Lettuces

More Lettuces may be sown for early summer salads. There is a wastage of Lettuces owing to the plants running to seed quicker than they can be used if many are grown in one batch, hence the advisability of sowing frequent small successional rows.

A pinch of seed may be sown fortnightly henceforth if a constant supply is wanted. Those who like the upright ("Cos") Lettuces the best may sow the Superb White. Favourite and Continuity are good varieties of Cabbage Lettuce. The soil in the seed bed should be made fine, the drills drawn a foot apart and half an inch deep, the seed sprinkled in very thinly, protection from birds provided in the form of fish netting, the ground hoed regularly, the plants thinned to prevent crowding, and the seedlings transplanted to positions along borders, or between Pea rows, when they are about three inches high.

Mushrooms

Note the remarks on making beds in Chapter II (Feb. Many Buds, Some Bloom, And The Early Bird). A bed may be prepared now, and the earlier the better.

Mustard And Cress

Successional sowings may now begin in the open air. The principal trouble with the outdoor sowings is that particles of soil are apt to get into the plants, making the salad gritty. This may be avoided to some extent by making the soil exceedingly fine, and only just covering the seed.

Onions

The principal crop may now be sown out of doors, if the plan of raising the plants in boxes under glass in winter (see previous remarks) is not preferred. The soil should have been made deep and rich by bastard trenching and manuring in the manner already recommended, but this work may still be done. The surface should be well pulverised when the soil is dry enough to crumble, so that a fine sowing tilth can be secured. It is not desirable that the seed should be covered more than an inch deep. Nine inches will be a sufficient distance between the rows for small, hard, long-keeping sorts like James's, Brown Globe, Bedfordshire Champion, Blood Red, Danvers' Yellow, White Spanish, and White Lisbon; but larger varieties, such as Ailsa Craig, Cranston's Excelsior, and A 1 should have at least a foot - more if they are transplanted from boxes. The ground must be made quite hard after sowing.

Parsnips

The Parsnip crop requires a friable soil, not recently manured. The seed may be sown an inch deep in drills eighteen inches apart, and the plants thinned to nine inches. The seed is light and flaky, so that it is easily blown about. For this reason the grower must either avoid sowing on a windy day or mix the seed with soil before scattering it in the drills. Some growers economise seed by sowing a cluster of three seeds at every nine inches of drill, and thinning the resulting plants down to one. Tender and True is a splendid variety.

Peas

Choice Marrowfat Peas may be sown now for yielding delicious dishes at the end of June and early in July. The best of soil should be allotted to this important crop - soil that has been bastard-trenched or deeply dug and manured liberally. I say "has been," but it is never too late to improve soil, and rather than sow in thin, poor land by all means set to work now. As a matter of fact, many excellent gardeners consider that spring is the best time to prepare heavy, damp land. The surface soil should be crumbled, and wide drills drawn three inches deep. As mentioned in a previous chapter, it is wise to protect the seed from vermin by moistening it in paraffin oil previous to sowing. If trouble should occur in spite of that, bait some traps with Peas strung on wire, and place them about the rows, as the losses are probably due to field mice. Birds can be kept away by black threads or fish netting. Centenary, Duke of York, Stratagem, Duke of Albany, and Senator are all good varieties.

Any may be chosen. Pea sticks should be ordered wherewith to support the plants later on.