Instructions in gardening for ladies

by Mrs. Loudon

Sorrel is generally propagated by offsets in spring or autumn; or, if by seed, it is sown in March. It is, however, seldom grown in English gardens.

The Onion tribe.—Very few onions, except for salads, are generally grown in small gardens. Where they are grown the soil should be a rich loam, well manured with very rotten dung; and though the beds need not be dug more than a spade deep, the soil to that depth should be well pulverized. The seed is sown broad-cast in March, on beds about four feet wide, and after it is raked in, the surface of the bed is rolled or beaten flat with the spade. In about three weeks the beds should be hoed, and thinned, as the young onions will be then ready for salads; and the beds should be again hoed and thinned out, from time to time, as the onions may be wanted. When the onions are from three to six inches apart, they are generally left to swell for the main crop, and they will be ready to draw in August or September. Many persons, about a month or six weeks before the onions are ready to take up, bend the stalks down flat on the bed, to throw all the strength of the plant into the bulb, and to prevent its thickening at the neck. Onions for pickling are generally sown in April; and onions for salads may be sown at intervals all the year. When onions are wanted of a very large size, they are sown in drills, and regularly earthed up; and the Portugal onions are generally transplanted. In Portugal it is said that the alleys between the beds are filled with manure, which is kept constantly watered, and the water directed over the beds. Onions of enormous size have been grown in England by raising them on a slight hotbed in November or December, and transplanting them in April or May. When they are transplanted it is into very rich soil, three-fourths of which is rotten manure, and only the fibrous roots are buried in the soil, the bulb being left above ground. The plants are placed from nine inches to a foot apart every way, and regularly watered. Onions thus grown are not only of enormous size, but of very delicate flavour. Neither the native country of the common onion, nor the date of its introduction into England, is known.

Leeks may be treated like onions, and may be grown to an enormous size by transplanting into a hole about twice their own diameter, at the bottom of which their fibrous roots are spread out and covered with soil, while the bulb is left untouched by the soil, standing in a kind of hollow cup. The plant is then well supplied with water, and will soon swell to fill the cavity. The leek is a native of Switzerland, and it was introduced before the time of Elizabeth.

The Chive is a perennial plant, a native of Britain, and it is propagated by dividing the roots in spring or autumn.

Garlic is propagated by dividing the bulb into what are called cloves, and planting them in February or March. They are generally planted in drills, and earthed up as they begin to grow. When the leaves turn yellow, which they will do about August, the bulbs should be taken up, and what may not be wanted for use, should be reserved for planting the following spring. Garlic is a native of the south of Europe, and was introduced before the time of Henry VIII. The shallot is a native of Palestine, and it has been in cultivation in British gardens at least as long as the garlic. It is very difficult to grow, as it is apt to be attacked by a kind of maggot; but it has been found to succeed planted in cup-shaped hollows like the leek.

All the onion tribe require a light, rich, well-drained soil; and they always succeed best where there is a gravelly subsoil.

Salad plants.—These are very numerous, and include lettuces, endive, small salads, celery, &c. It is somewhat remarkable that nearly all these were known to our ancestors, and were in common use at British tables dressed much as we dress them now, while the potatoe was yet unknown, or only eaten as a sweetmeat stewed with sack and sugar.

The lettuce is said to have been introduced in 1562, but from what country is unknown. There are numerous varieties, but they may be all referred to two kinds; the cabbage lettuces which grow flat and spreading, and the cos lettuces which grow compact and upright. Lettuces are generally sown broad-cast, like turnips or spinach, on beds of rich mellow soil, at any season from January to October; and the cabbage kinds require no after care, but weeding and thinning out. The cos lettuces are, however, generally blanched by bending down the tips of the leaves over the heart, and tying them together with bast mat. Lettuces are also sown by the French to cut for salads when quite young, as we grow mustard and cress.

Endive is a native of China and Japan, introduced before 1548. It is generally sown in large gardens at three seasons, viz., April, June, and August; but in small gardens one sowing is generally thought sufficient, and that is made in May. The seeds are sown very thinly in beds of rich mellow earth; and when they are from four to six inches high, they are transplanted into beds of rich light earth, where they are planted in drills about a foot apart in the line; and as they grow, are occasionally earthed up. When the plants are about three parts grown, the outer leaves are tied over the hearts to blanch them, with strands of bast mat, or osier twigs; a dry day being chosen for the operation. Only a few plants should be tied up at a time; and they should be seldom allowed to stand more than a fortnight or three weeks after the operation; as, if they remain longer, particularly if the weather be wet, they begin to rot. In wet or cold seasons endive is best blanched by turning a sea-kale pot over each root, instead of tying down the outer leaves. There are two distinct kinds: the broad leaved or Batavia endive, and the curled leaved, which is the most common, and to which the French give the name of chicorée.

The true Chiccory or Succory is sometimes called wild endive; but the French name for it is barbe de capucin. It is common in calcareous and sandy soils in different parts of England, where it is conspicuous from its bright blue flowers. Its culture is the same as that of endive; but it may also be treated as a winter salad, by being taken up in October or November, and stacked in cellars in alternate layers of sand, so that the crowns of the plants may just appear along the ridge. Here, if the frost be excluded, the roots will soon send out a profusion of tender succulent leaves; which, if kept from the light, will also be quite blanched.