The Garden Magazine 



Vol. XIV— No. 2 



Published Monthly 



SEPTEMBER, 1911 



( One Dollar Fifty Cents a Year 

 I Fifteen Cents a Copy 



[For the purpose of reckoning dates, New York is 

 generally taken as a standard. Allow six days' difference 

 for every hundred miles of latitude.] 



Where September Has No Rival 



SEPTEMBER is the favored month 

 for planting peonies — at least 

 with certainty of success. Nurserymen 

 realize this and have their best plants 

 ready for shipment so all that is needed 

 on your part is a determination not to 

 prevaricate. Order without delay. There 

 cannot be any question as to whether 

 you want peonies. Who doesn't? 



But they are not the only flowers to 

 plant. Any of the hardy herbaceous 

 perennials will become well rooted before 

 cold weather if planted before September 

 ioth. Or their seeds may be sown almost 

 •as late. 



Established colonies of phlox, dianthus, 

 hollyhocks and other border plants should 

 be dug up, the clumps divided and reset 

 in newly enriched soil. 



Usually there are enough of these plants 

 so that some may be potted and cut back, 

 to be taken indoors before frost comes. 

 These will send up new, vigorous growth 

 and bloom bountifully during the dark 

 days of early winter. 



Prepare for Frost Now 



GPEAKING of frost, you may expect a 

 ^ few preliminary touches any time 

 after the middle of the month. Three 

 conditions are necessary for the occur- 

 rence of frost — which is simply the con- 

 densation of the atmospheric moisture on 

 the surface of plants. These are: 

 i. Dry air. 



2. A clear sky. 



3. Absence of wind. 



When these appear in combination 

 about sundown, hustle around and pro- 

 tect your tender plants. Cheesecloth or 

 newspapers laid over the beds will be 



effective ; or you can leave the sprinkler 

 going to keep the air moist. ' It might pay 

 to place smudge fires about the garden. 



Preparing the Fruit .Trees for 

 Winter 



CEASE cultivating entirely.' If there is 

 no cover crop planted, begin to mulch 

 the trees and fruit bushes, lightly at first, 

 more heavily as October progresses. Can 

 and preserve all the fruits and all the veg- 

 etables you can spare from, the table. •' 



Canes of the blackberries and rasp- 

 berries can be cut back if they are in 

 danger of being whipped about and broken 

 by winter winds. Another provision for 

 more small fruits next summer is the plant- 

 ing of some more bushes now, to replace 

 others as they grow old and unprofitable. 



Under Glass 



TT IS now another planting season for the 

 -*■ coldframe gardener. Lettuce sowed 

 up to September 15 th will supply you 

 during early winter, and even until Christ- 

 mas if the frames are well protected. 

 Give the plants all the air you can until 

 real cold weather, and keep water out of 

 the hearts. By the way, an excellent 

 means for ventilating frames is the use of 

 cloth sashes instead of glass. 



Beets may mature if sown now, but if 

 not the tops will make excellent greens 

 for late fall dinners. Radishes are always 

 seasonable. 



Parsley is slow to germinate but hardy, 

 and can be grown all winter either in a 

 greenhouse or a well protected frame. 



Spinach may be planted about the 

 8th to give Christmas greens; and about 

 the 2 1 st. This latter crop will give you 

 your first spring vegetable in March. 



Cabbage may be grown for early spring 

 if sown now; or, equally well, half grown 

 heads from July or August sown seed may 

 be buried in a trench to be set out again 

 next April. 



It is acknowledged that peas can be 

 sown until September first. Why not 

 try some a week later, cover them during 

 the first frost and enjoy them when other 

 folks are thinking of cabbage and turnips 

 as the only "fresh vegetables?" 



Tomatoes Will Ripen Indoors 



A ND they should be picked at the first 

 **■ signs of frost. Eggplants too, and 

 peppers, for these are all of tropical origin 

 and need more protection than "infant 

 industries." 



Potatoes should be dug and stored 



53 



away where the temperature will stay a 

 little above $2 degrees. Pumpkins and 

 Hubbard squash need a slightly higher 

 temperature and dry atmosphere. 



To Prove You Are a Good ' 

 Gardener i 



X/'OU should make neatness your trade- 

 1 mark. As soon as plants cease to 

 bear pull .up and burn them, or hide them 

 away in the compost heap. 



After the leaves have fallen it is some- 

 times hard to tell a dead bjfafich from 

 a live one, so if there are any of the former 

 on your trees and bushes cut them out 

 and burn them. But don't attempt any 

 real pruning till the plants are dormant. 



If your soil is well drained and fairly 

 light, you can start new lawns or reseed 

 old ones up to September 15th. Give 

 them plenty of water, however, so that the 

 seedlings will start the winter with a 

 good growth of strong roots. 



The fallen leaves that so many people 

 burn in the gutter in front of their houses, 

 make excellent material to add to the 

 compost heap. Practise a little economy 

 and don't let all that plant food go to 

 waste before your eyes. 



If you find the lawn strewn with twigs 

 and small branches of your oak trees, 

 you may be sure that the larvae of the 

 "oak-pruner" {Elaphidion villosum) is at 

 work. But the foolish boring worm comes 

 to the ground inside the twig he gnawed 

 off; hence by burning the twigs we can 

 destroy the pest. 



Look over the greenhouse inside and out, 

 replace all broken lights of glass, fill 

 in putty where needed, and get soil dug 

 and mixed ready for filling the benches 

 and borders, now, while the days are fine. 



A Few Hints Without Details 



IF CABBAGES are ripening too fast and 

 threatening to burst, give the more ma- 

 ture heads a half-twist, without pulling 

 them out of the ground. 



If your winter apples show signs of scab, 

 mildew or any other fungus disease, use 

 ammoniacal copper carbonate. 



Every garden lover should join in the 

 movement for more beautiful roadsides. 

 Gather wild flowers— seeds or plants — and 

 start them along neglected highways, where 

 they will make many a traveler happy. 



Has your vegetable garden been a 

 financial success this season? Go over 

 your accounts and see where you can in- 

 crease your profits and reduce expenses 

 next year. Remember that whatever you 

 do, the soil is ready to do its share. 



