The garden yard

We hear a great deal about the farmer waking up to the fact that his calling is a business that must be conducted upon business principles, if it is to pay. Anybody who knows anything about the farming methods, or lack of methods, of the past, will recognize that this awakening has not come a moment too soon. Neither is the farmer wide enough awake even yet. But the feeling is growing, and much of the credit is due to the farm papers, the agricultural colleges and the writers of books on farming and gardening on a small scale.

Somewhere, hidden in the heart of almost every man, is a longing to own a bit of land and grow vegetables or fruits; and it is to this man that the new order of things means most. He has had business experience, and will naturally apply business principles to anything he takes up.

It is not many years since agricultural colleges were looked upon with amusement, if not with scorn, by the very people whom they were intended to help. The “scientific” farmer was classed with that other hopeless being, the “book farmer.” But the colleges and books kept on doing their work, and the college-bred and book-made farmer kept on doing wonderful things with soils and crops, and now there is scarcely a farming community that does not number among its leading members a farmer of one or both sorts. So does time work changes.

Boys who intend to be farmers are now sent to agricultural colleges, and the wise farmer takes in good agricultural papers and reads agricultural books. He has organized himself into granges and other associations and is fast learning the value of co-operation. All this tends to elevate his calling, a calling which is naturally more dignified than any other, and to make himself and his labor of more real value to himself and to his fellows.

But even yet there is too much haphazard arrangement of the farmer’s work, and for this reason he is always struggling and finding little leisure. It is partly due to the lack of organization in his work. If he has not too much land, and if every month has its appointed tasks, the farmer will move along from task to task, with at least as much leisure as his city brother. So get your work mapped out, and attend to things as they need attention, instead of leaving a lot of small things to pile up and in the end cause hurry and confusion.

Plan your work and work your plan.

In the month of January prepare for spring work in your garden. Whether you devote your plot to vegetables or fruit, lay it out now in your own mind or, better still, on paper. Get catalogues from seedsmen who advertise. Most of them get their catalogues out in January. They are business men and know the value of an early start. Make up your mind what you want to grow, being sure to plan for plenty of the things you eat,—and then select the things you mean to experiment with during the coming year. Follow a well-arranged planting-table, such as was published in Suburban Life, of New York City, in March, 1908.

If you have fruit trees on your plot, this is a good time to begin to spray them. If you don’t get ahead of insects and diseases, they will soon get ahead of you. If you intend to do any grafting, secure the scions now and keep them buried in sand in a cold cellar, or even out of doors, until the sap begins to rise in the trees. Then you are ready to work without loss of time. If there are holes in the trees, clean them out and fill with cement. You won’t have time for this in the spring, and the gypsy-moth, or some relative of his, will select the hole as a ready-made breeding-place. Paint all wounds or breaks in the bark with good paint or tar. On warm days do the necessary pruning.

Look out for your live stock, even it if be only the family horse and cow. They will serve you better for careful attention. Warm the bit on cold mornings before putting it in the horse’s mouth, and look out for signs of possible toothache. He suffers from that as well as you. Have him sharp-shod for slippery weather. If the barn is cold, blanket your cow as well as your horse, give her plenty of warm bedding and see that she and the horse have salt at hand at all times. Don’t give either animal ice-cold water to drink. Take the chill off it. A hot mash will not do either of them any harm on a cold day. You like hot food in winter.

Look after the comfort of your poultry. Dust them well for insects. Give them fresh, slightly warmed water every few hours during the day. Vary their food somewhat and give some corn and meat-scraps. Be sure the meat is good, as spoiled scraps lead to disease. See that they have green food, and as much exercise as possible; keep their house clean and well ventilated, but free from draughts. If you are going to raise broilers, get your incubator busy, but it is too early for hatching chickens for layers. If you have no incubator, but mean to get one later, read up all about them now. Don’t buy blindly.

Get out your fencing stuff, if you have fences to build; and read up all you need to know about your soils and the value of fertilizers, etc. Don’t wait until spring to know what it is best to do with your plot. Learn that in advance, so that when spring comes you may put your knowledge into practice without delay.

The same general instructions hold good for February. Give constant care to your stock whether many or few. See that your tools, planters, sprayers, plows, etc., are all in order. Many valuable hours are lost in gardening-time because of neglect of this precaution. Repair those that need it and are worth it, and consult catalogues for the new machinery you must buy, and buy only the best of its kind.

If you are using hot-beds or even cold-frames, you can prepare them and begin to plant some seed during February, such as radishes, lettuce and early cauliflower.

March is still too early for out-door planting in the North, because if the seeds get chilled, they will be slower in growth than those planted later; but well-made hot-beds are getting in their good work at this time. Eggplant, tomatoes, early cabbage, onions, parsley, peppers, etc., are all to be started before this month is out.

If the ground softens up so that you can go out on it at all for working, you may sow your grass seed and spring oats and barley that they may get the advantage of spring rains and be well grown before the dry, hot weather sets in. You find many farmers neglecting their stock at this time of year, but it is bad policy. Keep up their rations.

If the storms of winter have strewn your plot with branches of trees and other wreckage, clean it all up; the wisest plan is to burn it. Clean the out-buildings; sort over your seed, and see if any insects have got at them during winter; test them between moist papers or cloths as described, to see which are worth planting; clean out vegetable bins, burying all decayed vegetables. Be ready to take advantage of the very first of the out-door-planting weather. Every day of preparation now counts for three in results.

April is a busy month in farm and garden. Preparation-tillage is in order, if the ground is not too moist. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of thorough preparation of the soil before the planting begins. What you neglect in this line cannot be made up later in the season, and you will suffer in field and pocket. Be sure that your soil is neither too wet nor too dry when you begin operations, and when you are through, be just as sure that it is thoroughly pulverized and fertilized, so that it can retain moisture and afford the right bed for the tender seeds. Then plant all the hardy crops as directed in the chapters on crop raising in this book.

Get your neighbors to co-operate with you in clearing out neglected roadside corners and in destroying weeds. It will pay. All the crops in the neighborhood will profit from this action. Don’t turn the stock out to feed until the grass has made some growth. You don’t want the roots gnawed out.

Even in the northernmost parts of the New England States, much of the out-door planting is done in early May and the rest a little later in the month. Now is when you begin to realize the value of having done all your preparation work early. Planting potatoes, peas, beets, cabbages, turnips, to say nothing of beans, corn, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, etc., will take all your time every day that is not spent in cultivating and using the wheel-hoe. Besides, your strawberry beds will be needing a good deal of attention, and your chicken-run should have its location changed for awhile.

There are no idle times for the intelligent farmer, but the beautiful month of June is generally the busiest. Indeed, it is often so busy that the farmer does not have time to know how beautiful it is. But you can have time. Arrange your work; drive it instead of letting it drive you, and you will be surprised how much time you have to look up and to realize that it is a glorious thing just to be alive. But this cannot be if you have neglected your work from month to month. The smell of ripening strawberries, of new-mown hay fill the air before this month is gone; the sky is the bluest, the grass the greenest, the trees the freshest of any month in the year. Don’t lose those delights without having known that they have come. Cultivate yourself as well as your soil, and life will be better worth the living.

July is the real haying month in the Northern States. There are scores of things to do. Many of the fall-crop vegetables are to be sown this month, and the ground must be put in good condition as soon as the early crop is off. But busy as you are, it is good to take a day off occasionally and see what your neighbor is doing. Perhaps he has some scheme by which he has forced his crop ahead of yours. If so, compare notes and learn what you can.

In New England they sow the winter crop of turnips in the early days of August. Be careful that the root maggot has not got into the ground where you plant them, for, if he has, you would better save yourself the labor of planting in that spot. You want to starve the maggot, not to feed him. Cultivate all your crops carefully this month. Perhaps they didn’t get all the attention they needed during haying, and as the weather is apt to be pretty hot and dry, you must do all in your power to keep the moisture. Therefore, good maintenance-tillage is in order. Cut down the weeds on the roadside that have escaped you before. It is a costly mistake to allow them to go to seed. You will have to work a good deal harder and get less for it next year if you let them go to seed this year. “One year’s seeding is seven years’ weeding.”

If you have fruit trees, September is one of the finest months in the year, both for the looks of your place, if it has been properly kept, and also for your profits. The early fruit brings good prices, and if you have shown foresight in planning out your garden, you have planted some fruit trees that will pay you. Harvesting begins this month, and you want to be sure that everything is in readiness. Have your bins and cellars thoroughly cleaned and aired, so that there may be no delay when crops are ready to be stored.

October calls for extra care for your fruit trees, because frosts are to be expected. Winter apples should be picked before they are fully ripe and kept in a cool place, but where they cannot freeze. If you intend them to last all winter and into the spring, you should sort and pack them carefully, seeing that no bruised fruit gets into your barrel or box. One bruised apple in a barrel may cost you half a dozen or more of the finest.

Although in some places it may be necessary to begin fall plowing earlier than November, yet, generally speaking, this is the month for that work, and unless frosts come early, you can plow about all through the month. It is the month for finishing up the fall work and getting ready for winter. There is no better time for gathering up whatever rubbish may have accumulated—all the vines and garden waste that you cannot use for plowing under—and making a bonfire of it. That is a work the boys will delight to help in, and if you will save the actual burning for evening, you will make them extra happy, and glad to do some more cleaning up. Work is best done in the way that brings the greatest amount of pleasure.

December has its joys and its work as well as June. The stock are almost always shut up now and get only what you give them, either to eat or drink. Be careful to keep their troughs scrupulously clean, and occasionally feed both horses and cows a little molasses. To keep the stable well ventilated, take out a window and fit in a frame covered with muslin or cotton sheeting. This will help out the ventilation and shut out the draughts. If it is hinged at the bottom, so that it can be opened on clear days, it will be all the better.

And now just a word for man’s other faithful friend, and the children’s guardian, the dog. He feels the change in the weather, too. If he should begin to scratch his ears or rub them on the ground, clean them carefully with lukewarm water in which bran has been boiled, and add a little white castile soap. When you have rinsed and dried them dust a little dry boric acid into them. He’ll be more comfortable and so will you. Stonehenge or Youatt “On the Dog” will tell you all about him.

See that your farming tools are all well housed where neither rain nor snow can get at them. If you were too busy to thoroughly clean and oil them before putting them away, do it now. The long winter evenings will afford you plenty of time to read up on any matter in which you are interested. At the end of the year you will be astonished to find how much you have accomplished without being rushed or overworked, just because you organized your work and followed a definite plan. Like all other good things, it pays.

When we are exhausted or rushed, it shows that either we have been doing the wrong thing, or doing the thing wrong.