168 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1917 



December in the South 



1~~\ECEMBER is the month for the protec- 

 *-* tion of all plants against the severity of 

 the winter. The constant freezing and thaw- 

 ing is disastrous to newly planted trees and 

 shrubs unless very hardy, therefore they should 

 be held firmly in position by being tied to stakes 

 so that the strong winds cannot dislodge them. 

 Heavy snows will break down the evergreens; 

 so tie the limbs together and brush the snow 

 off as quickly as possible and while yet soft. 

 Give tender Roses a slight mulching of coarse 

 manure about the roots. 



Keep snow and rain from celery beds by 

 pine tags or straw, held down with boards 

 put over in a sloping manner like a roof in 

 order to shed the rain and snow. Spinach 

 which needs little protection and then only 

 in bitter weather is cared for by coarse manure 

 between the rows, but never directly on it as 

 it will become too tender to withstand the 

 next severe freeze. Carrots, salsify, and 

 parsnips can stay where they grow all winter 

 without any protection after the cold weather 

 is settled. Pull up cabbages by the roots and 

 put in a conical shaped pile with root end up, 

 covered with pine tags or straw, and then 

 with a foot of dirt and firmed down with a 

 spade; a tile put in the top of kiln for ventila- 

 tion, and on top of tile a bent piece of tin, 

 or inverted V fastened on to keep out rain or 

 snow. Kale and turnip salad stay in the open 

 ground all winter, and upland cress grows 

 everywhere and is good mixed with the turnip 

 leaves as a cooked salad. 



Fig bushes and Hydrangea Otaksa can be 

 protected by pine boughs or corn stalks tied 

 about them; the former is much more sightly 

 and is sufficient to keep off the sharp winds. 



Coarse strawy manure is all that is needed 

 on the Rose bed, and put on after the ground 

 has frozen — a few tender Roses and standards 

 may be wrapped about with straw or burlap. 



A S THE hotbed is not in use for sowing 

 •^*- seed until February it is a good place to 

 put the sweet or Irish potatoes. Put first 

 a layer of pine tags or dry straw on the bot- 

 tom of the bed and alternate a layer of sweet 

 potatoes to the top. Put on the double sash 

 and in the daytime always ventilate by lift- 

 ing the sash a little, and prop open with a 

 brick. A root cellar would be a great advan- 

 tage where there are a great many roots to 

 store, but for an ordinary sized family, putting 

 up the roots in kilns has proven quite satis- 

 factory. Store Dahlias and Cannas the same 

 way. 



ETTUCE frames need constant atten- 

 ■*— ' tion. Put on the double sash and bank 

 up earth against the frame to keep out the 

 cold. Push the plants to maturity by con- 

 stantly watering with liquid manure (only in 

 the mornings in cold weather) and water be- 

 tween the plants so the leaves will not get 

 wet. Lift the sash a little every day. One 

 can have lettuce all winter with care and 

 attention to these details. 



rpVERGREENS like Irish Junipers and 

 -*—' others of value should be tied together 

 with soft, but strong twine, to prevent whip- 

 ping about by the winds, and breaking by the 

 weight of the snow. Do not let the snow 

 remain on the evergreens but brush it off before 

 it freezes hard. Neglect in this has caused 

 serious loss by breaking of the limbs. 



If the weather is open and the ground not 



too wet plant the Sweet Peas. Make a trench 

 eighteen inches deep and one foot wide, and 

 put in six inches of well-rotted manure, then 

 a few inches of garden soil, and sow the seed 

 on top of this and cover lightly with soil 

 about three inches. Do not fill in the trench 

 until the plants begin to grow in the early 

 spring and then add the dirt gradually. 

 It is better to plant Sweet Peas this month or 

 even in January, for if planted earlier and 

 they begin to grow the cold weather will kill 

 them. 



Tobacco stems scattered lightly over the 

 lawn is a fine fertilizer. There is also the black 

 muck, or humus, now on the market especially 

 good for lawns which has the advantage over 

 farm manure for the reason that it does not 

 contain any obnoxious weed seeds. 



If the orchard has not been pruned, do it 

 now, and if there is any appearance of San 

 Jose or oyster scale spray with self-boiled 

 lime-sulphur. It will take several sprayings 

 during the winter to be effective. 



TT IS not too late to plant the early blooming 

 ■*■ bulbs, such as Crocus, Hyacinth, Tulip, 

 Snowdrop, Narcissus, and Jonquil in the 

 open ground. Bring the potted bulbs into 

 the house every few weeks. Hippeastrum, 

 Calla Lily and Amaryllis which have been 

 dormant can be brought in now and fed with 

 liquid cow manure. When planted in the 

 pots a good light loamy soil should be used, 

 and good drainage at the bottom with pieces 

 of old broken flower pots. 



Violets, English Daisies and Pansies planted 

 in cold frames need plenty of air every day, 

 and kept covered in bitter cold weather. 

 Water only when necessary and then in the 

 mornings. All of these flowers can be left 

 in the open ground as they like the cold 

 weather, and Pansies will bloom out of doors 

 in a protected place all winter, but in order 

 to have them to gather for the house it is 

 better to have them protected from the snow. 

 Violets and Daisies will bloom in great abun- 

 dance in February in the frames. 



Air the conservatory every day during the 

 winter, being careful to keep the air from 

 blowing directly on the plants. Only water 

 the plants when they need it, and then very 

 thoroughly, soaking the earth in the pots 

 through and through. This is better than a 

 light sprinkling every day, for the roots do 

 not always get the water. 



Keep the plants free from aphis, mealy 

 bugs, mites and scale. Spraying with soap 

 solution is good in most cases, but tobacco 

 water is also efficacious. Begin when the 

 insects first appear, so as to get them under 

 control before the plant is injured. 



Plant Paper-white Narcissus and Chinese 

 Lilies in water with pebbles to steady them, 

 every few weeks, and thus have a continuous 

 bloom all winter. They can be planted 

 in earth in pots also. They require six weeks 

 to bloom, so the Xmas flowers should be 

 started in November. Roman Hyacinths 

 bloom in less time, taking only three weeks. 

 Plant a few of these bulbs every few weeks 

 so as to have continuous bloom. 



With the bulbs, and Geraniums and 

 Fuchsias, and the easy growing annuals such 

 as Petunias, Verbenas, and Larkspurs one 

 can have a very gay window garden with 

 very little care. 



J. M. Patterson. 



The Storage of Potatoes 



TT IS of great importance that all the 

 potatoes raised last summer are handled 

 properly in storage. Even when every pre- 

 caution is taken the wastage of potatoes 

 during the winter is considerable; under bad 

 conditions of storage it is very great indeed. 

 In order that the best methods may be 

 adopted by the small growers, those who have 

 not had the experience in the storage of 

 potatoes should know the chief causes of the 

 wastage. 



These causes are: (i) Sweating, Heat- 

 ing and Consequent Rot: often due to 

 insufficient ventilation; (2) Rotting: due to 

 potatoes getting wet at the time of putting 

 them in storage; (3) Injury from Frost; 

 (4) Decay: owing to disease in the tubers at 

 the time of storage; (5) Sprouting of Tubers 

 in the Spring. It is not possible to prevent 

 altogether losses from these causes, but by 

 using the best methods of storage, it is possible 

 to reduce them very materially. 



Reasons of Loss 



This may be done by taking care to guard 

 against losses from each of these causes: 

 (1) Sweating and Heating occur if the freshly 

 dug potatoes are piled in too large piles, so 

 that the air cannot circulate between the 

 tubers. The risk of loss from this cause is 

 greatest in the fall, immediately after the 

 tubers have been dug, and it is, therefore, 

 important that potatoes when dug should not 

 be put in unnecessarily large piles, nor kept in 

 an ill-ventilated room. 



(2) Rotting from Getting the Potatoes 

 Wet. If the potatoes at the digging time are 

 allowed to get wet and to go into storage 

 in that condition, rotting is sure to occur. 

 Be careful to have your potatoes dry before 

 storing. 



(3) Injury from Frost. Potatoes are easily 

 damaged by frost. If they become frozen, 

 their market value is destroyed. Therefore, 

 take every precaution to protect the tubers 

 from frost before and after digging. 



(4) Disease. There are several diseases of 

 the potato which destroy the tuber, and if 

 diseased tubers are mixed with the sound 

 ones, the disease spreads rapidly; therefore,, 

 it is necessary to sort the potatoes carefully, 

 eliminating all of the disease, the cuts, culls, 

 and dirt before placing them into permanent 

 storage for the winter. All of the cuts, culls, 

 misshapen and diseased tubers should be 

 fed to the poultry and live stock, but should 

 be steamed or boiled before being fed, as in 

 this way you increase the food value, and also 

 destroy the germs of the disease, so that 

 it will not get into the manure and thence into 

 the land. 



(5) By proper ventilation of the cellar or 

 storage room, and by holding the temperature 

 as near 35 degrees F. as possible, you can 

 keep the potatoes from sprouting. 



Selection of Seed 



Seed for next year's planting should be 

 selected from hills that produce true to 

 type potatoes. The right way, of course, is: 

 to select seed potatoes at digging time, and 

 store separately in crates or boxes. By storing 

 selected seed in a well-lighted room where the 

 temperature can be held at from 34 to 40 de- 

 grees, with a little ventilation and planting next 

 spring, the grower will make a start toward 

 improving the quality of his potatoes, instead 

 of as in the past, simply planting the culls 

 or runouts. 



