The Garden Magazine 



Vol. X— No. 1 



Published Monthly 



AUGUST, 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.] 



Big Facts for August 



THERE is one thing that can be done 

 during August better than during 

 any other month of the year, and that is 

 the making of a new strawberry bed. Use 

 pot-grown or layered plants, and under 

 high cultivation you may even gather a 

 reasonably good crop of fruit next year. 



By all means try some of the newer ber- 

 ries. Every now and then the gardener, 

 who is always trying new strawberries 

 finds one that is preeminently adapted to 

 his own particular conditions or style of 

 cultivation, and there is more variation in 

 the strawberry, according to local conditions, 

 than in any other fruit or vegetable. The 

 up-to-date gardener always tries a few new 

 strawberries every year; but do not be led 

 into discarding an assured success until 

 by actual experiment, in your own garden, 

 you have proven another berry to be really 

 desirable. 



Make the bed with three different kinds 

 — early, midseason, and late. The best 

 varieties are midseason kinds, but you can 

 afford to sacrifice a little of quality for 

 something that is exceptionally early. Also 

 do not forget that some kinds need pollenizers 

 blooming simultaneously. 



Plant Some Evergreens 



THE next great opportunity of the month 

 is in moving and planting evergreens. 

 Toward the end of the month this class of 

 plants begins to make a very rapid root 

 growth and if transplanted just when this 

 starts very large specimens can be moved 

 with perfect success. 



One good reason in favor of August- 

 planted evergreens is that there is not much 

 to be done in any other kind of heavy work 

 about the place. Deciduous trees must on 



no account be moved at this time, as they 

 do not make that late root growth. 



The only points to be regarded in moving 

 evergreens are to preserve a big ball of roots 

 and wrap some covering around the ball 

 so that the air cannot dry out the roots, 

 for they are the most sensitive parts and 

 once tried never recover. 



After planting, water well and put a 

 mulch around, which is to stay all next 

 summer. . 



Move Madonna Lilies 



THE third great opportunity of the month 

 lies in planting Madonna lily now. As 

 soon as ever you can get the bulbs and the 

 American-grown stock may be had at the 

 beginning of the month, plant out and do 

 not delay even half a day. The Madonna 

 lily will begin to grow and throw up a small 

 tuft of leaves this season, but it is quite 

 hardy and will flower vigorously next May. 



The Routine of the Vegetable 

 Garden 



MAKE a last sowing of beets — in the 

 open ground where the crop is to stand. 

 Better sow in rows, and be light handed 

 with the seed. There is not much demand 

 for "greens" during the late summer. 



Both pole and lima beans may be sown 

 for the last crop, and plenty of them will 

 yield right up to the time of frost. Even if 

 the limas are in full bearing when the frost 

 comes, the tops may be cut and put under 

 cover or under slight protection outside, 

 and may be helped to carry the crop until 

 the beans can be gathered and taken inside 

 to be dried and put up for winter use. Read 

 the article in the July number of The 

 Garden Magazine on page 348. 



Put in the last sowing of sweet corn, 

 using the first early varieties. 



Early cabbages will be ready for harvest, 

 but the main crop must be given good 

 cultivation in order to keep the heads in 

 good condition for winter storage. 



Watch out for insect pests and other 

 diseases. 



Set out late celery as early as possible. 

 Plants that have been out some little time 

 must be "handled" for blanching as soon 

 as they have attained sufficient size. Wrap 

 the stems with paper, lay boards on the row, 

 earth up or slip drain tiles over the plants 

 — whichever method is the most conveni- 

 ent is the best. But do it when the plants 

 are about half grown. 



Harvest onions. Do not let the bulbs 

 stay in the ground after they are fully 

 developed. After harvesting, let them lie 

 on the ground until cured, gather them up 



and spread them thinly on the floor of 

 the cellar or in the shed for a few days, 

 when they may be stacked or strung for 

 storage. 



Keep tomato plants well in hand, pruning 

 superfluous shoots, watering whenever nec- 

 essary, and picking off all diseased fruit 

 immediately it is detected. Ripening may 

 be hastened by picking the fruits and 

 placing them in a hotbed. 



Sow lettuce for succession. 



Sow collards and spinach for autumn use. 



Sow for September use any of the large 

 first early, wrinkled peas. 



Make the first sowing of turnips and 

 rutabaga. 



Sow salsify for spring use and Welsh 

 onion for seasoning in the spring. 



All kinds of fall salads may now be sown 

 according to fancy, including cucumbers 

 for pickles and globe artichokes for trans- 

 planting in the spring. Sow carefully in 

 shade the same as you would seeds of her- 

 baceous perennial flowering plants. 



Flower Seeds for Present Sowing 



\ LL KINDS of perennials are best sown 

 -**■ now, just as soon as the seed can be 

 gathered. Sow in flats in coldframes where 

 they can be given protection both from 

 present sun and winter storms. 



Sow pansy either in the open border or 

 in frames for early spring flowers. 



Blackberries and Raspberries 



CUT away old canes and thin out new 

 growths to three or four. Pinch 

 back to three feet, and head in the laterals 

 when they get long. Grub up all suckers 

 that appear outside the rows. 



You can layer gooseberries or take cut- 

 tings, and of currants the same. Make them 

 six to eight inches long, and plant at once 

 right up to the terminal bud. 



Under Glass 



SOW cauliflower, forcing melons, forcing 

 tomatoes for winter crops. Pot up 

 early bulbs — that is to say, Roman hya- 

 cinths, Paper White narcissus, Lilium 

 Harrisii for Christmas flowers. 



Sow primroses, cinerarias, calceolaria, and 

 cyclamen. Read the article on page 23. 



Lift carnations that have been outdoors 

 all summer and plant them in the benches. 



Repot callas and all other plants that need 

 more root room. 



Make a compost pile to give potting soil 

 later on. 



Pot up tuberoses and freesias io r 

 flower. 



