Tomato

Tomato seeds may be sown in the hotbeds.

April

Artichokes

Sow the seeds for next year's crop. A deep, rich, sandy loam is best. Fork in a dressing of well-rotted manure around the old plants.

Asparagus

Spade in some good manure in the bed, and give the soil a thorough working before the crowns start. Sow seeds in the open ground for young plants for a new bed.

Beans

Limas may be started on sods in a hotbed or a coldframe towards the last of the month.

Beets

The ground should be prepared and the seed sown for beets for cattle as soon as the weather will permit. Put them in before planting corn. They will stand considerable cold weather, and should be planted early to get a start of the weeds.

Blackberries

Blackberries should be pruned, the brush drawn off, piled, and burned. If it is necessary to stake them, try a wire trellis, the same as for grapes, putting on one wire 2½ ft. high. The young plants should be dug before the buds start.

Cabbage

Cabbage seed may be sown in the open ground, in coldframes, or in pans or boxes in the house. Early varieties should be started at once. Cabbages like a rich and heavy loam, with good drainage. Give them all the manure you can get.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower seeds may be sown toward the last of the month. They should never have a check from the time the seed is sown until harvested.

Carrot

Sow the seed of early sorts, like Early Forcing, as soon as the ground can be worked.

Celery

Plan to grow celery by the new method. Plenty of manure and moisture are required to do this. Sow the seed in light, rich soil in the house, hotbed, coldframe, or open ground. Transplant the plants once before setting them in the field. Page 505.

Cress

Sow early and every two or three weeks. Watercress should be sown in damp soil or in streams. The outer edges of a hotbed may also be utilized. Cress is often a profitable crop when rightly handled.

Cucumber

Cucumber seeds may be sown on sods in the hotbed.

Egg-Plant

Sow in the hotbed, and transplant when 2 in. high to other beds or pots. They must have good care, for a check in their growth means all the difference between profit and loss.

Lettuce

Sow the seeds in the hotbed, and in the open ground as soon as it can be worked. Plants sown a month ago should be transplanted.

Leek

Sow the seeds in the open ground in drills 6 in. apart and 1 in. deep, and when large enough, thin to 1 in. in the row.

Muskmelon

Plant seeds in sods in the hotbed.

Parsnip

Dig the roots before they grow and become soft and pithy. Seeds may be sown as soon as the ground is dry enough to work.

Parsley

Soak the seeds in warm water for a few hours, and sow in the open ground.

Peas

Sow the seeds as soon as the ground can be worked. They will stand considerable cold and transplanting also. Time may be gained by sowing some seeds in moist sand in a box in the cellar and transplanting when well sprouted. Plant deep in light, dry soil; cover an inch at first, and draw in the earth as the vines grow.

Potatoes

Plant early on rich soil free from blight and scab. For a very early crop, the potatoes may be sprouted before planting.

Peppers

Sow the seeds in the hotbed or in the boxes in the house.

Radish

Radish seeds may be sown in the open ground or in the hotbed and the crop harvested from there. The small, round varieties are best for this purpose.

Strawberries

Give a good, thorough cultivation between the rows and then remove the mulch from the plants, placing it in the rows, where it will help to keep the weeds down.

Salsify

Sow the seeds as soon as the ground can be worked. Give the same care and cultivation as for carrots or parsnips.

Spinach

Spinach seeds must be sown early, and then every two weeks for a succession. Thin out and use the plants before they send up flower-stalks.

Squashes

Hubbards and summer squashes may be started on sods in the hotbed.

Tomato

Sow in the hotbed or in shallow boxes in the house. Try some of the yellow varieties; they are the finest flavored of any.

May

Beans

The bush sorts may be planted in the open ground, and limas in pots or sods in a coldframe or spent hotbed. Limas require a long season to mature, and should be started early.

Beets

Sow for a succession. Transplant those started under glass.

Cabbages

Cabbages always do best on a freshly turned sod, and should be set before the land has had time to dry after plowing. The secret of success in getting a large yield of cabbage is to start with rich land and put on all the manure obtainable. Clean out the hog yard for this purpose.

Cucumbers

Sow in the open ground toward the last of the month. A few may be started as advised for lima beans.

Lettuce

Sow for a succession, and thin to 4 in. in the rows.

Melons

Plant in the open ground toward the end of the month. It is useless to plant melons and other cucurbitaceous plants until settled weather has arrived.

Onions

Finish planting and transplanting, and keep all weeds down, both in the seed-bed and the open field.

Peas

Sow for a succession.

Squashes

Plant as advised for melons and cucumbers. They require a rich, well-manured soil.

Strawberries

Remove the blossoms from newly set plants. Mulch with salt hay or marsh hay or clean straw or leaves those that are to bear. Mulching conserves moisture, keeps the berries clean, and prevents weeds from growing.

Sweet Corn

Plant early and late varieties, and by making two or three plantings of each, at intervals, a succession may be kept up all summer and fall. Sweet corn is delicious, and one can hardly have too much of it.