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Garden Alamanac c. 1800

May


Work to be done in the Kitchen, Orchard and Fruit Gardens
These monthly directions come from Duncan MacDonald's
"The New London Family Cook", J Robins, London, first edition c. 1800

 

The Kitchen Garden

prevent all weeds from flowering

Fork the ground near peas and beans

Sow peas, and plant beans for late crops

Sow the large sorts of kidney beans

Sow cresses and mustard on a cool border, and hoe that which is for seed

Plant out capsicums, tomatoes, celery and gourds

Transplant savoys and cabbages for winter use

Sole melon seeds for bell glasses and oiled paper

Fork up the ground about cabbages and cauliflowers where spinach and radishes have grown

Cover cauliflower leaves of the flowers of the plant

TRansplant radishes for seed

Hoe onions and carrots

Sow carrots for autumn use

Transplant lettuces upon north borders and sow some seed

Stake the seedbeds of leeks, onions and cabbages

Hoe turnips to a proper distance, and sow more seed

Sow cabbage turnip, and turnip rooted cabbage

Sow cucumbers for bell and hand glasses

Examine the cucumbers and melons under the frames

Sow skirrets, salsafy and scorzonera

Sow cucumbers for pickling, and plant out others

Plant out spring-sown cauliflowers, and sow more seed

Sow broccoli and borecole

Tie up early cabbages

Lay tiles under scarlet strawberries in hotbeds, and water them.

The Orchard and Fruit Garden

Examine the fruit trees, and disbud them

Thin apricots

Examine strawberry beds for male hautboys, and mark them

Plant male hautboys, or hermaphrodite strawberries among the chilies

Water fruit trees attacked by insects

Disbud and nail vines

Take off clay from new grafter trees

Look over espalier and dwarf fruit trees

Examine stocks budded last summer.

Continue with June work ...

Or, return to Alamanac Front Page

 

Please also visit Old London Maps on the web as many of the maps
and views available there have plans and depictions of gardens from
the medieval period through to the late nineteenth century.

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