Dr. Jacobs Garden Journal, May 1868 & 1869
May 2012
Since we’re well into gardening season here in the Upstate, we thought we’d publish some more excerpts from the garden journal of Presbyterian College founder Dr. William Plumer Jacobs. You may remember previous entries from 2009, but we haven’t included any for several years. These are from the month of May. Hope you enjoy them!
Before we post our actual blog for May, I’d like to announce that I’m retiring this month. I’ve enjoyed immensely the opportunity to delve into Presbyterian College’s rich history and share it with others. This is a special place, a real community, and it’s been a privilege to be a part of it. Fortunately, I can leave knowing that my job is in the capable hands of Teresa Inman, who has worked at the library for many years, most recently as a Reference and Instruction Librarian. Teresa, who is an alumna of PC, brings with her not only wonderful research skills but a wealth of knowledge about Presbyterian College and Presbyterianism. So while I retire with truly mixed emotions, I am very excited about the new possibilities for the archives under Teresa’s leadership. Will miss writing to you all every month-now I can enjoy the blog as a reader! Nancy
Record of Garden Successes and Failures
May 1868
May 5. Planted one row of cucumbers. One of Netted Melons. The bugs are very troublesome to Beans vines. I have twice dusted them with ashes but to no purpose, except that the beans are growing faster.
May 6. First bean bloom today on Six Weeks beans planted Mar 11. They are about one week in advance of those sown Mar 23. My peas sown Mar 19 are in full bloom. Eugenie out fullest. Ex. Early Danl. O’Rourke next. Dwarf Blue Imperial not blooming yet. Spinach, we have been using two weeks. It was sown Feb. 7. Clover growing fine. Okra sown April 18 coming up also. Squashes, Corn & Carrots, sown same day, all up. Tobacco plants, sown Feb. 15, ready to set out. Cotton planted Apr. 25 up well-good stand. Very few Pindars have as yet appeared. Royal Cabbage Lettuce doing splendidly.
May 11. Ran around my cotton with Brimly’s scraper, also my Goobers. The last up very poorly. My pumpkin crop is up very nicely. Peas are dropping their blooms without bearing. Everything needing rain. First mess of Irish Potatoes yesterday. Spinach & first planting of radish about done. Raphanus Candatus forming flower buds. Look very unpromising. Asparagus & last plantings of cucumbers, netted melons are up. Tomatoes planted 8 days ago all living. They were ½ row Fejee Isl., 1 row large smooth red, ½ Keys Early Prolific, ½ Ex. Early, ½ Tilden, ?? Maupays Superior. Planted Boustrefschden (?). Clover doing splendidly. Some few young beans formed. Bugs terribly troublesome to them.
May 12. Raining at last. Set out Early York Cabbage, Brussell’s Sprouts-2 full rows of the latter. Also filled out the 2 rows of Wethersfield Red and Danvers Yellow onion that had come up badly with Silverskin & set out another full row. Set out also a row of Broccoli next to Irish Potatoes, & next to that a row of Early Walcheren Cauliflower. Filled up gaps in Cabbage, Parsnip, Salsify & Beet rows. Set out 90 tobacco plants & 2/3 of a row of Sweet Potatoes, also 2 Maupays Superior Tomatoes. Last planting of Potatoes ripening fast.
May 14. Set hen on 15 eggs from Mrs. Holland’s. Okra planted May 3d up beautifully & nearly as far on as that planted Apr. 18. Eggs obtained from Mrs. M’Kelvy’s began hatching yesterday, just 20 days. Plants set out, all living.
May 15. Took off two hens today with 27 young chickens. Worked over the garden. Made Bill spade up rows for next setting of cabbage & put stable manure in them-also dug a hole by each cabbage plant that had been set out in the truck patch & put a shovel full of manure in. Manured Brussell Sprouts with cotton seed in the same way. Drilled in three rows of Student Parsnip. They had been soaked three days in water. Drilled in two rows of Onion seed, similarly soaked. They were mixed Danvers, Yellow, Wethersfield, Red & Silver-skin. I want them for sets next Spring. Cleaned off Kale Bed & sowed Drumhead Savoy Cabbage. We use the last of our Savoy Spinach tomorrow, & will then begin on Radish tops sown Apl. 7-ready for use in 5 weeks. Fodder all given out.
May 19. Cabbage sown on 15th up today. Sowed a bed of cabbage seed that I got from Mrs. Davis. Set out a few sweet potato slips. Had my cotton brought to a stand. Threw up two beds for slips. Planted in garden with corn, 2 rows of Early Bush Squash, also in two rows of Stowells evergreen corn. Planted my cornpatch with White Bush Bean & White Dutch running Bean. Replanted Pumpkins. Planted two rows of M’Clintock Bean. This Bean is in full bloom while the other four planted the same day Apl. 2 are way behind. It is earlier than the “Six Weeks.” I tested the growth of the Giant Wax bean. In 18 hours it grew three (3) inches. Raphanus Candatus in full bloom. First mess of Parsnips & Carrots. Short Horn Carrot is quite large. Plant it extensively in future. Onions, we are using. They are, some of them, as large as my fist. Planted Winter Crook neck Squash with Cotton. Hen hatched out seven beautiful little ducks.
May 21. The Onions sown May 15 up today, so also the Drumhead Savoy. Goodrich Potatoes ahead of all others-twice as large as a hen-egg.
May 22. Set out 2 ½ rows of Potato slips, also, 1 row of Cauliflower, & 2 of Kohl Rabbi. Also some Cabbage plants. Cabbage bed now stands:
1-7. Early York and Drumhead
8. Winningstadt Cabbage [In margin: Late Flat Dutch]
9. Marblehead Mammoth
10. Early York
[NOTE: In margin beside all cabbages: Destroyed by the chickens.]
Got first beans today, from six week beans planted Mar. 11-10 weeks ago.
May 29. Dan’l O’Rourke Peas are now 6 feet high-Peas just ready to use. Royal Dwarf 1 ½ high shapes formed. Eugenie 3 feet high, bearing. M’Lean’s Little Gem 4 inches high, blooming. Raphanus Candatus beginning to form considerable pods. Early Frame Cucumber, first planting has shapes & open blooms. Student Parsnip beginning to come up. Sweet Potato slips not doing well. Triomphe de Gand Strawberry doing finely-berries large. Napoleon III I like very much. I have found that my English gooseberry is named Crown Bob Warrington. My whole garden is in splendid order. Beans (White Dutch) planted with corn are coming up. For Beans-all planted together, “M’Clintock’s early” comes in two weeks ahead-then “Landreths early Six weeks” & two weeks later “White Trailing Rice” & “Turtle Soup.” Goodrich Potato far ahead for size and earliness of all competitors. Corn, Fodder & Hay all given out. Yesterday I had Bluford to plow and Bill to Hoe over my corn, cotton, Pindars & Sweet Potatoes & Pumpkins. I worked over the whole garden & tomorrow will finish the truck patch.
May 1869
May 5. I planted today 13 rows of Ground peas. George hoed out corn. It is coming up well.
May 7. Slight Frost. Cotton that was up is dying.
May 8. Planted 13 rows of white peas. Planted 2 rows of running beans, 2 of Short Horn Carrot, 2 of Student Parsnip & replanted 6 of Bush beans. Raphanus Caudatus is in bearing. Many pods beginning to degenerate to the old Radish pod form.
May 9. Got holes ready for Cucumbers. Planted row of Watermelons. George & I have built a paling fence in front of back yard & built a wagon shelter.
May 10. Cotton all dying. Dicenter Spectacularis is a beautiful flower. Set hen on ½ doz. Duck egges.
May 12. Cotton all dead. Beans in bloom. Set out Sweet Potatoes.
May 16. Early Rose Potato is certainly fine. I like it better than the Harrison. Sowed Brussells Sprouts, Cauliflower & Broccoli in the new bed I prepared yesterday. Early frame Cucumber-set out leeks, sowed Stowell’s Evergreen Squashes. Set out Tomatoes & Sweet Potatoes. Set hen on ½ doz. Guinea eggs.
May 25. I have had George busy plowing & hoeing over the farm-have got my corn worked out-cotton replanted-Very poor apology for a farm this far.
May 26. In the garden, George & I have been building an arbor for running beans. Also got ready and manured holes for Tomato vines & cabbage plants. We have had plenty of lettuce. Planted Sorgum.
May 30. Dry & hot. Had our first mess of beans today-first of beets & Irish potatoes on 28th. R. Candatus is equal to Asparagus. Today built a Cabbage Garden in rear of lot. Planting Peas-hoeing cotton. Goobers up beautifully. Sorgum coming up. Cucumbers beginning to bloom.