Tomatoes

Set some early plants by the middle of the month or earlier, if the ground is warm, and the season early and fair. They may be protected from the cold by covering with hay, straw, cloth, or paper, or even with earth. The main crop should not be set until the 20th or 25th, or until all danger of frost is over. However, tomatoes will stand more chilly weather than is ordinarily supposed.

June

Asparagus

Cease cutting and allow the shoots to grow. Keep the weeds down and the soil well stirred. An application of a quick commercial fertilizer or of liquid manure will be beneficial.

Beans

Sow the wax sorts for succession. As soon as a crop is off, pull out the vines and plant the ground to late cabbage, turnips, or sweet corn.

Beets

Transplant in rows 1 to 3 ft. apart and 6 in. in the row. Cut off most of the top, water thoroughly, and they will soon start.

Cabbage And Cauliflower

Set plants for the late crop. Rich, newly turned sod and a heavy dressing of well-rotted manure go a long way toward assuring a good crop.

Celery

Set the main crop, and try the new method of setting the plants 7 in. apart each way, if you have rich land and can irrigate, but not unless these conditions are present. Page 505.

Cucumbers may yet be planted, if done early in the month.

Currants

Spray with Paris green for the currant worm until the fruit sets. Hellebore is good, but it is difficult to get it of good strength; use it for all late spraying.

Lettuce

Sow for succession in a moist, cool, and partially shaded spot. The seed does not germinate well in hot weather.

Lima Bean

Lima Bean should be hoed frequently, and started on the poles if they are contrary.

Melons

Cultivate often and watch for the bugs. A screen of closely woven wire or mosquito netting may be used to cover the vines, or tobacco dust sifted on thickly.

Onions

Keep free from weeds and stir the ground frequently and especially after every rain.

Squashes

Keep the ground well cultivated and look out for bugs. (See Melons.) Layer the vines and cover the joints with fresh soil, to prevent death of the vines from the attacks of the borer.

Strawberries

Plow up the old bed that has borne two crops, as it will usually not pay to keep it. Set the ground to late cabbage or some other crop. The young bed that has borne the first crop should have a thorough cultivation and the plow run close to the rows to narrow them to the required width. Pull up or hoe out all weeds and keep the ground clean the rest of the season. This applies with equal force to the newly set bed. A bed can be set late next month from young runners. Pinch off the end after the first joint, and allow it to root on a sod or in a small pot set level with the surface.

Tomatoes

For an early crop train to a trellis, pinch off all side shoots, and allow all the strength to go to the main stalk. They may also be trained to poles, the same as lima beans, and can be set closer if grown in this way. Spray with the bordeaux mixture for the blight, keep the foliage thinned and the vines off the ground.

Turnips

Sow for an early fall crop.

July

Beans

Sow the wax sorts for a succession.

Beets

Sow Early Egyptian or Eclipse for young beets next fall.

Blackberries

Head back the young canes to 3 ft., and the laterals also when they get longer. They may be pinched with the thumbnail and finger in a small patch, but this soon makes the fingers sore, and when there are many bushes to go over, it is better to use a pair of shears or a sharp sickle.

Cabbage

Set plants for the late crop.

Corn

Plant sweet corn for succession and late use.

Cucumbers

It is late to plant, but they may be put in for pickles if done before the Fourth. Cultivate those which are up, and keep an eye open for bugs.

Currants

Cover a few bushes with muslin or burlap before the fruit ripens, and you can eat currants in August. Use hellebore, rather than Paris green, for the last brood of currant worms, and apply it as soon as the worms appear. There is little danger in using it, even if the currants are ripe.

Lettuce

Lettuce seed does not germinate well in hot weather. Sow in a moist, shaded position for a succession.

Lima Beans

Hoe them frequently, and give assistance to get on the poles.

Melons

Watch for bugs, and apply tobacco dust freely around the plants. Keep them well cultivated. A light application of bone meal will pay.

Peaches, Pears, And Plums

Peaches, Pears, And Plums should be thinned to secure fine fruit and to help sustain the vigor of the tree. Ripening the seed is what draws on the tree's vitality, and if the number of seeds can be reduced one-half or two-thirds, part of the strength required to ripen them will go into perfecting the fruit and seeds left, and add greatly to the fine appearance, flavor, and quality of the edible portion.

Radishes

Sow the early kinds for a succession, and toward the end of the month the winter sorts may be put in.

Raspberries

Pinch back the canes to 2½ ft., the same way as given for blackberries.

Squashes

Keep the ground well stirred, and use tobacco dust freely for bugs and beetles. Cover the joints with fresh soil, to guard against injury by the vine-borer.

August

Beets

A last sowing of the early table sorts may be made for a succession.

Cabbage

Harvest the early crop, and give good cultivation to the main crop. Keep down the bugs and worms.

Celery

The latest crop may yet be set. Earlier set plants should be handled as they attain sufficient size. Common drain tiles are excellent for blanching if one has them, and must be put on when the plants are about half grown. Hoe frequently to keep the plants growing.