Southern cultivator. (Augusta, Ga.) 1843-188?, April 01, 1867, Page 113, Image 29

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'2- HORTICULTURAL. KITCIIVN GARDEN. All work directed for March should now be completed. If the is weedy, it may receive a dressing of brine or salt. Severe frosts will probably be soon over if not already past, so put in fearlessly the seed o l ' more tender plants, and succession ciops of the hardier ones. Plant Snap and Pole Beans—the Limas, both large and small, should be planted with the eye downwards, and slightly covered, as if planted with the broad side up wards, if there should form a slight crust at the surface of the hill, it often perishes, because unable to force its way through. Beets, Cabbages, Carrots, Cucumbers, Corn, Celery, Egg-Plant, Lettuce, Melons, Marjoram, Nas. turtium, Okra, Irish Potatoes , Parsnips, Peppers, Peas, Parsnips, Summer Savory, Sweet Basil, Sage, Salsify, To matoes and Thyme, may all be planted. For those in italics, it is already too late to look for usual crops. Pinch off the seed buds that show themselves on Onion tops from black seed sets. Os button onions, let them re main, for the buttons are desirable for sets. The offshoots of the Artichoke remove, reserving the best for planting. Dress the old stools with manure. Transplant Early Cabbage, Seakale, Celery and Lettuce and later, when danger of frost has ceased, Tomatoes, Peppers, Egg-Plants, Sweet Potato slips; also the Melons, &c., raised in pots and baskets. Water when needed, and protect for a day or two from the full sun. All the seed beds planted last month must be watched, the weeds removed, and when the young seedlings are well up, loosen the soil about them with a narrow hoe. If the ground is dry, do this at night, and water the plants immediately after. Do not cultivate, or water tender plants when there is danger of frost, as the danger is in creased thereby. Thin out carefully, the young plants of Turnips, Onions, Spinach, Beets, &c., as soon as you can distinguish them, or the crop w ill be greatly injured. Do not dig deeply among the rows of onions, &c. All that is wanted, is to keep the soil light and clean, just at the surface. Cover your beds of Irish potatoes with straw or leaves, as soon as the danger of frost is over. In planting Melons, Cucumbers, Squashes, &c., plant the varieties of each species remote from each other, as they will intermix if too near each other, and deteriorate. It is, at this time, not'thought probable that the species of these plants are very liable to hybridization, but each fam ily among themselves, are peculiarly subject to intermix ture. Thus Squashes and Pumpkins among themselves, make all sorts of alliances, and possibly may be affected by the vicinity of the musk-melon. Therefore, endeavor to keep the seed pare, by planting the sorts apart. SOUTII EH X CULT! VATOR. Liquid manures may now be applied to Cabbages, and the ground worked over as soon as they are dry enough. If peas are not allowed to ripen seed, they will continue much longer in bearing. This rule applies to all plants of which the fruit is used in its green state. For the Southern Cultivator. TIIE CULTURE OU VEGETABLES. BY CHARLES A. PEABODY. Onions. —Onions were originally found in Egypt, and so highly were they esteemed in ancient times, that the chosen people ot God, when on their way to the promised land, murmured at God’s providence, and sighed for the Leeks and Onions of Egypt again. Therejare three varieties of Onions cultivated, the Red, White, and Yellow. The White is the mildest, but is not as easily kept through the season as the other two, being more inclined to rqjt. These are all made from seed. They may be planted in the Fall, or in January, February, or March. 1 prefer February to any other month to put the seed in, but I have made fine bulbs by planting the seed as late as April. There is no garden seed planted, that is more sure of coining to perfection in this climate, than the Onion, if properly planted. The soil must be highly enriched, with well decomposed manure. It is well to soak tho seed twenty four hours before planting. Plant in drills, fourteen inches apart, in the drill. Cover the seed about half an inch, and press the earth solid on them. If tho seed come up well, thin out every other one.—The Onion Bed must be kept free from grass and weeds, and frequent ly stirred with the hoe. A top dressing of ashes will be high. a ly beneficial in the earlier stages of their growth. Salt is also an excellent manure for Onions. The bulbs will bo lit for the Table in July and August, and from their late maturity, can be kept through the winter. For an early crop of Onions, plant the Set or Button. These may bo put in the ground any time from October to March.— Plant them in drills, like the seed, but put them two inches farther apart in the drill. Onion Sets planted in January or February, will make fine bulbs for the Table in May and June. The button will make a greater quantity of bulbs, but they are not as delicate or as solid as the seed or set. Buttons planted in the Fall, in good ground, will make the butttons again. In planting the small onion, set or button, do not cover them deep. Just cover tho bulb: the finest bulbs are made above the ground. Okra. —Okra belongs to the family of the cotton plant, and like cotton, it is extremely tender, consequently will not bear planting before the last of March or the first of April- It may be planted in drills three feet apart, and as it increases in size, thin out to three feet In the drills. To have early “ Gombo Soup” the earliest pods should bo saved for seed, but those stalks from which pods for eat ing are gathered, should not be allowed to mature seed.— As fast as the pods become hard and unfit for the table, cut them off. They will if left on the stalk destroy the productiveness of the stalk. By keeping them free from ripening seed pods, they will yield until Frost. Okra, in good soil, will make almost a tree, but it is no advantage to have such monstrous stalks, as it is difficult to gather tho __ pods, and the roots take upas much nourishment as a 113