IN NOVEMBER the gardener's chief 

 duties are making proper preparations 

 for the coming winter, getting ready to 

 give adequate protection to tender, even 

 some hardy, plants and generally cleaning 

 up the remnants of the season's odds and 

 ends so as to have all tidy for winter and 

 ready to start out afresh next spring. 

 Only in the greenhouse is growth now 

 really active. There all is life and energy. 



SOMETIME late this month or early 

 next month it will be necessary to 

 store the celery for winter use. If a heavy 



frost comes before you have a chance to put it away, throw some hay or leaves 

 Protecting and over ^ to protect it. I always prefer storing celery out-of- 

 Storinp doors in trenches to storing it in cellars; in the latter case 



_ , it usually gets tough and stringy, while outdoors it retains 

 Surplus Stock j ts crispness. 



Root vegetables can be lifted and stored in trenches. Or, if a trench is too 

 much trouble to make, an old box buried in the ground may be utilized for the 

 purpose. Remove the tops from the vegetables and, after placing them in 

 the box, cover with alternate layers of dirt and leaves to keep out the frost. 

 Jerusalem artichoke, beets, carrots, parsnips, celeriac, salsify, and turnips 

 are all stored in this manner; also chicory and sea kale until they have had 

 sufficient rest to start forcing in the greenhouse. 



Late crops of lettuce can be kept for a very long time if they are protected. 

 Leave it in the ground where it was grown and cover it with leaves and salt 

 hay during freezing weather. If this is insufficient lift the plants with some 

 earth and store upside down on a cellar floor where it is cool. 



Cabbage is usually stored in trenches. Put the heads upside down and 

 cover the trenches, sloping the sides well so that the water will run off. 



A little hay or leaves thrown over the Brussels sprouts will keep them until 

 they are used, unless you have a lot of sprouts and intend carrying them through 

 the winter in which case they will have to be stored in trenches, just like 

 cabbages. 



Squash and pumpkin are best stored in a dry cool cellar; they don't keep well 

 when stored outdoors. It is also advisable to put these vegetables away before 

 they are frost bitten. 



If potatoes are picked over carefully now you will have very little trouble 

 with them afterward. A greater percentage of bad tubers will be found at this 

 time than at any subsequent period. 



Don't neglect to clean up the asparagus bed. Cut off the tops and burn 

 them, and cultivate the spaces between the rows. After the ground is frozen 

 apply a mulch of well rotted manure. 



French globe artichokes must be protected over the winter. Lay some sticks 

 around the plants and put a number of corn stalks around each one. This is 

 the best means of protection I know of, the sticks are merely to keep the corn 

 stalks from falling down on the plants and causing them to rot. 



CUT off and burn all dead flowering stalks; gather up and put away all 

 stakes; get manure to mulch all borders and apply it after the ground 

 freezes. Until the ground freezes you can continue to move the perennials. 

 Fall is a good time for this work and you can move any of them if you will give 

 Cleaning up them the protection of a mulch. 

 ,. „. Cannas, dahlias, gladiolus, montbretias, and other tender 



e ower flowering bulbs should be lifted and put away. A cool, dry 



Garden cellar makes the best storage; the cannas can be placed 



under the bench in a cool greenhouse. 



Everlasting flowers, such as gomphrenas and straw flowers, should be cut 

 before they are badly frozen and hung up in a room to dry. 



Fall-sown sweet peas produce flowers so far ahead of any that are planted in 

 spring that it is worth the effort; all that is required is some sort of a frame to 

 put over the trench. A broad frame with leaves and litter will answer the pur- 

 pose; lift it on fine days to give the plants some air. Prepare the trench the 

 same as for spring planting; use plenty of manure and three feet is none too deep 

 to put it. Then build the frame right on the trench. If you have not sash 

 enough use boards; in either case you must protect during severe weather with 

 some sort of covering. 



START now to protect tender shrubs, such as hydrangeas, boxwood, rhodo- 

 dendron, etc., for the winter. The best method I know of to protect 

 hydrangeas is to bury them; tie all the stalks together, put a barrel over them 

 ' and fill the barrel with earth. They can also be laid over and buried, putting a 

 Don't Neglect the mulch of litter on top of the soil. 



With boxwood, rhododendrons and other tender 

 Tender Evergreens evergreens the conditions are different. They need 

 protection against sun scald. A plentiful supply of fine boughs makes the ideal 

 protection; these placed among the plants protect them from the sun and wind 

 and also prevent breakage by snow. This is done by standing the boughs up- 

 right between the plants, in holes that have been made with a crowbar and 

 placing the sharpened end of the bough in the hole. I would tie up formal 

 clipped specimens (boxwood, biotas, junipers, clipped retinispora, etc.) with 

 straw cords or rope to keep them in shape. 



I have seen a protection made by driving heavy posts at the corners of the bed, 

 weaving a net work of wire between them, and then covering this with branches 

 of pine or spruce trees. In this case crooked branches can be used that couldn't 

 very well be used otherwise. 



I have seen evergreens of the boxwood and juniper type strawed in tight, but 

 in mild weather a musty condition ensues because of lack of air and causes loss 

 by damp rot. • The other method is preferable as it admits air to the plants. 



Most evergreens are very fibrous rooters and therefore have a greater amount 

 of surface roots than most trees, this is particularly true of the more tender 

 varieties. Constant freezing and thawing ofttimes causes injurv to these roots; 



THE MONTH'S 

 REMINDER 



COMPILED WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE HOME GARDEN, FROM 

 THE TEN YEARS' DIARIES OF A PRACTICAL EXPERT GARDENER 



For reckoning dates, the latitude of New York City is generally taken as a 

 standard. In applying the directions to other localities, allow six 



days' difference for every hundred miles of latitude 



the best protection is a good heavy mulch 

 of either leaves or manure. Personally 1 

 prefer both, applying a mulch of manure 

 and then raking leaves right on top. This 

 will eliminate any danger to the roots. 



Bay trees, hydrangeas in tubs and other 

 plants of this kind should be placed in 

 proper winter quarters. A cool greenhouse 

 is the ideal place for the bay trees, and a 

 frost proof cellar, not too warm, will do for 

 the hydrangeas and other semi-hardy 

 plants. 



You can continue planting just as long 

 as the ground can be worked. Of course it 

 is better to have this work attended to earlier in the season, but with trees and 

 shrubs that move easily it is perfectly practical to continue planting all this 

 month, in fact all winter if the ground stays in workable condition. Oaks, birch, 

 tulips, and beeches should not be moved in fall. 



IT IS quite an art to protect tender perennials over the winter. If you use 

 a whole lot of covering a mild damp spell will cause as much damage as 

 heavy freezing. Try the following method: Lay some heavy brush over the 

 plants and put the protecting material on top of this. The brush should be 

 Protecting for heavy enough to keep the litter off the plants and it 



W r TUT 1 W should be shaken occasionally when it gets matted 



nt r, iviuicning d wn with rain or snow. Campanulas, pompon 

 chrysanthemums, anchusas, anemones, etc., are all best when protected in this 

 manner. 



A heavy mulch should be applied to the perennial border after it has been well 

 cleaned. Keep the manure away from the plants, confining it entirely to the 

 intervening spaces between the plants. The better the grade of manure used 

 and the greater quantity, the better the flowers next season. 



A mulch should be applied to bulb plantings after the ground is frozen, not 

 merely as a protection, but as plant food for the bulbs which continue to make 

 roots practically all winter. 



Apply a mulch of good manure to the strawberry bed. A light covering of 

 salt hay over the plants, just enough to keep the sun from damaging them, is 

 also beneficial. Lay a few light sticks on top to keep it from blowing away. 



HAVE you thought anything about setting out an orchard? Apple and 

 pear trees are best set in fall, while the stone fruits do better if left until 

 spring. However, now is the time to get the ground ready; don't venture to 

 plant the trees without proper soil preparation. Plow good and deep, using 

 Starting an a surj -soil plow to break up the stratum of hard pan that is 

 n usually found beneath the top soil. Make the holes big and 



Urcnara fill them with good soil and manure. Dynamite is used con- 



siderably nowadays in making holes and it works very successfully; it thoroughly 

 pulverizes the soil and breaks the hard underlying clay, thus giving the roots a 

 chance to penetrate down deep into the soil. 



THERE is a great tendency nowadays to grow vegetables in the greenhouse. 

 There are few that do not force well if the proper conditions are given 

 them. In the cool house cauliflower, beets, carrots, green onions, parlsey, 

 radishes and spinach (both types) are all possible, with asparagus and rhubarb 

 t ii, under the benches; in the warm house, beans, bush limas, cu- 



cumbers, eggplant, muskmelons, and tomatoes are all possi- 

 Greennouse bilities. With a little judgment and skill used in planting it is 

 surprising the amount of vegetables a small greenhouse will produce. 



This is the time to start mushrooms. You do not need a special cellar for 

 the purpose; they can be raised perfectly well under the benches in the green- 

 house. The big point with mushrooms is to be sure the droppings don't burn 

 while being collected. Use plenty of water in moderate quantities. 



This is the time to start cuttings of bush'plant chrysanthemums. By strik- 

 ing the cuttings now and growing on moderately through the winter the founda- 

 tion of a good plant is formed. 



Start feeding calla lilies just as soon as they show their first flower; manure 

 waters are best for the purpose. Feed them freely as they grow. 



Early freesias should be now ready for staking. Do not neglect this. Do not 

 start feeding until the bud appears in the sheath; then feed freely with liquid 

 manures. 



Don't make the error of growing sweet peas too warm; keep the night tem- 

 perature around 45 degrees and try to keep the soil condition as evenly balanced 

 as possible. By that I mean don't get the plants waterlogged nor allow them 

 to get excessively dry. 



Lilies intended for Christmas should now be placed in the warm house. 

 Throw away any diseased plants as it is a waste of time to bother with them. 

 Don't feed until the bud shows. 



Tap the tomatoes on dull days to make the pollen fly; at this season of the 

 year this will usually be enough help to cause them to "set." Don't feed 

 the plants but keep adding a mulch of rich soil to the outside of the hill as 

 required. 



Don't pinch the carnations any longer; allow them to flower, and keep the 

 night atmosphere moderately dry. Do the spraying and watering in the morn- 

 ing so that the plants will get a chance to dry out during the day. 



Roses should be flowering now and it is a good time to start feeding, with a 

 moderate amount of liquid manure; or a mulch of good cow manure applied to 

 the top of the bench is excellent. 



If you have any trouble with meal bug in your fruit houses now is the time 

 to get after it. Remove all loose bark and thoroughly fumigate the houses with 

 hydrocyanic acid gas. Paint the canes thoroughly with wood alcohol. Be 

 sure to keep the alcohol away from the eyes. 



Give the palms and stove plants a moderate resting period. Keep the house 

 a few degrees lower (around 60 degrees nights) and only spray a couple of times 

 a day. Keep the soil in the pots rather dry. 



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