AUTUMN NEEDS 59 



not rooted up, covers the ground in short order. 



Pull up all stakes and temporary trellises just 

 as soon as the need of them is over. Unless they 

 are in too bad order for further use, shake off 

 the dirt and put them away for the winter under 

 cover. 



The last thing to do in the garden before winter 

 is to give the plants any needed protection. But 

 this does not mean that the task is to be begun 

 at the eleventh hour. Go about it gradually as 

 nature does. Manure, straw, hay, cornstalks or 

 any coarse litter four to six inches deep may 

 be placed over plants that have disappeared en- 

 tirely from view, provided that this is done after 

 the ground freezes and the covering is all or par- 

 tially removed when spring growth is discernible 

 beneath it. The usual reliance, and there is noth- 

 ing better, is leaves and the stalks of plants. 



Gather the leaves after each heavy fall lest 

 many of them blow where they will be lost to you, 

 and also to make the burden lighter. So far as 

 can be done conveniently, rake the leaves toward 

 the plants, using a leaf rake, and then toss them 

 lightly over the plants with the implement. Other- 

 wise carry the leaves in a basket or wheelbarrow 

 to the spot and toss them by hand. In either case 

 they will fall naturally most of them settling 

 sooner or later between the plants, where the next 

 rain will pack them a bit. 



Continue this process three or four times until 

 all the available leaves are used. A good com- 



