dryness to which light soils are subject. This fact accounts for many
failures of the crop in a hot dry season, for sunshine suits the
Turnip, but it must have moisture or suffer deterioration in some way.
If, therefore, the soil becomes dry, and there is no prospect of rain,
the Turnips should have water, not simply to moisten the surface, but
to go to the roots, for frequent watering is not good for the crop, as
it tends to spoil the beauty of the bulbs, and promotes a rank
leaf-growth which is not wanted. An occasional heavy watering in dry
weather will also do much towards the repression of the many enemies
that beset this useful root—the jumpers, the grubs, the weevils, and
the rest of the vermin will be routed out of their snug hiding-places
in the dusty soil when the watering takes place, and the death of many
will follow. But so long as the soil is fairly moist at the depth the
roots are ranging, there is no need for watering, and the time it would
consume may be utilised for other work.
Lifting and Storing.—On the approach of winter a certain portion of the
Turnip crop should be lifted and stored. In doing this the tops must be
cut off, not too close, but just leaving a slight green neck, and the
roots should be rather shortened than removed; at all events, to cut
the roots off close is bad practice: when so treated the bulbs do not
keep well. Any rough storage answers for Turnips, the object being to
keep them plump by excluding the atmosphere, and at the same time
render them safe against frost. The portion of the crop left in the
ground may be lifted as wanted in the same way as Parsnips, but this
should be done systematically, so that the ground which is cleared may
be dug over and ridged up before winter. Those that remain will be in a
piece, and will give a good crop of spring greens, after which they may
be made use of as manure by putting them at the bottom of a trench.
Some of the foes that war against the Turnip crop are alluded to at
greater length later on. Happily, the gardener has many friends that
are insufficiently known to the farmer, not the least important being
the starlings, song birds, and occasionally (but not often) the
sparrows. Where the cultivation is good and small birds abound, the
Turnip crop is pretty safe, and the general routine of culture sketched
above will certainly promote, if it does not absolutely secure, its
safety. The worst foes of the Turnip in the field are the fly and the
caterpillar; but in the garden, and more especially the old garden,
anbury is the most to be feared. When this happens the cultivator may
rest satisfied that the soil is in fault, and this may be owing to a
bad routine of cropping. Wherever anbury appears, whether on Cabbages
or Turnips or any other cruciferous plant, there should be worked out a
complete change in the order of cropping, taking care not to put any
brassicaceous plants on the plots where the disease has occurred for
two or three seasons, and allowing at least one whole year to pass
without growing any of the cruciferous order upon them. In the
meantime, for other crops the land should be well trenched and limed,
and generously tilled. The result will be profitable crops of other
kinds of vegetables and a refreshing of the soil that will enable it to
carry brassicaceous plants again, with but little risk of the
recurrence of anbury. Good cultivation is the only panacea known
against the plagues that assail our crops. This does not surely secure
them, for the elements are capricious and beyond our control; but where
good cultivation prevails the failures are few, and even unfavourable
seasons do not utterly obliterate the benefits of past labour.
Swede.—There are several advantages in growing Swedes as one of the
garden crops. They are hardy in constitution and prolong the supply of
a wholesome vegetable. In districts where Turnips are unsatisfactory,
Swedes prove successful, and are appreciated for their delicacy of
flavour when grown from stocks which have been carefully selected for
the purpose. The culture is in all respects the same as for Turnip. The
date of sowing depends on the district. In the north it is safe to sow
at the beginning of May, but in the midlands and southern counties of
England the end of May or beginning of June is early enough.
VEGETABLE MARROW
Cucurbita Pepo ovifera
The Vegetable Marrow does not, in a general way, obtain the right kind
of attention in gardens. It is very generally grown and is much valued
as a summer vegetable. But too often the aim of the cultivator is to
obtain large Marrows, that at the very best are coarse and troublesome
to the cook and are always wanting in substance and flavour, instead of
smallish Marrows, which are easily dressed, elegant on the table, and
combine with a substantial and somewhat glutinous pulp a most delicious
flavour. Two fears beset the average gardener: he is afraid to grow
small sorts, and he is afraid to cut them when quite young. When he can
overcome these fears he will appreciate the smaller Marrows that have
of late years been secured by patient labour in cross-breeding, for
while they are of the highest quality, they are also early and
productive, far surpassing all the larger Marrows in quickness and
usefulness. The market grower we do not pretend to advise, for he must
grow what he can sell; and if the smaller Marrows are insufficiently
appreciated in gardens, we cannot hope to see them on sale in shops.
The Vegetable Marrow will grow in any good soil, and although a tender
plant, it is so accommodating that if the seed is sown on a piece of
newly dug clay land in the latter part of May, or early in June, the
plants will thrive and produce a heavy crop the same season. We put
this as an extreme case, but we do not recommend such a careless mode
of growing this valuable vegetable. The fact is, it pays better to grow
it well than to grow it ill; and in a country where land and labour are
costly, and the summer very uncertain, it is best to take such a thing
in hand scientifically, and provide for it as many favourable
conditions as possible. Three conditions are imperative: a moderate
bottom heat from fermenting material; a kindly, loamy soil, quite
mellow, in which the roots can run freely; and a sufficiency of water,
for this is a thirsty plant. But the excessive use of manure is
undesirable, as this only forces a rank growth of foliage at the
expense of the fruit.
Frame culture is of some importance, because early Marrows are highly
valued at good tables. For this business the neat-growing,
small-fruited kinds should be chosen, as they yield a great crop in a
small compass. The best place for an early crop of Marrows is a brick
pit, with hot-water pipes for top heat, and a bed of fermenting
materials for bottom heat. It is no difficult matter to obtain a supply
in a house with Cucumbers, but it is better to grow the Marrows apart,
as they require less heat and less moisture than Cucumbers. In making
up the bed, it is well to employ leaves largely, say to the extent of
one-half, the remainder being stable manure that has been twice turned.
Such a bed will give a mild heat for a great length of time, and the
plants can be put out upon it within three days of its being made up.
When grown in a common frame, the arrangements are much the same as
advised for the frame cultivation of the Cucumber, the chief points of
difference being that Marrows should have less heat and more air. The
temperature for Marrows under cover may range from 55° the minimum, to
80° the maximum; the safe medium being about 65° when the weather is
cold and dull; running to 80° when strong sunshine prevails, and the
plants are growing freely with plenty of air. As for the general
management, a bed nine inches deep of good fibrous loam is required,
with regular supplies of water of the same temperature as the pits, so
that the bed is always reasonably moist, and every evening a slight
syringing over the leaves and the walls before shutting up. The
training out is a very simple matter. Let the vines run in their own
way until they have made shoots eighteen inches long, then nip out the
points. After this there must be no more stopping, but occasionally the
laterals must be suppressed to prevent crowding. Give air freely at
every opportunity, and be careful not to administer too much water, or
the blunder will result in a deficiency of fruit.
To grow Marrows in the open air, the best course of procedure is to
remove a portion of the top soil, to form a shallow trench four feet
wide. Into this carry one foot to eighteen inches depth of half-rotten
manure, or a mixture of equal parts of manure and leaves, and cover
with the soil that was taken out. This will produce a very gentle
hot-bed that will last until the natural ground heat is sufficient to
keep the plants in vigorous health. The middle of May is quite early
enough to make up the bed, and in the course of two or three days the
plants may be put out. Cover with hand-lights or small frames, which on
the following day should be tilted at bottom to admit a little air, and
if strong sunshine occurs, a Rhubarb leaf may be laid over to subdue
the glare upon the young plants. We will suppose these plants to have
been raised in a Cucumber frame from seeds sown in April. If plants are
not available, sow seeds in patches of two or three on the bed, and
cover with inverted large flower-pots, and with a piece of tile to stop
the hole. This plan hastens germination. Pots may also be used as
protectors if glass frames are not at command, being taken off during
the day and put on at night, the hole being left open to give a little
air. During bad weather the pots should remain all day over the plants,
but as soon as possible must be again taken off to keep the growth
short, green, and vigorous. The plants should be put singly down the
centre of the bed, three feet apart, and as a matter of course the
seeds should be sown at the same distance, and each clump of two or
three should be reduced to one when the plants are somewhat forward. It
is advisable not to be in a hurry in thinning the plants, for the slugs
will probably compel some modification of arrangements, so that
sometimes it will be necessary to lift a clump, and divide the plants,
to fill up gaps where the slugs have made a clearance. An occasional
inspection in the after part of the day, and again in the early
morning, will be the best course to keep down the slugs, as they may
then be caught and disposed of; but a dusting of soot around each clump
will do much to protect the plants against silent marauders. As for
after-management, there is no occasion whatever for any stopping or
training, but now and then a stout peg may be placed to keep some
strong vine in order. The necessity for moisture must not be
overlooked. If the ground becomes dry the plants will suffer, but with
sufficient moisture they will continue growing and bearing until the
frost destroys them. Cut the Marrows when quite young, for not only are
they more useful on the table when small and tender, but the plants
will bear five times as many as when a few are permitted to attain
their full size. The explanation of the case is very simple. The
production of the young fruits does not in any appreciable degree
exhaust the plants; but when the fruits are allowed to develop, the
plant is too severely taxed, and a succession is pretty well brought to
a stop. The most delicately flavoured Marrows, as a rule, are the
smallest; these when cooked should be served whole, or at most only cut
into halves, and of course there is no occasion to remove the seeds.
A YEAR’S WORK IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
The following monthly notes are not intended to supersede the detailed
instructions on the several kinds of Vegetables which appear in the
preceding pages. The present object is to call attention to the work
that must be done, and the work that must be prepared for, as the
changes of the seasons require and the state of the weather may permit;
yet some amount of detail is included. Merely to offer reminders would
be to exclude the great mass of amateurs, and the less experienced of
practical gardeners, from participation in the advantages of these
monthly notes, and to restrict their use to a few practical men who are
masters of every detail of the business of gardening. The routine under
each month is generally in harmony-with that already recommended, but
certain variations of practice are suggested which may prove of service
in some districts and under particular circumstances.
A work on gardening demands of the reader the exercise of judgment. If
blindly followed, it may prove as often wrong as right; for it is not
in the power of the authors to influence the weather in favour of their
directions, or to insure to those who may follow their guidance a
single one amongst the many conditions requisite to success. Although
the times named for certain operations are the best as an average,
peculiarities of climate and of season will require some modifications,
which each one must discover for himself; and after the seed of any
vegetable has been sown it is not always needful to give subsequent
reminders of successional sowings. These naturally follow in accordance
with the requirements of each particular garden. With such allowances
duly made, these notes will, it is hoped, prove thoroughly practical,
and tend materially to aid the cultivator in obtaining from the
vegetable garden an abundance of everything in its season, and of a
quality of which he need not be ashamed.
JANUARY
Work in the garden during the opening month of the year is entirely
dependent on the weather, and it is futile to enter on a vain conflict
with Nature. When heavy rains prevail keep off the ground, but
immediately it will bear traffic without poaching be prepared to take
advantage of every favourable hour. Much may be done in January to make
ready for the busy spring, and every moment usefully employed will
relieve the pressure later on. Survey the stock of pea-sticks, haul out
all the rubbish from the yard, and make a ‘smother’ of waste prunings
and heaps of twitch and other stuff for which there is no decided use.
If properly done, the result will be a black ash of the most
fertilising nature, such as a mere fire will not produce. Should the
soil be frost-bound wheel out manure and lay it in heaps ready to be
spread and dug in where seed-beds are to be made. If the weather is
open and dry, trench spare plots and make ready well-manured plots for
sowing Peas and Beans. So far as may be convenient, all preparatory
work should be pushed on with vigour, and every effort must be made to
lay up as much land in the rough as possible; for the more it is frozen
through the greater will be its fertility, and the more beautiful, as
well as more abundant, the crops.
It is a matter of the most ordinary prudence to be prepared to resist
the shock of a severe frost. When this event occurs, many suffer loss
because they are not prepared for it. Good brick walls and substantial
roofs are needed for the safe keeping of fruits and the more valuable
kinds of roots; but when rough methods are resorted to, such as
clamping and pitting, there should be a large body of stuff employed,
for a prolonged frost will find its way through any thin covering, no
matter what the material may be. As there is not much to do now out of
doors, it is a good time to look over the notes which were made
concerning various crops in the past season, and to attend to the seed
list.
Seed sowing should be practised with exceeding caution; but great
things may be done where there are warm, sheltered, dry borders, and
suitable appliances for screening and forwarding early crops. Under
these favourable conditions, we advise the sowing of small breadths of
a few choice subjects towards the end of the month; and, this being
done, every care should be taken to nurse the seedlings through the
trying times that are before them. Such things as tender young
Radishes, Onions, small Salads, Spinach, Cabbage, and Carrots never
come in too early; the trouble often is that they are seen in the
market while as yet they are invisible in the garden. Hedges of
Hornbeam, Laurel, or Holly, to break the force of the wind, are
valuable for sheltering early borders, and walls are great aids to
earliness by the warmth they reflect and the dryness they promote.
The soil for these early crops should be light and rich, and the
position extra well drained, to prevent the slightest accumulation of
water during heavy rains. Supposing you have such a border, sow upon
it, as early as weather will permit, any of the smaller sorts of
Cabbage Lettuce, Onion, Long Scarlet Radish, Round Spinach, Cabbage,
and Carrot. All these crops may be grown in frames with greater safety,
and in many exposed places the warm border is almost an impossibility.
Reed hurdles and loose dry litter should be always ready when early
cropping is in hand; and old lights, and even old doors, and any and
every kind of screen may be made use of at times to protect the early
seed-beds from snow, severe frost, and the dry blast of an east wind.
Forcing is one of the fine arts in the English garden. It is an art
easily acquired up to a certain point, but beyond that point full of
difficulty. Every step in this business is a conflict with Nature, and
in such a conflict the devices of man must occasionally fail. A golden
rule is to be found in the proverb ‘The more haste the less speed.’
Whatever the source of heat, it should be moderate at first, and should
be augmented slowly. The earlier the forced articles are required the
more careful should be the preparation for them, and the more moderate
the temperature in the first instance. There must be at command a
constant as well as sufficient temperature: when a forced crop has made
some progress a check will be fatal to success. The beginner should
acquire experience with Rhubarb and Sea Kale, then with Asparagus and
Mushrooms and Dwarf French Beans, and so on to ‘higher heights’ of this
branch of practical gardening.
Artichokes, Globe, are not quite hardy, and must be protected with
litter.
Asparagus beds to be heavily manured, if not already done, but the beds
need not be dug. Be content to lay the manure on, and the rains will
wash the stimulant down to the roots in due time. In gardens near the
coast seaweed is the best of manure for Asparagus, and the use of salt
can then be dispensed with.
Beans, Broad, may be sown in frames, and towards the end of the month
in open quarters. For early crops select the Longpod varieties. Sow on
ground deeply dug and well manured.
Cabbage may be planted out at any time when weather permits, provided
you possess, or can obtain, the plants; and it is of the utmost
importance to secure them from a reliable source, or varieties may be
planted which will in a few weeks send up flower-stems instead of
forming tender hearts. At every season of the year vacant plots should
be kept going with a few breadths of Cabbage. With our variable climate
they may be acceptable, even in the height of summer, if there has been
a hard run upon other vegetables, or some important crop has failed
outright.
Cauliflower may be sown on a gentle hot-bed, or in a pan in the
greenhouse, or even in a frame, to make a start for planting out in
March or April.
Cress, to be enjoyed, must be produced from a constant succession of
small but frequent sowings. All the sorts are good, but different in
flavour, and they should be used only while young and tender. Sow at
intervals of a few days in pans, as in the case of Mustard, until it is
possible to cultivate in the open air, and then give a shady position
during summer on a mellow and rather moist soil.