Gardening: Seasonal Reminders

1. January: Sow cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce seed indoors to secure plants for extra-early setting.
   
   Prune peach trees, grapes, currants and gooseberries.
   
   
2. February: Start celery and onions indoors. Inspect plum and cherry trees for signs of rot. Cover rhubarb plants with compost.
   
   
3. March: Sow beet, lettuce, spinach, tomato and eggplant seeds in a hotbed or greenhouse.
   
   Sow peas if the ground can be worked. Peppers can be sown late in the month.
   
   
4. April: Prune blackberries. Stake them to a wire trellis if necessary. Sow cabbage and cauliflower toward the end of the month. Sow carrots, peas and lettuce as soon as the ground can be worked.
   
   Plant potatoes early in rich soil. Give strawberries a thorough cultivation between the rows. Remove any mulch from the plants and place it in the rows to keep weeds down.
   
   
5. May: Plant bush-bean varieties and melons in open ground. Set cabbages in freshly turned sod.
   
   Sow cucumbers and squashes toward the end of the month. Finish planting and transplanting onions.
   
   Remove blossoms from newly set strawberries. Add mulch. Plant early and late-variety sweet corn. Set some early tomato plants by the middle of the month. Protect from cold if necessary.
   
   
6. June: Turn sod for cabbage and cauliflower. Hoe lima beans frequently.
   
   Cultivate melons and squash and watch for bugs. Keep onions free of weeds. Stir the ground frequently.
   
   Plow up any strawberry bed that has produced two crops (you'll rarely get a decent third crop) and plant late cabbage or some other crop. Younger strawberry beds should be cultivated and kept free of weeds.
   
   Pinch off any side shoots on tomatoes so all the strength goes to the main stalk. Keep the foliage thin and the vines off the ground.
   
   
7. July: Pinch off young blackberry canes to three feet and raspberry canes to two-and-a-half feet.
   
   Plant sweet corn for succession and late use. Thin out peach, pear and plum trees to sustain vigor.
   
   
8. August: Harvest the early cabbage crop. Harvest onions as soon as bulbs are well-formed.
   
   
9. September: Bush fruits and strawberries can still be set.
   
   
10. October: Begin to think about next year's planting.
    
    Plant sets of Extra Early Pearl onions or a similarly hardy onion variety to get an early crop in the spring. Pick pears just before there is danger of freezing. Dig out sweet potatoes when ripe following the first frost.
    
    
11. November: Cut away old wood from blackberries and raspberries. Mulch the roots. Prepare to mulch strawberry beds, too. Raise mounds of earth around stems of fruit trees you planted.
    
    
12. December: Make plans for next season's work. Study your crop rotation. Clear up the garden and premises. Under-drain where needed. Till vegetable beds for early planting in high, narrow ridges.
    
    Cover strawberry beds with mulch or hay.

1. January: Sow seeds for hardy annuals. Plant roses.
   
   Sow, plant or transplant all hardy vegetables: beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, kohlrabi, spinach, lettuce, herbs, etc. Set cabbage plants in fertile ground. Sow seed for a later supply.
   
   Finish planting and transplanting all fruit trees and grape vines. Complete pruning as soon as possible. Set out strawberries. Prune raspberries and blackberries.
   
   Sow onion seeds and plant sets. Sow all varieties of peas.
   
   
2. February: Sod or plant Bermuda grass immediately. Clear hedges. Finish all planting of trees and shrubs. Plant bush-bean varieties by February 14.
   
   Sow carrots, celery, beets, endive, kohlrabi, onion sets, parsley, parsnips, radishes and early varieties of cabbage.
   
   Plant potatoes, peppers, eggplant and early varieties of corn.
   
   Sow or transplant lettuce as well as peas and melons.
   
   
3. March: Sow all varieties of beans for a fall crop. Continue planting corn and harrow the patch as young corn appears. Mulch strawberry beds.
   
   
4. April: Sow beans, beets, cabbages and cucumbers for later yields. Plant squash and pumpkin.
   
   
5. May: Start celery, giving it plenty of water and shade.
   
   Control weeds. Remove unnecessary growth from trees.
   
   
6. June: Sow melons, corn, beans and cauliflower (Italian) for succession. Sow okra, squash and pumpkin if necessary.
   
   Set out sweet-potato vines. Sow for a fall crop of tomatoes.
   
   
7. July: Sow carrots and celery.
   
   Tie grapes to a trellis and remove unnecessary growth. Keep strawberry beds free of weeds and grasses.
   
   
8. August: Sow bush beans, beets, pole beans, carrots, celery, endive, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, radishes, parsley, turnips, rutabagas and salad plants of all kinds.
   
   Plant potatoes in the middle of the month. Plant only those with sprouts.
   
   
9. September: Sow hardy annuals, perennials and biennials. Sow all salad plants.
   
   
10. October: Plant all spring bulbs. Plant new strawberry beds.
    
    
11. November: Prepare land for orchard and vineyard planting. Plow deeply and cultivate again later in the month.
    
    
12. December: Watch lawns and yards. Rake up old leaves and rubbish. Add the leaves to the compost heap. Shape up hedges and keep surface drains open.