The Little Gardeners’ Calendar
In Mid-Winter or January, plan out your garden, drawing a map and filling in space.
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A little later, in February, get the hotbed ready, and spray roses with Bordeaux Arsenate of Lead, remembering it is a violent poison. Use one tablespoon to a quart of water. This will help prevent mildews and fungi.
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In March, or even in February, study seed catalogue and order seeds.
Plant some seeds in the hotbed.
Prepare some of the out-door seed beds by spading and manuring.
In April, transplant hardier plants to cold frame, or open ground.
Spray everything again.
If weather is warm enough, sow seeds out of doors.
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In May, sow seeds of some annuals and vegetables out-of-doors.
Look out for weeds: kill them while young.
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In June, plant seeds and seedlings in open ground.
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In July, plant late seeds; carrots, turnips, etc.
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In August, start perennials for next year. Weed!
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In September, order bulbs needed.
Move flowering plants which are not in right place.
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In October, save seeds of annual flowers, labeling each envelope carefully.
Set out bulbs, unless you live below or near the Mason and Dixon line; November is a better time in that case.
In November, rake up leaves and make into compost heap. Throw a little lime among them. Never burn them. They make humus.
Take up summer bulbs and store them carefully.
Spread manure over the ground to be spaded in the Spring.
Hill earth about six inches high over rose bush roots.
Spread litter and leaves over bulbs and perennials to protect them during winter.
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In December, trim dead wood from rose bushes.
Destroy nests of cocoons, burning them, and read the Mary Frances Garden Book.
[CHAPTER LXIV]
Budding and Grafting
TO most boys and girls, the marvelous method of getting new varieties of fruit is a matter of great interest.
Grafting
In budding, as you know, a bud is set under the bark of a growing plant.
In grafting, the top of the plant is cut off and a branch of another plant is inserted. These branches are usually cut in the Autumn and kept in sand all winter.
In the Spring, the tree to be grafted is cut and the branch (or, scion) is inserted, as shown in the accompanying drawing, and held in place by raffia and grafting wax.
It was not until the boys’ second winter at the garden school that they experimented with grafting peach trees and budding rose bushes, and it was a year later before they knew the result of their work.
If you are particularly interested in the subject, send to the United States Department of Agriculture for Bulletin No. 157, on “The Propagation of Plants.”
[CHAPTER LXV]
Prizes at the County Fair
“REMEMBER in all gardening, that experience is your best teacher. Do not become discouraged if you fail. Do not undertake too much. Remember that most people fail to get good plants because they do not prepare deep good beds, and do not ‘cultivate,’ or stir the ground. Watering is nothing like so necessary.”
This is what Mary Frances was telling a number of children in the garden one day as Billy came upon her unawares.
“You couldn’t have better advice, children,” he said.
“Than Billy gave me,” Mary Frances added. “He taught two friends and me so well, that next year we are each to have our own garden plot, and ‘race’ with Billy to see who can raise the finest vegetables.”
“Some of the very finest are to be sent to the County Fair,” stated Billy.
“And they’ll be ‘winners,’ you may be sure,” Bob prophesied as he and Eleanor joined the group.
“So will some of our flowers, won’t they, Nell?”
Before Eleanor could answer Mary Frances, there sounded the joyous shrill crow of Feather Flop.
“I’m sure they will!” it meant to the little girl, but none of the others seemed to hear the rooster.
Perhaps he did know—for one year from that day, each of the children received some premiums at the County Fair; but, to Mary Frances’ surprise, she had three more than Eleanor; two more than Bob, and one more than Billy!
“I wonder why your garden did better than all the rest,” said Bob. “You didn’t seem to work any harder than we did.”
“Oh, it was just a ‘happen so,’” answered Mary Frances, but she remembered that many a morning she had seen prints of the claws of Feather Flop in her garden, and a little pile of weeds at
THE END