Part 17 (1/2)

The seed-bed should be nicely prepared, and any old plaster, or other rubbish containing lime, should be dug in. Sow thinly, for a thick sowing makes a weak plant, no matter how severely it may be thinned afterwards.

==Cardoons== to be thinned to one plant in each station, and that, of course, the strongest.

==Carrot.==--Frame culture of small sorts should commence, to produce a succession of young Carrots for table.

==Celery== to be planted out in showery weather. It is too late to sow now, except for soups, and for that purpose only a small sowing should be made, as it may not come to anything.

==Chards.==--Those who care for Chards must cut down a number of Globe Artichokes about six inches above ground, and, if necessary, keep the plants well watered to induce new growth, which will be ready for blanching in September.

==Cuc.u.mbers== on ridges generally do well without water, but they must not be allowed to suffer from drought. If watering must be resorted to, make sure first of soft water well warmed by exposure to the sun, and water liberally three or four evenings in succession, and then give no more for a week or so.

==Endive== to be sown for winter. It will be well to make two sowings, say on the first and last days of the month.

==Garlic and Shallots== to be taken up in suitable weather, and it may be necessary to complete the ripening under shelter.

==Leeks== to be planted out; and on dry soils, in trenches prepared as for Celery.

==Parsley== to be sown for winter use. It is a most important matter, even in the smallest garden, to have a constant supply.

==Peas.==--Only quick-growing early varieties should be sown now.

==Potatoes.==--Where there is a good crop of an early variety it should be lifted without waiting for the shaws to die down. The tender skins will suffer damage if the work is done roughly, but will soon harden, and the stock will ripen in the store as perfectly as in the ground. It needs some amount of courage to lift Potatoes while the tops are still green and vigorous, and it should not be done until the roots are fully grown and beginning to ripen. Quick-growing sorts may be planted to dig as new Potatoes later in the year.

==Radish.==--Sow the large-growing kinds for winter use.

==Spinach.==--Sow the p.r.i.c.kly-seeded to stand the winter, selecting for the seed-bed ground lying high and dry that has been at least twice dug over and has had no recent manure. The twice digging is to promote the destruction of the 'Spinach Moth' grub, which the robins and thrushes will devour when exposed by digging. These grubs make an end of many a good breadth of Winter Spinach every year, and are the more to be feared by the careless cultivator.

==Turnips== to be sown in quant.i.ty in the early part of the month; thin advancing crops, and keep the hoe in action amongst them.

==Winter Greens== of all kinds to be planted out freely in the best ground at command, after a good digging, and to be aided with water for a week or so should the weather be dry.

==AUGUST==

The importance of summer-sown Vegetables and Salads is dealt with under July, and seeds of most of the subjects there named may still be put in as ground becomes vacant. The supplies of the garden during the next winter and spring will in great part depend upon good management now, and the utmost must be made of the few weeks of growing weather that remain. One great difficulty in connection with sowing seed at this period of the year is the likelihood of the ground being too dry; yet it is most unwise to water seeds, and it is always better if they can be got up with the natural moisture of the soil alone. However, in an extreme case the ground should be well soaked before the seed is sown, and after sowing covered with hurdles, pea-sticks, or mats until the seeds begin to sprout.

==Artichokes, Globe==, to be cut down as soon as the heads are used.

==Broccoli== to be planted out. As the Sprouting Broccoli, which belongs to the cla.s.s of 'Winter Greens,' does not pay well in spring unless it grows freely now, plant it far enough apart; if crowded where already planted to stand the winter, take out every alternate plant and make another plantation.

==Cabbage.==--In many small gardens the August sowing of Cabbages is made to suffice for the whole year, and in the largest establishments greater breadths are sown now than at any other period. But whether the garden be small or large, it is not wise to rely exclusively on the sowing of any one kind. At least two varieties should be chosen, and as a precaution each variety may be sown at two dates, with an interval of about a fortnight between. The wisdom of this arrangement will be evident in nine seasons out of ten. It allows for contingencies, prolongs the season of supply, and offers two distinct dishes of a single vegetable--the mature hearts, and the partially developed plants, which differ, when served, both in appearance and in flavour. Where the demand is extensive, or great diversity is required, three or four kinds should be sown, including Red Cabbage to produce fine heads for pickling next year.

==Cardoon.==--Commence blanching if the plants are ready.

==Cauliflower.==--Seed sown now will produce finer heads in spring and early summer than are generally obtained from a January or February sowing. The time to sow must be determined by the climate of the district. In cold, late localities, the first week is none too early; from the 15th to the 25th is a good time for all the Midland districts; and the end of the month, or the first week of September, is early enough in the South. In Devon and Cornwall the sowing is later still.

But whatever date may suit the district, the seed should be sown with care, in order that a healthy growth may be promoted from the first.