_Containing useful Information for every Month in the Year._
_January._ If the weather be open and dry, sow, upon warm
compartments, small portions of peas, beans, cabbage, spinage,
carrots, parsley, radish, lettuce, and onions, and preserve them
from the cold by mats. Also, in hot-beds, cucumbers, melons, small
salading, best early and red cabbage, kidney beans, and cauliflowers.
Plant cabbages, horse-radish, beans, and mint roots. The cucumbers
and melons this month require particular attention. They ought to
receive air by small degrees, as often as possible.
_February._ Sow small salading, radishes, onions, parsley, spinage,
lettuce, peas, beans, cabbage, cauliflowers, carrots, parsnips,
fennel, &c. Plant cabbages, &c. as last month. The cucumber and melon
plants raised last month, should be transplanted about the middle of
this into new hot-beds. The ground should be prepared for planting
asparagus next month.
_March._ Sow, in this month, principal crops of carrots, early
turnips, radishes, onions, cabbage, celery, cauliflowers, spinage,
lettuce, asparagus, peas, and beans. Sow asparagus for the new
plantations of the next year. Make new asparagus beds, and fork the
old ones.
_April._ Sow and plant, as in the former month, for a later crop.
Towards the middle of the month dung should be prepared for ridges of
melons and cucumbers. Snails and slugs ought to be killed, and weeds
kept down; otherwise they will increase so fast as to render their
destruction difficult.
_May._ The principal crops sowed and planted in the spring will now
require weeding, hoeing, and thinning, and some transplanting. The
melon beds require an equal degree of heat; and the glasses must be
covered every night through the month with mats; but in the middle of
the day they must be raised to the breadth of two or three fingers.
Cucumbers in frames must receive a moderate supply of water, and be
planted out under hand-glasses.
_June._ Particular attention is now required in weeding, hoeing,
thinning, and watering the principal crops, and pricking out and
transplanting for autumn and winter. Sow savoys, brocoli, borecole,
cabbages, turnips, carrots, spinage, coleworts, kidney beans,
lettuce, endive, celery, cucumbers, radishes, peas, beans, and small
salading. Plant cabbages, colewort, savoys, brocoli, borecole, leeks,
beans, lettuce, endive, celery, cucumbers, radishes, peas, and beans.
Melon plants must be shaded in the heat of the day, and receive a
large portion of fresh air. Transplant endive for blanching, and
prick out young brocoli plants, which were sown in April or May.
_July._ Prepare ground for the reception of succession crops, and
some main crops for autumn and winter, and sow turnips, &c. as at
the beginning of the year. The common radishes sown now will be fit
to draw the beginning of September; and the cauliflowers sown in
May must be planted out in spots where they are to remain. The beds
of carrots sown now will be fit to draw early in April. Spinage for
winter may now be sown, and onions taken up if the leaves wither.
_August._ Asparagus beds planted in March must now be cleared; celery
transplanted and earthed, and the heads or suckers taken from the
March artichokes. The early cabbage seed must not be sown later than
the 12th of this month; but lettuce seed may be put in as late as
the 24th. The cauliflower seed will not do without covering, and the
spinage sown last month will require hoeing.
_September._ Sow spinage, lettuce, onions, radishes, cabbages,
colewort, chervil, corn-salad, borage, coriander, turnips, and
successions of small salading. Plant savoys, cabbages, coleworts,
brocoli, borecole, lettuces, leeks, celery, endive, and perennial,
aromatic, and pot-herbs. Make mushroom beds, and cut down the haulm
of asparagus, clean the beds and dung them if necessary. Hoe your
turnips, and weed onions. The cauliflowers of last month must be
weeded out, and cabbage-plants pricked. Of the lettuces sown last
month some may be put into warm borders for spring use, and others
planted under frames for pulling in December and January. The
different seeds must be gathered as they ripen.
_October._ Sow a small crop of radishes and lettuces, successions of
small salading, and a few early peas to come in next summer. Plant
crops of cabbage, cauliflowers, late brocoli, celery, lettuce, early
beans. Keep uncovered night and day, for the greater part of this
month, such cauliflowers as are planted in frames. All spare ground
should be dunged and trenched.
_November._ Most of the processes used last month will also be
appropriate for this. Such as giving air to lettuce and cauliflower
plants that are under frames. Cut down the leaves of artichokes and
earth up the plants.
_December._ Forward the digging, manuring, or trenching vacant
ground, preparing hot dung, making hot-beds, and earthing and tying
up plants. Sow a few early peas and radishes on warm borders, and
small salading and cucumbers in hot-beds. Plant early beans, strong
cabbage-plants, and coleworts; and plant in hot-beds, cucumbers,
mint, tarragon, and asparagus. The small salads may be sown every
ten days, under frames; and such radish seed as may be put into the
ground this month, should be covered on cold nights with fern, or
long litter.
Salary from 50l. to 100l. a year,—a cottage, generally, and vegetables
and fuel allowed.