( 3Ke £A4orrfr?s ^QmindQr 



1 he Reminder is to "suggest" what mav be done during the next few weeks. Details of 

 bowtodc each item are given in the current or the back issues ol I :i Garden M \gazine — it 

 i- maniicsiK impossible to m\e all the details of .ill the work in any one issue of a magazine. 

 References to hack number ma) he looked up in the index to each completed volume (sent 

 gratis on request), and the Service Department will also be glad to cite references to anv spe- 

 cial topic if asked by mail. 



When referring to the time for out door work of any sort New York City at sea level in a nor- 

 mal season is taken as standard ; hut at best dates can only be approximate. Roughly, the sea- 

 son advances northward fifteen miles a day. Thus Albany, which is one hundred and fifty 

 miles from New York, would he about ten days later, and Philadelphia, which is ninety miles 

 south-vest about a week earlier. Also allow four days for each one degree of latitude, for 

 each five degrees of longitude, and for each four hundred feet of altitude. 



AUGUST -HIGH NOON IN THE GARDENER'S CALENDAR 



T SURELY is delightful now 

 to be enjoying in abundanc 

 \? the rich rewards that come to 

 £gj| the gardenerwhohas honestly 

 striven in the earlier part of 

 the year. Yet this is not a season for 

 complete inactivity, and by seizing the 

 opportunities much time and work of 

 next year can be discounted. Sugges- 

 tions for planting and sowing are given 

 in the accompanying "box" on this 

 page. Other routine jobs need atten- 

 tion to keep things under control as 

 the season advances. 



Keeping the Vegetables Going 



Some things call for 



prompt attention in 



the first days of the 



month. Others can 



wait. Of the insist- 



ant duties there are: 

 (i) Start melons to be matured un- 

 der glass next winter. The seeds 

 are best sown in pots, though they 

 may be put directly in the green- 

 house benches. 



(2) Sow lettuce to be transplanted 

 to frames from which it will be 

 harvested in late fall. Also make 

 the last sowing of beets. 



(3) Sow some cauliflower in a seedbed. Kept growing vigorously 

 this should be ready for use in November. 



(4) Start pe-tsai (Chinese or celery cabbage) for a late fall crop, 

 and witloof chicory for early spring forcing. 



Timely tasks to be taken care of as they come along are: 



Harvest onions as soon as the tops become yellow and begin to fall 

 over. 



Spinach for late fall use, and corn salad to be mulched overwinter 

 and harvested the first thing next spring, should go in some time 

 after the fifteenth. 



Keep up the hilling or other blanching method in connection with 

 the celery. Sections of drain tile — one to a plant — make good 

 blanchers. On a large scale boards or special paper appliances are 

 favored. If the ground is well supplied with moisture and plant 

 food, close planting in beds or blocks effectively blanches all but the 

 outside bunches, which must be banked up or otherwise attended to. 



Turnips can be planted throughout the month. 



Cultivate the potatoes as long as you can conveniently get between 

 the rows. Spray at least once in two weeks as long as the tops re- 

 main green. 



See that the all-season crops are not beginning to want for plant 

 food as otherwise such plants as Swiss chard and New Zealand 

 spinach become tough as the supply runs short; parsley loses color; 

 beans and tomato vines take on a weakened, yellow appearance. 



Remember that August Brings these 

 Orders 



1. Sow perennials to get young plants for 

 wintering over, ready to set out for flowers 

 next summer. 



2. Plant without fail this month as soon 

 as possible: Candidum Lily, Strawberry 

 runners from pots, Irises, Peonies, and such 

 like flower roots. 



3. Make out the list of flowering plants 

 needed for the border, and place orders for 

 early delivery to do the planting next 

 month. 



4. Can available fruits and vegetables as 

 they come to hand; don't let them spoil 

 by delay. 



5. Keep growing plants in active growth 



by watering and feeding. A check now 

 cannot be remedied later. 



6. Early this month make last plantings 

 of vegetables for this year. Plow and sow 

 cover crops in cleared spaces. 



7. Plant evergreens from now on. Of 

 course other things can also be moved at 

 this time if given equivalent care in balling 

 and baling. 



One of the best solutions of the prob- 

 lem is the frequent useof manure water. 

 Don't let lima beans get too big be- 

 fore picking. The big pods are the 

 easiest to shell, but the smaller ones 

 are by far the more delicious. 



There is a tendency to let all vegeta- 

 bles get too old before gathering. 



Wax beans have three stages at 

 either of which they arc "most usa- 

 ble." First, when they arc young and 

 the pods tender — when they are used 

 as snap or string beans; second, when 

 the pods have become rather tough 

 and the seeds big enough, though still 

 soft, to be cooked along like "butter 

 beans" or limas; third after the seeds 

 have matured and dried, when they 

 may be added to the baked bean, or 

 pea bean supply. Cucumbers deterio- 

 rate very rapidly after reaching the 

 "peak" of quality. 



As each row is cleared of its crop, 

 start something else there. If you 

 have no need for more vegetables put 

 in a catch crop of rye or millet to help 

 build up the soil when dug under. 

 Anything indeed is better than leav- 

 ing an old crop to rot and harbor 

 insects and disease right in the heart 

 of the garden. 



If you enjoy mushrooms begin gath- 

 ering manure for the bed. An old cellar where moderate heat can 

 be maintained, or the space under the greenhouse benches is a 

 good site. Order the spawn at once and make the bed before the 

 manure shall have lost all of its heat. 



Now is the time to get quality and size in next year's asparagus. 

 Give an ocasional feeding as long as the plants show any signs of 

 continued growth. When the tops begin to grow yellow, stop! 



If several heads of early cabbage are maturing together and 

 threatening to split open before they can be used, take hold of each 

 one and, without removing it from the ground, give a half or three 

 quarters twist, first one way and then the other. This breaks just 

 enough of the feeding roots to check temporarily the plant's growth. 

 Tomatoes can be ripened evenly and in a more or less regular suc- 

 cession if some of the fruits are picked while firm but pink, and 

 placed in a full southern exposure for a week or so, in a hotbed or a 

 sunny window. 





Summer in the Fruit Garden 



By the middle of the month stop cultivating between 

 fruit trees and bushes and sow a cover crop, not only 

 to provide a winter ground cover and a crop of humus 

 to be turned under next spring, but also to stimulate 

 the maturing of this year's wood. 



33 



