The Book of Sports: / Containing Out-door Sports, Amusements and Recreations, Including Gymnastics, Gardening & Carpentering

by William Martin

Now may be sown the tenderest of the annuals in the hot-beds, as cock's-combs, tricolors, balsams, egg-plants, ice-plants, and others of that kind. Dahlias may also be placed in the bed in this or the former month, and suffered to sprout, previous to planting in the open ground. Bulbous roots of every flower now out of bloom, and the leaves decayed, may be taken up and the off-sets separated dry, and housed for future planting.

Now is the time to plant melons, gourds, and pumpkins. The seeds of these should be sown in April in the hot-bed, and the plants should be transplanted into good ground in a warm spot, about the latter end of the month. They will grow freely and produce ripe fruit in August. Common pumpkins may be sown on one of the dunghills. The gourds, such as the orange-gourd, may be planted near an arbour, and be trained up the principal parts. French-beans and scarlet-runners may also be planted, if not done before; and should the young gardener have raised any tomatoes or capsicums in his hot-bed, now is the time to plant them out, as well as the slips of geraniums and tobacco-plants.

The young gardener will now find employment in sticking peas and beans, weeding and transplanting. And such broad-beans as are now in blossom, should have their tops nipped off, to promote the setting of the pods. But let him be very careful to look after the weeds, which now grow in great abundance; and let him rake nicely all his borders and keep everything clean and neat, as this is the most brilliant time of a garden's beauty.

June.

Look well to the strawberries, and see that they are well watered, which operation should be performed in dry weather every other day. These plants will by this time have made their runners, and these should be cleared away, except those that may be required for making fresh beds, which may now be planted. Trim the roots a little, and cut off the strays or runners from each plant.

Look well at this period, morning and evening, for snails and other insects, and after showers of rain in particular. If there should be any small cherry trees or other fruit trees, they ought be netted or well watched, or the birds will eat them.

All sorts of flowers may now be planted out into the borders. Some may also be put in pots, such as balsams. Take care, however, that they are removed in damp or showery weather. In dry weather, take up tulips, crown-imperials, and jonquils, such as are past flowering, and pluck away the off-sets: let them be well cleaned and dried in the shade from the mid-day sun; then put each sort into separate bags or boxes, and keep them in some dry apartment till September, October or November, at which time they will have to be planted again. Most other bulbs may also be now taken up and put away for future planting. June is also the proper time to propagate pinks and carnations by pipings.

July.

This is the time to plant out savoys and cabbages for winter use. Brocoli may also be planted, and some seed sown for a late spring crop. The plants raised from this seed will be ready to put out, finally, in the middle and towards the latter end of August and the beginning of September, and will produce small heads in April and in the beginning of May. Lettuces may be now planted out, and other seed sown for future use. Spinach for winter may also be now sown; for this, that part of the garden should be chosen that has the most of the winter's sun upon it. Now is the very best time in the whole year to sow the large black turnip-rooted radish for autumn and winter. The young gardener must at this period be on the watch for such seeds, both of flowers and garden vegetables, as are ripe. This should always be done in dry weather,—cutting or pulling up the stems with the seeds in. They should then be spread in an airy place where the sun and wind will dry them thoroughly.

The various herbs, such as balm, penny-royal, sweet-marjorum, sage, lavender, marigolds, should also be gathered up for winter use. Slips may now be planted from any of these. Take the side shoots of the branches four or five inches in length, and plant them in a shady border, and do not forget to give them water.