Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-02-18
EARLY Vegetables.

gardeners would 90 wei 10 le5J InlS pan.
Early Vegetables.
Many readers of this department know
how to obtain a few ''messes" of early
vegetables; many do not, or if they do,
rather shun the little extra care which is
essential TO their production. A cores
pOndent of the Rural NelU Yorker Of
fers a few hints as TO the manner in which
he always manages TO have early kinds in
advance of many of his neighbors.
These hints viii be found very valuable
10 market gardeners as well as others.
We copy as follows:
EARLY PEAS.
Get few papers of the very earliest
kind-say extra Early May. Select the
warmest day in February or March you
can, spade as much ground, in a sheltered
spot, as you desire TO plant-say south
side fence row or wall-plant your peas
thick, three inches deep; cover with
warm, dry leaf mold, or chip manure and
on each side of the row lay corn stalks,
piling them up a foot on each side so they
viii not fall over on the row. Scatter
straw tightly over the row so as not to
fully exclude the sunlight. If ycryrough
weather sets in, (Which will be the case,
in all probability cover over the rows
with plank or boards until the rough
weather is over. Remove when the sun
shines warmly. In this way you can
have few ''messes' a month or more in
advance of those planted at the usual
time The pea is quite hardy, as l have
have had them covered with snow when |
protected as above directed.
CUCUMBERs.
Early in March procure some sod about |
eight inches square and four inches thick. |
Turn them over and cut the soil SO the |
seed can be stuck in an inch or so deep.
Plant only the ''Early Frame" Set the |
sods in a pit or hot-bed, if you have them; |
if not, set them on a shelf in a room |
where there is fire; water with milk-warm |
water occasionally as the sod gets dry;
and when warmer weather comes, remove |
them to the gaplen and place small boxes |
foot square, having neither bottoms nor |
tops over them. At night, until the young /
plants get hardened" place a pane of |
glass over them. Remove the boxes as
the ground and the air gets warmed up, |
and you will have fine early Cucumbers.
LETTUCE.
Make a hot-bed in the usual way, about
four by eight feet. Sow any early kind
of SEED you prefer; keep it covered with
sash; air and water every bright, pleas
ant day. Thin out the plants as you use
them. Such a bed will furnish an album
dance, quite early, for family Of a doz-
en- or more.
TOMATOES.
Sow in boxes of about two feet by one
and half, six inches deep, in earth of
he richest kind. Cover the seed half an
inch deep. If you have a hot-bed, place
this box in it; if not, set it in warm
room, near a sunny window. Water Oc-
casionally. When the plants are an inch
or two high thin them out to about an
inch apart. So soon as the weather is
free of frost, transplant in moderately
good garden sOil-not rich, as that would
make fine vines but poor fruit.
EARLY YoRKs.
For these early and delicious cabbagcs
we would advise to cultivate as for tOma-
to; likewise pepper plants.
Planting Out and CuItivating straw
berries,
Every one who has a garden should
grow few strawberries 1t is a very
simple matter TO grow a moderate crop;
but TO produce it in abundance and of the
best quality, requires considerable skill
and constant care. There are several
ways Of planting out strawberries. OF
course the ground must be dug a good
depth, and pulvcrized carefully, having
applied liberal quantity of barnyard
manure. The beds can be marked out
three feet wide and made as long as may
be desired. Let the foot paths between
the beds be eighteen inches apart and re-
move from them all the runners as fast as
they cncroGch. Set the plants firmly in
the ground, one foot apart each way.
The Germantown Pa) Telegraph ad-
vises those about to engage in strawberry
culture TO get the Triomphc de Gand,
which is of mixed sexes, and Hovey's
Seeding. which is pistillate, and plant
them in alternate beds, but do not let
them mix, which they will do if the Vines
are allowed to cross the paths. Some
persons may prefer Russells Prolific,
which is an excellent variety, OF LUCINDA
which cannot well be beaten. Either Of
these can be substituted for Triomple, if
Hoycy is retained, which we would ad-
wise, as there is no berry more certain to
give crop, or which is hands0mer in
appearance, which viii bear as many
years without renewing the bed, or which
ismuch superior. Many persons prefer
the Hill system Of planting out strawber-
rics, and with some very strong growing
varieties it may possibly be The best But
from our own experience we prefer the
broadcast planting. It has several adj
vantage. The plants keep the ground
moistcr, it requires less labor, and The
beds ia-t twice as long by producing new
hearing plants every year. In the hills
the old plants are fruitcj year after year,
and rs a consequence the berries yearly
get smaller. Oao thing must be parjicl-
laIy borne in mind: the beds must he
kept clear OF weeds, for if they are allow
cd to get Roadway they will seriously
damage the crop Late in autumn the
beds should he covered with light manure,
and in the spring the very coarscst por
tiou should either be removed or care,
faliy placed about the plants There i:
- no more trouble to cultivate a bed OF
Strawberries than there is a bed of onions
or cabbage, and this we wish all thos,
who do uot raise the delicious fruit t
remember. \ correspondent Of tn,