be used to advantage. While not absolutely essential, the scuffle hoe is extremely useful in preserving a dust mulch and in keeping small weeds from getting a too vigorous start late in the season. The price is moderate, sixty cents to a dollar. In buying pick out one that is narrow enough to go through your narrowest rows. Even the smallest of gardens should have a wheel hoe in its tool outfit. The simplest type with several different attachments costs only a few dollars. As it is a machine that you will probably use in the garden more than all your other tools put together, be sure to get one capable of doing all the work you may have to give it. The double-wheel hoe has a distinct advantage over the single-wheel in that the rows can be straddled, permitting very close work while the plants are small and accordingly cutting down the laborious task of hand weeding. If your garden is at all large the amount of time you will save in weeding it the | first time with a double-wheel hoe instead of with a single- wheel hoe will make you satisfied with the slight additional , investment. In addition to the attachments that come with the double-wheel outfit, you should get either the disk at- tachment or a pair of hoes with extra high sides, which will keep any earth from being thrown over the smallest plants. 10 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN By all means get a wheel hoe with a seed-drill combina- tion. Life is too short, garden space is too valuable, the work of thinning plants and cultivating uneven rows Is too costly, to justify anyone’s planting a garden by hand. When you can mark the row, open the furrow, drop the seed, cover it, roll it, and get it straight, in one operation, as fast as you can walk, the laborious task of hand-sowing seeds like onions, carrots, beets or turnips is out of the question. In addition to doing the job better and infinitely faster, covering all the seeds with fresh earth and dropping them at a uniform depth, the seed drill leaves the row neatly rolled on top, so that you can see where to cultivate before the plants are up. No tool has yet been invented that does away with the worst gardening job of all—hand weeding. For the careless or inexperienced gardener this task is likely to seem unend- ing and nearly hopeless. Having tools with which you can work close to the row, and using them before the weeds start, will enable you to get through it with the fewest possible hours of backache and sore knees. Hand weeding used to mean sore fingers, too, but now there are a number of hand weeders of different types that lessen the disagree- able features of the task. No gardener can be sure of harvesting his crop, no matter how rich his soil nor how good his seed, unless he is pre- pared to fight effectually the various insects and blights. Some sort of spraying machine is a real necessity. For the very small garden a good bucket pump will answer the purpose. But pumping from a bucket is not a convenient, effective or safe way of applying poisons or insecticides. On every small place a sprayer, either of the knapsack or of the compressed-air type, will be needed sooner or later, and a great deal of annoyance and loss may be averted by getting it sooner. A first-class machine will cost from five to ten dollars. Whatever type of sprayer you get, be sure to get a brass one; many of the compounds that will be used in it will quickly eat through even galvanized iron. JANUARY: SECOND WEEK Ir Protectors for Early Plants There are a number of good machines for applying powder or dust preparations inadry state. These are less expensive, but when there is a imited amount of work of this kind it is much better to get a good spraying machine, as practically every remedy that is made in powder form can be duplicated in a spray. A number of plant protectors of various types are used to keep off frost and insects dur- ing the early stages of growth. All these are useful, but many of them are somewhat prohibi- tive in cost. With a little in- genuity and a few tools substi- tutes for some of them may readily be constructed at home. Garden frames, for instance, may be made of cracker or soap boxes. Deep boxes should be cut in two parts; shallow ones may be used as they are. Simply remove top and bottom, and cover the top with protecting cloth; or drive in “‘finishing”’ nails, which will not split the wood, and bend them over so they will hold in place on the top side a pane of glass cut slightly smaller than the outside dimensions of the box. These frames will prove extremely useful in forwarding hills of early cucumbers and melons, lima beans, and a few extra early tomatoes, peppers or eggplants. Supports for tomatoes and pole beans may be constructed quickly from 2-by-2-inch or 14-by-3-inch scantling and laths, the former being cut into posts five to eight feet — 12 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN long, as may be required, and the latter nailed across at intervals of twelve or eighteen inches. These not only give a much better bearing surface for the vines than do poles, but they will last much longer and will always look better. One thing that offers an opportunity for money saving is frequently overlooked—the tool chest. For some per- sons tools are an excellent investment; for others they are absolute waste of money. Without good care tools soon become practically useless. Any handy person can, with a very few tools, not only do the ordinary repair jobs about the place, but find numerous construction jobs that will save time and steps, and add to the appearance of things. In buying tools aim at quality rather than variety. An elaborate outfit is not necessary. By buying one good tool at a time, and then taking good care of it, one can soon acquire a good outfit without greatly feeling the expense. January: Third Week UP-TO-DATE TOOLS—SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THEIR SELECTION, USE, AND CARE The returns from garden operations are not determined by the size of the garden, but rather by the amount of work done in it. Even a very small garden, managed so as to produce the maximum of which it is capable, will show astonishing results. High-pressure gardening of this kind, however, necessitates more time—and time is just the thing on which the average home gardener is short. Usually he is limited to a definite period each day, and as there is no known method of stretching time, the only solution to the problem is to use tools which will increase the amount of work which can be done in a given time. The money you spend for a good tool is really only the buying of extra time for work in your garden. Even in a small garden a combination seed drill and wheel hoe will pay for itself handsomely. A combined seed drill and single-wheel hoe, with plow, hoes, cultivator teeth, rakes, guards, and marker, can be bought for ten or eleven dollars. That may seem at first glance like a lot to spend on a single tool for a small garden; but such a machine will last ten years or longer; the first seed drill I ever owned had been in use ten years when I got it, and after using it three years myself I sold it for three dollars, and the last I knew it was still doing good work. Although this is “one imple- ment’’ here are the things it will do: open a furrow; drop seed of any kind, at any depth desired, in a continuous row or in hills; cover the seed with fresh soil; roll the soil, leaving a neat, narrow, plainly marked row; and mark out the next row—all in going once over the ground and as fast as you would usually walk. Think of the amount of twme 13 14 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN wasted in doing this same work by half a dozen laborious hand operations, and then not nearly as well! By changing the tool to a wheel hoe, it will hoe the ground between the rows, working close up to them and killing all small weeds; or cultivate it, breaking up the crust if one has formed, and leaving the soil loose and fine; or rake it, creating a dust- mulch on the surface to conserve soil moisture; or plow shallow furrows, in which to put fertilizer or manure, or large seeds; and hill such things as are benefited by having the soil thrown up toward them during their growth. All of these things done more quickly, and in most cases better, than they could be done by hand. The double-wheel hoes cost two or three dollars more than the single-wheel type, and have several advantages, par- ticularly in working crops during the earlier stages of growth; and personally I would always spend the small amount additional required to get this type. The double- wheel machine can be used as a single wheel when desired. I never yet met a gardener, large or small, who regretted the money he had spent on a good double-wheel hoe. In selecting implements of this kind, there are a number of things to be borne in mind. I have used at various times five different types of seed drills, and some eight or ten of wheel hoes, and I have never yet found any one of either which was best in every respect. The kind of work to be done and the condition of the soil, make a difference; and the personal factor must also be taken into consideration, as I have often found that two men working side by side will prefer different types of tools for doing the same work. Of the things to think of in buying any tool, however, first in importance is the material and the way in which the parts are finished up. A machine that is poorly made and roughly finished will not only wear out sooner, but will not do equally satisfactory work while it does last. Another re- quirement is that the changes may be made quickly and easily. One of the great advantages of an implement of this kind is its great adaptability, and a machine that will rust or get stuck, and be such a nuisance to change that you are: JANUARY: THIRD WEEK 15 apt to leave it in one form from the beginning to the end of the season, will be a poor investment. There will be work for each different attachment, and it is highly important that all changes can be made with ease and dispatch. The machine should be easy to work. The type you will find preferable will depend to a large extent upon the character of your soil. Some people prefer the high-wheel type, and others the low. In light, soft soil, where the wheels are likely to sink in, the higher wheels work easier. On the other hand, in rough or stony soil, it is more difficult to work very close to small plants without cutting into the row. Having both types of machines on hand, I use either one or the other according to the work to be done; but if I had to select a single machine, which is ample for a small garden, my choice would largely depend on the character of the soil. A third type has a frame that fits against the body to make one’s weight available in pushing it, but except for plowing, or use in very heavy clay soil, this is of negative advantage, as it adds to the weight and interferes with the backward and forward stroke of the machine which is used in most kinds of work. Efficient Use of the Wheel hoe While in the use of the wheel hoe, as in other arts, practice only can make perfect, there are a few suggestions which can be given which will help the beginner to become profi- cient. First of all, find a place to keep the machine and all its attachments where it is perfectly dry, and safe from promiscuous borrowers. Keep the axles and working parts of the seed drill well supplied with oil, and occasionally put a few drops of kerosene on the bolt and nut threads to keep them bright and working easily. Take pains to select the attachments best suited to the particular job you are going todo. Take time, after you have the right attachment, to get it adjusted just right: this is of the greatest importance and many people are not careful in this respect. Unless the ground is so wet that it should not be worked, 16 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN or you have allowed the weeds to grow so big that they clog things up, you may be pretty sure that it is your fault, and not the machine’s, if it does not do satisfactory work. In learning to use the machine, train yourself as soon as possible to keep your eye on the wheels rather than on the hoes or cultivator teeth that follow them. At first you will find yourself inclined to do just the opposite, with the result that while you are watching the blades, the wheels will veer off to the right or the left, and you will cut into the row. If you hold the wheels steady, the rest of the machine has got to follow. Do not push the machine along steadily, but work it in long, steady strokes, drawing it back a few inches each time. A number of the attachments mentioned in the following paragraphs are to be had as “‘extras,”’ or in some cases, in place of the regular equipment. For anyone who already has a wheel hoe, their cost is so little that they may be readily afforded. Perhaps the most important of all of these are the hoes with extra high ‘‘standards” or guards. I emphatically recommend the purchase of a pair of these in addition to the regular equipment. PLowING. Generally, except in cases where the ground is already in good condition from previous planting, more satisfactory work can be done with the spade or spading fork, than with any hand plow I have ever tried or seen. The same is true of hand raking of the seed bed, to level and prepare it for the drill. The hand wheel plow, however, is often useful in loosening up ground that has already been plowed or spaded, and has lain for some time before you are ready to plant it, or in plowing small furrows for putting in manure, or in which to plant peas or beans or corn with the drill. SEED-SOWING. Have the ground made as smooth and fine as it is possible to make it with an iron rake, and always freshly prepared. If anything happens to prevent your planting as soon as the ground is ready, go over it again just before you do plant. Set the drill as carefully as you can for the seed you are going to plant, and then test it on a. JANUARY: THIRD WEEK By board or a smooth floor to see how it will work. It will drop the seed usually a little thicker on such a surface than in the garden. Watch the seed carefully, at least at the end of each row, to see that it is running out all right. A small lump of dirt in the bottom of the seed spout or a bit of trash caught on the opening plow, may catch the seed and carry it along for some distance and then drop it in a bunch, even when it is falling from the hopper all right. Keep the rear roller wheel clean. If the soil is a little moist, and tends to stick to it, an occasional tap with the wrench—which should al- ways be carried along in one’s pocket—will dislodge it. Mark the first row out just as straight as you can get it with your garden line or a piece of string, and don’t be too lazy to make a new straight line as often as the rows may begin to get a little crooked. This is important not only for looks: every crooked row means additional work every time you work it throughout the whole summer. CULTIVATION. Cultivation should be begun before the plants get above ground. Where the planting has been done with a wheel hoe this is possible because the rows are distinctly marked. There are two ways of getting the best of any weeds that may start ahead of the seeds you have planted. First is to go over the whole surface of the garden, very lighily, with the weeder attachment, or the rakes. The best time for this is just after the seed has sprouted in the ground, and before the sprouts have got up too near the surface. Millions of little weeds will have germinated and be above the soil, but so small you can hardly see them until they begin to collect, like tiny pink and white threads, on the tips of the weeder fingers; then you will realize how many hours of work later in the season you are saving yourself. The other way is to use the disk attachment with a double-wheel hoe. With the disks care- fully adjusted, and with the outside ones of each gang of three removed if the rows are closer than fourteen inches apart, you can shave right up to the row without throwing any dirt over it, nicely ‘‘discing” the ground between the rows, destroying the young weeds and breaking up the 18 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN crust. When using the disks, push the machine along steadily, without any thrusting movement. The slight ridges left will be leveled down by the next cultivation, working the soil over thoroughly. The first cultivation after the plants are up—and it should be given just as soon as they are up enough to mark the rows—should be given with the hoes with extra high standards or guards already mentioned. They permit very close and rapid work without throwing any soil on the plants, which is impossible with the regular hoes. Get at the First Weeding Early Immediately following this cultivation the first hand weeding should be done, even if there seem to be very few weeds visible; between the plants, as between the rows, they should be destroyed as soon as they sprout, and not allowed to grow until they are so big as to threaten the existence of the crop. After weeding the soil between the rows will be more or less packed down hard, and the next cultivation should be given with the cultivator teeth on the machine, to loosen the soil up again. There are three types of cul- tivator teeth which may be had: the regulation narrow ones; the “‘gang”’ of three or more together, of which the best have the ones nearest the row work shallower and nar- rower than the ones in the centre; and the separate teeth with extra wide bottoms which have the advantage, where the weeds have begun to get a little ahead, of cutting them off as well as breaking up the soil. Every ten days or two weeks after this cultivation the garden should be run over between rows with the ordinary hoes attached to destroy any weeds which may be sprout- ing and maintain the dust-mulch. If the ground seems packed at all at any time substitute the cultivator teeth for the hoes. The soil should always be worked over as soon as it is dry enough after a rain. With crops such as beans, which are sometimes benefited by a slight hilling, the hoes or the disk attachments, set so that they throw the soil. JANUARY: THIRD WEEK 19 toward the row instead of away from it, may be used for very rapid and uniform work. As a general thing, however, level cultivation is to be preferred to hilling as the loss of water from evaporation is not so great. Toward the end of the season, when crops which have been planted close have begun to fill up the rows, the vine lifters should be put on, and the single wheel used, with the hoes set close together, or the “‘sweep”’ or scuffle hoe attachment used in their place. For ordinary work, going once in a row at each cultivation will be sufficient. If the weeds have begun to get a little ahead, and the first time over does not get them all, or where the rows are too wide for the hoes or cultivator teeth to work up close to the row on either side, go twice, or three times if necessary, until the work is thoroughly done. Weeds that are only partly destroyed will continue to make a rapid growth, particularly in moist weather, and if they once re-root after the main tap-root has been broken, you will have your hands full, as they form a mass of fine fibrous roots to which the earth clings, so that each cultivation simply moves them around a little without succeeding in putting them out of business. In addition to these two most important tools, which if properly used, will do most of the work of planting and cultivating, there are a number of smaller ones which are, nevertheless, essential. The outfit of tools in your garden tool shed should include the following: a spade; a shovel; a spading fork; a flat-tined hook; a lawn rake; an iron- toothed garden rake; a standard light hoe; a small weeding or “‘onion”’ hoe; a Warren or heart-shaped hoe, for planting and furrowing; a reel and line; a scuffle hoe; a trowel anda dibber. For facilitating the work of hand weeding, there are several types of small tools designed to save one’s fingers; of these select one or two which suit your individual taste; personally for most work I prefer the style with a plain bent sharp blade; known as “‘Lang’s weeder,”’ which most seedsmen carry; for work in hard soil, about in- dividual plants, and in flower beds, some type of finger- weeder, with or without a long handle, will be useful. 20 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN There are many types of most of these tools familiar to all gardeners. The points in regard to them to be emphasized here are three: first, see to it mow that your equipment for the coming season is complete, repairs or additions should be made now, while you are buying your seeds, not put off until planting time; second, whenever you buy a new tool, even if it is but a trowel, get the best quality that is to be found; third, make adequate provision for taking care of all your tools,—each one should be stamped or marked with your initial, and for each you should have a definite place in your tool house. A simple method is to have each tool numbered, with corresponding numbers painted on the wall or the shelf where they are kept, or a rough outline of the tool itself may be painted there. In addition to these garden tools, there should be of course a lawnmower; pruning shears; a pruning saw (not a double-edged one); an ‘‘edger”’ for walks and drives; a compressed-air sprayer, and a good powder-gun for dry insecticides; and last, though not least, a light strong wheel- barrow, preferably with good springs supporting the wheel. January : Fourth Week VEGETABLE SEEDS TO ORDER FOR THE SUMMER SEASON The most absorbing garden job of the year—if it is true that anticipation is more intense than realization—is one that will not take you out of your easy-chair. But more than likely it will upset your ease of mind. Probably by the time you had finished last season’s work you thought you knew exactly what you were going to want in this year’s garden. So you take up your pencil and paper and cat- alogues with a serene feeling that you know just what you are going to order in the way of vegetables, flowers, roses, bulbs and small fruits. But by the time you have looked through the second new catalogue, have read the testimo- nials about the sterling qualities of some of the things you had decided to discard and have been unable to find any mention of the fine new things recommended by your friends, you will be as much at sea as ever. As a matter of fact this whole problem of varieties is given an amount of time and worry entirely out of propor- tion to its real importance. A wonderful new bean or cu- cumber that you admired in a friend’s garden was probably the same thing, under a different name, that you had in your own, only your friend had been able to give it condi- tions that were better adapted. The hours spent in puzzling over varieties could be employed to greater advantage in studying the problems of making the garden soil more productive; and the money spent for wonderful new vari- eties could better be used in buying up-to-date tools. Our catalogues are littered with scores of fictitious vari- eties and strains. It is high time that our seedsmen in- augurated a movement to standardize varieties. Guard 2I 22 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN against exaggerated and one-sided descriptions; the general tone of a catalogue is a fairly safe guide as to the quality of the seeds and plants that are listed in it. There are three really important points in connection with seed and plant buying—vitality, purity and breeding. The vitality of a lot of seeds may be judged to some extent by their appearance; at any rate they may be easily tested. But purity and good breeding are more difficult matters. Many states have laws that now take care of the vitality of farm seeds, but practically the only guide of the customer in regard to good breeding is his confidence in his seedsman. Even one’s own experience with a particular variety or strain is not always a satisfactory test, for conditions and seasons vary greatly. It is not enough that seeds should grow and be true to name; they should be true to the best type of that particular variety. Roguing and Selection Crops grown for seed should undergo the processes of roguing and selection. In roguing, the seed grower goes over the crop before it is mature and removes any plants that may be off type or of another variety. In selecting seeds he takes only the best specimens that can be found, with such special points of superiority as earliness, size, uniform shape, and so forth, well fixed. When you really get hold of a strain of seeds that gives you satisfaction it is a good plan to order enough to last for several plantings. There are, of course, some sterling novelties introduced from year to year, but as a general thing it is best to rely mainly upon strains with which you are familiar, trying out the newer ones under the same conditions before you decide they are better. For the benefit of those whose garden experience has not yet been sufficient to enable them to pick out satisfactory varieties of the various vegetables the following may be mentioned. Some are old standard sorts, and some are JANUARY: FOURTH WEEK 23 newer introductions that have proved themselves so gen- erally satisfactory that most seed firms now carry them: ASPARAGUS. Palmetto and Giant Argenteuil are both good. The first sort, however, came out considerably ahead in the most thorough test of asparagus varieties so far conducted. BEANS. Before selecting the varieties of beans for your garden, be sure to have the several distinct types fixed clearly in mind. Of the earliest or string beans you will need only enough for one or two pickings—just enough to last until the wax beans, which are superior in quality, can be had. Stringless Green Pod and Bountiful are good vari- eties. Of the wax sorts Brittle Wax, Rust-Proof Golden Wax and New Kidney Wax are excellent. Of the pole beans Old Homestead (green) and Golden Cluster or Sunshine Wax (yellow) are good both as snap beans and when dry. Worcester Horticultural is a favorite pole variety in north- ern sections where the seasons are rather short for limas. Of the dwarf limas the Burpee-Improved is the most sat- isfactory all-round sort; the Improved Henderson is hardier and earlier but smaller, being in an entirely different class. Of the tall limas, Early Leviathan and Giant-Podded are among the best. Beets. Early Model is a fine extra-early sort for first planting. Crimson Globe and Columbia are good for use during the summer, being ready very soon after the earliest sorts, and retaining their quality even when they have attained large size. For a winter supply it is best to make a later planting of one of the earlier sorts, such as Detroit Dark Red, which does not get too large. BRUSSELS Sprouts. This vegetable is one of the several relatives of the cabbage family, and one of the finest of all vegetables for the late fall garden. Sprouts will sometimes remain on the stalks outdoors without protection until after Christmas. Dalkeith and Danish Giant are both good, the latter being a little larger. Broccoxi. The only excuse for the existence of this poor cousin of the cauliflower is the fact that it is hardier than 24 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN that delicious vegetable. A small early planting is worth while. White Cape is a good variety. Cabbages the Year Round CABBAGE. There is no reason why a supply of this veg- etable should not be kept pretty nearly the year round, even with a comparatively small garden. As usually grown there is a big surplus at one or two periods in summer, and none the rest of the time. A dozen or two plants each of Jersey Wakefield, Copenhagen Market, Glory of Enkhuisen and Succession set out early in the spring, will furnish a supply of cabbage until September. Half a package each of Volga and Danish Ball Head, sown in the spring and transplanted some six weeks later, will give a supply during the fall and early winter; the other half of each packet, sown the last of May or the first of June and transplanted in July, will give a further supply during the late fall and winter. All of these varieties are good, but if you like real quality in cabbage use Savoy in place of Succession in the early and in place of Volga in the late planting. Carrots. For use in the frames or for extra-early use out- doors, Early Nantes is one of the forcing varieties that will give quickest results. Ordinarily, however, Chantenay or Coreless or a very good strain of Danvers Half-Long will answer all the purposes of the home garden. It your soil is very shallow use Chantenay alone. CAULIFLOWER. To have a succession throughout the summer plant as suggested for cabbage. Remember, how- ever, that the plants are not so hardy and cannot be set out so early. Snowball or Best Early, or any of the varieties of precisely the same type, or Dry-Weather, which is later and more robust in growth, will answer every purpose. Do not be deceived by the claims that are sometimes made for the Dry-Weather. It is a strong-growing sort, but no cauli- flower can be grown successfully without plenty of moisture. With proper cultivation it can be grown in dry weather, but not in a dry soil. JANUARY: FOURTH WEEK 25 CELERY. Golden Self-Blanching and White Plume for early planting, and Winter Queen or Boston Market for late, make up a combination that will supply celery from early fall until late spring. For earliest use start some seed in early February; for the winter crops sow the seed out- doors about the first of April. Corn. There are a large number of varieties of sweet corn but there is probably none quite so universally es- teemed as Golden Bantam; it is one of the earliest and sweetest, with a flavor all its own. It is particularly good for the small garden, not only for the first but also for the succeeding plantings on account of its dwarf habit of growth which permits much closer planting than the older types. Metropolitan and Howling Mob are fine second early sorts; White Evergreen is still the standard late; Black Mexican and Country Gentleman have exceptionally good flavor. CucuMBERS. Of the many strains, selections and im- provements of the old White Spine, Davis Perfect is on the whole the most satisfactory. It matures very little later than the extra-early sorts and keeps its quality as well as its color for a remarkable length of time. For some extra- quality fruit try one of the English forcing varieties in a frame. Telegraph is one of the best. EccpLANT. Black Beauty is the most satisfactory all- round sort so far developed. ENDIVE. Giant Fringed and Broad-Leaved Batavian are both good, but quite distinct in flavor. The latter, known as Escarolle, is preferred by many. Kout-Rasti. This vegetable, which is a sort of over- ground turnip, with cabbage flavoring, is very easy to grow, and if gathered for the table while it is still quite small— two or three inches in diameter—it is very good. There are few varieties, and these differ chiefly in color. Lettuce for Spring, Summer, and Fall Lettuce. To have a continuous supply of this best of salads be careful to select types suited to the seasons in 26 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN which they are to be grown. Mignonette, Grand Rapids and Big Boston are three of the best sorts for use in the frames in spring and fall, and for the first planting in spring. Mi- gnonette is very small, with reddish-brown outside leaves, but it makes a very solid head deliciously tender and sweet. Grand Rapids is the best of the loose-heading sorts, having very tender, closely crumpled leaves which form a very solid loose head. Big Boston is one of the very best of the large-heading butter-head varieties, suited for growing in cool weather. For a supply during the hot summer months, Salamander, All Seasons, Brittle Ice and New York (Won- derful) are all good. The latter two, of the cabbage-head type, are quite distinct, having thick leaves with heavy in- curving midribs, and form unusually solid heads. The Cos type of lettuce is also excellent, especially for summer use, but it demands very good growing conditions and more care. A Muskmelon That Runs Three Feet MuskME tons. There are a large number of good vari- eties but Netted Gem or Rocky Ford is the most popular green-fleshed sort, and Emerald Gem is wholly satisfactory for salmon-colored flesh. For cool climates Montreal Nut- meg, a large, green-fleshed sort, is unexcelled for quality. Spicy is a large, oval, orange-fleshed variety, quite distinct from most others, of very healthy growth and excellent fla- vor. Henderson’s Bush is a new and distinct type of par- ticular advantage for the small garden. It can be planted much closer than the ordinary sorts, requiring only about half as much space for each hill. The fruits are rather small. Onions. The white sorts are the earliest to mature and the mildest in flavor, but they are harder to cure and not such good keepers as the yellow and red varieties. Silver King and Southport White Globe are good white sorts, the former considerably earlier. Southport Yellow Globe and Prizetaker, the latter larger but not so solid or long keeping, are two of the best yellows; while Southport Red Globe and Red Wethersfield, the latter earlier, are the standard reds. JANUARY: FOURTH WEEK PF Gigantic Gibraltar, an Americanized Spanish onion, is exceptionally large and mild, but is not certain to mature properly unless started in a frame and transplanted. Ailsa Craig is another very large sort, suitable for handling in the same way. PARSLEY. The several varieties are quite similar, varying somewhat in color and degree of “‘crinkling.” Emerald, or Double Moss Curled, is very good. Parsnip. Several new varieties have been introduced, but Improved Hollow Crown is hard to beat. For shallow soil Offenham Market has the advantage of being chunkier in growth. Pras. Before ordering be sure you are going to be able to get round to supplying brush or a trellis by the time the peas are ready for it. Gradus or Prosperity and Thomas Laxton for early, and Alderman, Boston Unrivaled or Royal Salute for main crop, will give excellent satisfaction. Suc- cession plantings of one of each of these early and late sorts, made about three weeks apart until hot, dry weather and again in August, will keep the table well supplied. If you want dwarf sorts use Laxtonian or Blue Bantam for early, and British Wonder and Dwarf Champion or Juno to suc- ceed them. These are all wrinkled or sugar sorts. Of the hard round-seeded sorts, which can be planted earlier, but are ready for table only a few days sooner than Gradus or Laxtonian, the most satisfactory sort is Pilot; the pods are large and the quality is almost as good as the sugar varieties. Peppers. Neopolitan Early and Ruby King make a good combination for the home garden. Chinese Giant is larger and sweeter than Ruby King, but requires a longer season to mature. RaApIsHES. There are dozens of good varieties, but the only way to have any of them fit to eat is to make frequent succession sowings. Crimson Giant and White Icicle are favorites for spring and fall. White Strasburg and Chartiers - are standard summer sorts. Celestial is an enormous but a mild white winter sort. SPINACH. Victoria for spring and Hardy Winter for fall 28 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN sowing are good sorts. Swiss Chard, while really a beet, is used as a most satisfactory substitute for spinach. Lucullus is the best variety. From a single early spring planting greens may be cut until hard freezing weather; with protec- tion the plants are hardy except in very severe climates. The midribs of large leaves, stewed, are very delicious. SguasHES. The old reliable Warted Hubbard, Delicious and Heart o’ Gold are three varieties of good table and keep- ing qualities. For the small garden, however, Delicata or Fordhook and Bush Fordhook, which are good for both summer and winter use, are the most desirable. The scalloped and crookneck summer sorts are earlier, but a very few hills, two or three of each, should suffice. Tomatoes. Bonny Best and Chalk’s Early Jewel will be found especially satisfactory for the home garden, as they are not only early and of good quality and color, but bear throughout the season fruits that in everything but size are as good as any of the late sorts. Matchless and Pon- derosa are splendid late sorts; the latter is larger, but is more subject to cracked and deformed fruits. Dwarf Giant and Dwarf Stone may be grown without supports, and bear first- quality fruits. Turnies. The summer sorts go by very quickly and only small plantings should be made until early in July, when the crop for winter may be put in. Early White Milan and Petrowski for early, and Amber Globe and White Egg for late, are good sorts. Both of the former are smooth and mild, and the latter are good keepers. WATERMELONS. Fordhook Early, Halbert Honey and Sweetheart are all early enough to ripen in an ordinary season in the cooler sections. Halbert Honey is the sweetest flavored, and makes a good selection. For earliest results start a few hills in paper pots in a frame, and transplant outside as soon as the weather is warm enough. February: First Week MAKE A PLAN NOW—AND FOLLOW IT THIS SUMMER No single factor in garden management makes for greater saving of time and work than a carefully-thought-out, definite-to-the-foot garden plan. Such a one should be prepared long before outdoor operations begin. Perhaps it will take several hours’ thoughtful and careful work to make it, especially if you have never made one before, but every hour spent now will save several hours in the garden later on. The plan should show your actual garden, drawn to scale, as you mean to make it; it should show just how much space you intend to use for each crop, where you in- tend to sow second crops, and, if you want to do really intensive gardening, where you will grow companion crops. It will help you not only with this year’s gardening but with next year’s as well; without it you will be only guessing at your crop rotations. First get the exact dimensions of the plot or plots of ground that you expect to devote to gardening; then draw an outline to scale. One-eighth of an inch to a foot for a medium-sized garden, or one-quarter of an inch to a foot for a small garden, will be found a convenient scale. When it is possible to choose the garden site a rectangular plot that can be plowed and harrowed the long way and planted the short way will be found best. If the garden is large and square it will generally be a good plan to divide it by a permanent path; rows fifty feet long are ample for the average garden. The aim should always be to keep the rows short enough, in proportion to the size of the garden, so the row will be a planting unit. Always figure your plantings in rows—not in seed quantities, 29 30 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN Next, on another piece of paper, write a list of the various vegetables that you plan to have, and decide how much space to give to each one. In the case of vegetables for succession planting put down the number of rows for each DATA FOR THE GARDEN PLAN: NUMBER OF | DISTANCE BE- | DAYS TO MAKE LAST veer SOWINGS TWEEN ROWS |MATURITY| PLANTING Beans, dwarf.... 2-6 15-24 inches | 45-75 | Early August Beans, pole...... I 3-4 feet 60-100 | Mid-June Beets. eae 2-4 12-15 inches | 60-80 | Late June Brussels sprouts. . I-2 2-3 feet 65-90 | July Cabbares vai .cb22 2-3 2-3 feet 60-90 | July ARTO ES ge rc 2 5-. at 2-3 12-15 inches | 60-90 | Early June Cauliflower...... 2-3 2-3 feet 50-80 | July OSs ee Rae I-2 2-4 feet 125-150 | July Comme ee. bis 2-4 3-4 feet 60-80 | Early July (CREGMPETS..005,4. I 4-6 feet 60-75 | June Eggplants....... I 2 feet 50-75 | June Kohl-rabi....... 2-4 12-18 inches | 60-80 | Late July Teeteuces (3 ).'o vs 2-6 12-18 inches | 40-75 .| Early August TSB Se has a I 12-15 inches | 120-140 | May: Melons i..8 202. <4 I 4-7 feet 90-120 | June OMIOHS bh bid. 353 I 12-15 inches | 120-175 | Early May Parsmipsy: sic 03 - I 15-18 inches | 150-175 | April Peds Audet Ua 2-4 14%4-4 feet 60-80 | Early August Peppers 2! 33'3)9 0). I 2 feet 40-60 | June Potatoes |. 0\'2 3. <:. I-2 2-3 feet 60-100 | Late June adishes . 9 5.'....v. Every 10 days 12inches | 25-5so | Late August Spinaee hu. Oe I-3 12-18 inches | 60-75 | May Swiss chard..... I 15-18 inches | 50-60 | May Squashes....... 1-2 4-8 feet 60-100 | June Tomatoes... .. +. £ 3-4 feet 40-60 | Early July Purmps. yl ica 2-4 12-18 inches | 60-90 | July planting, thus: Bush beans: 6 rows, first planting; + 2, second planting; + 4, third planting = 12 rows. Cabbage: I row, early, + 2 rows, midseason + 4 rows, late for winter = 7 rows. Multiply the number of rows of each thing by the number of feet apart they are to be put, to get the total space to be devoted to each. For instance: Onions: 6 rows, 1 foot apart = 6 feet. Beans: 12 rows, 18 inches apart = 18 feet. Tomatoes: 2 rows, 3% feet apart = 7 feet. The correct number of feet apart at which the various things are usually planted may be found in the accompanying table. FEBRUARY: FIRST WEEK 31 Fit the Crops to the Garden Your list of vegetables and spaces should now be sep- arated into two parts—one of original crops, the other of those things that may be planted where something else has been grown before. Find the total space required for your first planting, and if this exceeds the size of your plot cut CABBAGE Early GauyLiFLOWER CABBAGE’ CAULIFLOWER BEETS (F) LETTUCE. (P) RADISH LETTUCE BEETS CARROTS KOHLRABI TURNIP TURNIP SPINNACH ONION SETS PARSNIP SALSIFY CELERY LETTUCE CARROTS BEETS CAULIFLOWER ® Tobe followed by % CABBAGE LEEK BRUSSELS SPROUTS t Dwarf PEAS aS TURNIPS LETTUCE Farly CORN Tal) PEAS Zo be followed &y ' Swiss CHARD Eerly POTATOES -$ > July" CORN in furrow down the items. If you find you cannot spare nine feet for your first planting of beans without sacrificing something that you would rather have, put in fewer rows. So far the process has been merely mechanical, but next comes the test of your skill as a gardener. Your problem is to fit your crops into your garden, observing as far as possi- 32 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN ble the following rules: First, to keep together in one place all the long-season crops, and together in another place the quick-growing crops that can be followed by others. Sec- ond, to keep together crops that are similar in cultural requirements, such as carrots, beets and turnips, or toma- DWARF BEANS 2 Rows CELERY »v <8 XS) LIMA BEANS < PEAS = —~~ DWARF PEAS WAT MELON 4 HILLS — CUCUMBERS _GHILLS _ ER BEFORE CUCUMBER & MELONS oT to. oC 6G &® © @ © 16 PLANTS PEPPERS (10) EGG PLANT (10) oe eC GUC E CAH AHHAAHKHHOHOA DWARF PEAS SUMMER SQUASH © HILLS WINTER ia & iP eh Co 6 ) BEFORE PLANTING SQUASH toes and pole beans. Third, to keep together crops that will mature at the same time. Fourth, to keep crops from occu- pying the same ground that crops of the same family or of similar habits of growth occupied the previous year. In small gardens, where there are only a few rows of each thing, this is not so important. Fifth, to give the various vegeta- bles favorable conditions as far as is possible. If the soil at FEBRUARY: FIRST WEEK 33 one end of the garden is rather light put the beans there; if the soil at the other end is lower and heavier put the celery there. If part of the garden is to be newly broken use that for corn or potatoes, and keep such things as onions and carrots, which require a particularly fine seed bed, on the old ground. When your plan of first plantings is completed, take the late and succession crops and arrange them in the same way. Careful attention must be paid to the time when the first crops will be removed. The usual time required for crops to mature is shown in the accompanying table. There is, of course, considerable difference in the lengths of time taken by early and by late varieties of the same vegetable, and in addition weather and other growing conditions have some influence. An extremely dry season may make it impossible for you to follow your planting plan exactly, as first crops will be late in maturing and second crops will be late in starting. Incidentally this is one of the things that makes an irrigation system of supreme advantage. With it there are no long-delayed crops, poor in both quantity and quality when they finally get rain enough to mature. Having gone so far as to map out your work in the garden it will be interesting to see how accurately you can follow the plan and how nearly you can make your actual garden come up to the ideal one you have put down on paper. You will have to get all the plantings made at the proper time. So you should make a check list showing the kinds and the amounts of the various things to be planted and the dates on which they should be put in. Another thing you might put down on your check list is the treatment of the various insect pests and diseases that are likely to attack your crops. Keep a Garden Diary In making out your garden plan this year you will prob- ably find yourself handicapped by the lack of accurate knowledge about your plantings of last year—how much of 34 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN each thing you used, the dates of the last frost in the spring and the first killing frost in autumn, when the various insect pests appeared, when you made your last sowing for winter vegetables, how long after planting it took the different varieties of vegetables to mature, and a score of other things, all of which you have had to guess at with no degree of cer- tainty. Provide now against next spring. Get a cheap | - APRIL 5 i Temperature 42, en till Golden Clasla, ! Th i: Mee =) samaplants) / yoo Bonny |: _ &f Lomatoee. Say : 5h —belance in on bie E Hlauted | Sipe deln bows Keep a record of your garden work for next year’s reference. diary and leave it in the pocket of your work clothes or hang it up in the tool shed. In it jot down from time to time the things you particularly want to keep track of. Unless you had forethought enough to do it last fail, you must now provide yourself with a supply of soil in which to start your seedlings of vegetables and flowers. For the seed boxes the soil should be very light and porous, but not very rich. On the other hand, soil for transplanting should have FEBRUARY: FIRST WEEK 35 good body and should be made rich enough to enable the seedlings to make rapid and unchecked growth. Soils that are naturally in just the right con- dition for either purpose can seldom be found. But in most localities one ‘ may readily procure materials to make the right mixtures. The first of these is fairly rich garden soil— preferably a sandy loam that has been well enriched for several years but is free from weed seeds. You may have to take a pick and break up a few good-sized pieces of frozen soil, which will thaw out in a box. Also get a supply of old and thor- oughly rotted manure. If your hot- bed still contains the remains of last year’s heating material, that will be just the thing. The third thing you want is humus, in the form of chip dirt or decayed sawdust or leaf mold. These materials should be allowed to thaw and dry out. They will then be available for immediate use when seed-starting time arrives. an 15° EARLY CABBAGE SUMMER CABBAGE ; PARSNIPS 2 SALSIFY