The Garden 



azine 



Vol. IX— No. 6 



Published Monthly 



JULY, 1909 



One Dollar a Year 

 Fifteen Cents a Copy 



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[For the purpose of reckoning dates, New York is 

 generally taken as a standard. Allow six days' difference 

 for every hundred miles of latitude.] 



In the Vegetable Garden 



YOU should be enjoying the harvest of 

 succulent, fresh vegetables this month. 

 Do not let them get too old before using 

 them. If you have never yet realized the 

 delicacy of extremely young garden vege- 

 tables, do not let this season pass without 

 making the trial. Carrots, no longer than 

 ordinary radishes, potatoes the size of 

 marbles, and everything just a little bit 

 smaller than you usually see it, make up 

 in extreme delicacy of flavor inversely for 

 what they lack in size. 



Do not let the weeds get ahead of you 

 this month. Keeping the weeds under 

 means a great deal more than mere neatness 

 — they are, after all, but blessings in 

 disguise, for they force cultivation. In 

 cutting down weeds you stir the soil and 

 the crop is benefited just that much. The 

 chances are that but for the growth of 

 weeds half the gardens would not be nearly 

 as good as they are, for hard manual labor 

 in the broiling sun is not the most inviting 

 of occupations. 



There is still work to be done in starting 

 new crops. If you want muskmelons in 

 December, plant seed now in frames. Keep 

 sweet potatoes from rooting at the joints. 



Hot weather is the greatest enemy of the 

 cauliflower, and exposure to sun will ruin 

 both quality and appearance of the head. 

 Be very careful to protect from sunshine 

 all heads as soon as they begin to show. 

 Break the leaves over the heads by bending 

 inward and fasten off with a rubber band 

 or string, or pin them together with a 

 toothpick. 



The herb garden is usually a neglected 

 corner. Watch it so as to gather young 

 leaves and sprigs before the plants come 

 into flower. The essential oils are dissipated 

 somewhat with the maturing of the flower. 



Sow for succession bush beans, making 

 two sowings during this month. Also make 

 two sowings of sweet corn, using one of 

 the earlier varieties for the second sowing, 

 as well as a main crop kind; sow also peas, 

 okra, and, of course, lettuce. 



Also sow beets, remembering to thin out; 

 and use the thinnings for boiled greens as 

 the crop develops. 



If you want kale for winter, sow the 

 seeds in a prepared seed-bed during the 

 early part of the month, and transplant to 

 permanent quarters later as room becomes 

 available. It is a welcome green in winter. 



Make the last sowing of carrots for roots 

 for winter storage. 



Make the first sowing of collards. 



Other vegetables for open air sowing are 

 endive and kohlrabi. 



In the Flower Garden 



AS THE early sowings of flowers come 

 into bloom, provide for their succes- 

 sion by sowings, during this month, of all 

 kinds of annuals — hardy, half hardy or 

 tender. They will give flowers right up 

 to frost, and this is the only way in which 

 you can really make your garden look 

 fresh and cared for when others in your 

 neighborhood are "going to pieces." 



Hardy annuals include wallflower, core- 

 opsis, marigold, mignonette; among the 

 half hardies are balloon vine, canary bird 

 flower, gaillardia, pansy, etc. Pansy seed 

 sown now gives earliest bloom next year. 

 Read "Pansies the Year Round," by Miss 

 I. M. Angell, in the April number of The 

 Garden Magazine, and follow the direc- 

 tions given. 



Among the tender annuals are love-lies- 

 bleeding, castor beans, gourds, Japanese 

 hop, ornamental maize, ice plant, etc. 



Make first sowings of hardy perennials 

 in frames, for transplanting for flower next 

 season. 



House plants that have been plunged 

 outdoors in their pots should be repotted 

 during this month. 



As the taller growing plants in the border 

 gain height, they are liable to suffer injury 

 from the effects of wind; therefore, stake 

 gladioli, dahlias, and herbaceous plants. 



For the Greenhouse 



CARNATIONS that are growing out- 

 doors in the field should be kept 

 well cultivated and pinched back. 



Ventilate the house where violets are 

 growing, giving all the air possible and 

 watch for any diseased leaves, picking off 

 immediately. 



If you have chrysanthemums, do not 



allow them to suffer any check; keep them 

 growing at all costs. 



In the Orchard 



TF YOU want to set out a new strawberry 

 *■ bed this fall, layer runners into pots at 

 any time possible during July. 



Thin rigorously all the standard orchard 

 fruits — apples, pears, peaches, grapes. 

 Read Professor Fletcher's article, "Why It 

 Pays to Thin Fruit," in the May number 

 of The Garden Magazine. It takes 

 some nerve to thin thoroughly, but it 

 pays well. 



Look out for scab and blight in the 

 orchard, and spray whenever noticed. 



If you set out any young trees this spring, 

 mulch them with hay, excelsior, even saw- 

 dust, or anything in order to make sure 

 that they take hold during the current 

 season. Remove all suckers and sprouts 

 that start anywhere but on the head. 



Don't Neglect the Lawn 



"D EPAIR any holes in the lawn as they 

 4-V are noticed. Dig out mossy spots 

 and fill in with good soil, sprinkling seed 

 immediately. 



Keep everlastingly at the lawn during 

 hot weather, repairing, patching, and re- 

 seeding wherever bare spots occur. 



Coarse weeds are best attacked by 

 cutting them down to the ground and drop- 

 ping a crystal of sulphate of iron on the cut 

 surface. Maintaining a good lawn means 

 a good deal of work, but the labor can be 

 immensely lightened by using adequate tools. 

 Read Mr. Kayan's article in The Garden 

 Magazine for last month. 



Advance Fall Orders 



"T^O NOT wait until fall arrives to place 

 *-* your bulb orders. The French grown 

 stock is due to arrive in August, and remem- 

 ber it is "first come first served." Place 

 your order now for selected Roman hya- 

 cinths, giant Paper White narcissus, trumpet 

 major daffodils, jonquils and Madonna lily. 

 Remember that the Madonna lily must be 

 planted in August. 



Send your order for Dutch bulbs at the 

 same time. The seedsman will hold it 

 and ship as received, if you so specify. 



Place your orders with the seedsmen for 

 cineraria, cyclamen, Chinese primrose seed. 

 Freesias and Harrisoni lilies will be arriving 

 during the month, and toward the end 

 California callas reach the East. 



Read the article on naturalizing bulbs 

 on page 343, and try to produce something 

 similar in your own garden. 



