The Garden Magazine 



Volume XIX 



JULY, 1914 



' //A^»JkJ*i' A^,. -T &£g£ 



How to 

 Water 



JULY is usually a dry month and watering has to be done. 

 There is a proper and an improper way to do anything, 

 and the improper method of watering is very harmful. 

 Indeed the plants would be far better off if left entirely 

 unwatered rather than poorly watered. 



When it becomes necessary to water anything, from a cabbage 

 to the most delicate orchid, there is just one guiding principle to 

 keep in mind — thoroughness. The plant, whatever it is, should be 

 soaked thoroughly, until water reaches the entire root system. 



C PRAYING plants lightly, and simply keeping them surface 

 moist is wrong; the moisture is lost through evaporation, and 

 it has a tendency to bring the roots to the surface, a condition to 

 be avoided if possible. Deep watering is essential but the more 

 gently the water is applied the better it will be, as it 

 doesn't then pack the soil; to sum up it means soak the 

 plants thoroughly when dry, but apply in as fine parti- 

 cles as possible. It is also advisable to water in early morning or 

 evening. It is not a good practice to water in the strong sun, 

 especially on a clay soil containing a large proportion of organic 

 matter. When water is applied to such a soil a considerable degree 

 of heat is disengaged (and in lesser degree this is true also of all 

 soils). If the water be added to a soil baked by the sun the 

 temperature of the soil itself, already high, is raised appreciably — 

 even as much as 20 degrees. As can be imagined considerable 

 injury may thus be done to the roots. The good gardener needs 

 be warned especially, inasmuch as this raise of soil temperature is 

 greater in proportion to the better quality of the soil. There is 

 least likelihood of injury from watering in the sun when a poor 

 sandy soil is being worked. 



There are many good sprinklers on the market which are excel- 

 lent for the steady distribution of water, but, of course, a good 

 irrigating system is better still, and while 

 costing more to install is both practical 

 and logical, and if figured on a ten year 

 basis is the cheaper proposition and the 

 watering is done far better than it can be 

 done by any other method. 



f ETTING weeds grow is a most expen- 

 •^ sive summer habit. As the weed growth 

 usually terminates this month and it is 

 the proper moment to start on a real clean 

 up, cut down all before they 

 have a chance to spread 

 around their too plentiful 

 seeds. If you get after the weeds now you 

 will have a better garden next summer. 

 Clean out every solitary weed from your 

 garden; and cut down and burn those you 

 can't get the roots of, before they ripen 

 their seeds. 



Do your weeding and cultivating early in 

 the morning; you will be much more com- 

 fortable then than later on, in the hot sun. 



Vegetables 

 now Growing 



Fight 

 the Weeds 



Now is the time to sow seeds 

 to have flowering 



JZ"EEP on sowing string beans; two sowings should be made 



during the month to insure tender young beans. 



Now is the time to make sowings of beets and carrots for winter 



use. Sow as many rows as you think you will use. The matter 



K of proper storing will be attended to in these pages in 



s . due season. 



: Sowings of corn can be made this month using 



early or second early varieties. Make one sowing anyhow around 

 the 15th, and a final one about ten days later — the loss of one 

 sowing is not a heavy item. 



Cucumbers sown now will bear; in fact the plants do excep- 

 tionally well from sowings made at this time. 



Keep your lettuce partially shaded and well watered. Keep right 

 on making frequent sowings. Endive can also be sown for fall use. 



pWRLY potatoes should now be ready for use, only dig them 



as you can use them, as they gain rapidly in size and quality 



at this season. Don't neglect to give the plants a good thorough 



spraying with arsenate of lead, which will probably be the last 



necessary; and don't stop cultivating. 



All the late crops of cabbage, cauliflower, kale, 

 broccoli and the like should be planted out before 

 the end of the month. 



If it has not been planted already, late celery must be planted 

 out at once. Planting may be on the flat or in trenches; the flat 

 treatment makes cultivation much easier, and the plants are not 

 so liable to get pithy as when grown in a trench. 



Don't neglect your melons now; this is a critical period. Spray 



the plants with bordeaux mixture twice or even three times this 



month and don't neglect to place small boards under each melon. 



Pumpkins and squash should be sprayed with arsenate of lead to 



keep the squash bug from destroying the plants. 



Onions that show signs of terminating 

 their growth should be pulled up and laid 

 on their side on cinders or slats to ripen. 



T OOK out for the asparagus beetle. 



Spray the plants with arsenate of lead 



or dust on hellebore powder in the early 



morning when the plants are still moist, also 



„ , . give the bed a thorough 



Strawberries °. . , ,, , , ° 



, . cleaning followed by a 



and Asparagus , ,. .. c .? , 



good application 01 nitrate 



of soda. Remember the plants are 



now forming crowns upon the quality of 



which depends the asparagus crop of next 



season. 



Order your strawberry plants now for 



delivery next month. Don't pick out all 



the cheap varieties you can find; and also 



be sure you get both pistillate and staminate 



flowering types. Start now to prepare the 



bed, spading in a really liberal quantity 



of manure, and you can surely have fruit 



next season! 



of perennials in cold frames 

 plants next year 



327 



