Observations in Gardening for the Month of February.
This is a month of great work for the gardener.
In the kitchen-garden renew the heat of your hot-beds with fresh dung, and continue to sow cucumbers and melons as in the former month.
Make a large hot-bed for forward rhadishes and spring carrots; they may be sown together, because the rhadishes be drawn in March, whereby they will make room for the carrots. The bed must be cover’d with earth 7 or 8 inches thick, and defended with mats, supported with hoops.
Make a hot-bed for Battersey kidney-beans, and all sorts of annuals, except African and French marigold, which may be deferr’d 10 or 20 days. About the middle of the month, upon a declining hot-bed sow colly-flower seeds; also in the natural ground pease, beans, parsley, spinach, carrots, parsnips, turnips, onions, leeks, Dutch brown lettuce, and asparagus-seeds.
Sow skerrits in light rich ground, where they may have moisture.
Plant garlick, shalots, and rockambole, for increase, in light ground.
Transplant young cabbage-plants for a crop.
Make plantations of straw-berries, rasberries, goose-berries, currants, and roses.