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'Come Wr'h me, then, behind the scenes, where we are concerned only with the joys of plant increase and rejuvenation" 



The Reminder is to "suggest" what may be done during the next few weeks. Details of 

 how to do each item are given in the current or the back issues of The Garden Magazine— it 

 is manifestly impossible to give all the details of all the work in anyone issue of a magazine. 

 References to back numbers may be 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 any 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 ; but 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 be about ten days later, and Philadelphia, which is ninety miles 

 southwest 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. 



SEPTEMBER— THE "TURNING POINT" 



|HE peak of the work for the 

 current season's garden has 

 been passed and a period of 

 preparation for next year is 

 upon us. Turn the old com- 

 post pile once more; it should be ready 

 for use by next spring. The new one, 

 started last spring can be added to all 

 this fall; next summer will be its period 

 for rotting and getting in good usable 

 shape. 



Get out hotbed sash for as many frames 

 as you plan to use this fall and see that 

 they are in good condition. Make any 

 repairs that were forgotten or over- 

 looked in the spring rush. 



Build a fire in the greenhouse boiler 

 and try out the system before it comes 

 time to light up for good. This is a 

 much better time to make plumbing 

 repairs than when the mercury and 

 the snow are falling simultaneously. 



Trim up all out of the way fence 

 corners, burn brush piles, weed, rake 

 and roll the walks and drives once 

 more, and put the place in shipshape 

 condition before the frosty weather makes indoors too alluring. 



If there are clumps of crab grass in the lawn — they can be recog- 

 nized by their reddish brown color — now is the time to cut them out 

 with about an inch or so of sod and add them to the compost pile 

 where they will rot. Fill the holes from which they were taken with 

 good soil, make it level with the lawn surface, and rake in some fer- 

 tilizer and grass seed. 



Clean up the greenhouse glass, especially if you are going to grow 

 any vegetables there. They need plenty of light. 



Hotbeds in which plants are growing must be handled carefully 

 this month. The plants need all the air that is safe, but they must 

 also be gotten gradually used to artificial heat. At the same time, 

 the September sun is often hot enough to cause serious wilting if 

 allowed to shine full force through the sash. Keep some shading 

 material handy. 



Early FaU Work With the Fruits 



Don't leave fruit on the trees after it matures. And 

 in picking remove all diseased and imperfect specimens 

 as well as the good ones. Throw them in a separate 

 basket and feed them at once to hogs or burn them. 

 When you have gotten all the fruit from a tree, don't 

 leave it without looking it over and putting it in shape to stand the 

 winter. Clean up any broken or damaged branches, support the 

 halves of any crotches that are likely to split under the weight of 

 ice or snow, and save yourself both losses and extra work during 

 winter and early spring. 



Beginning the latter part of the month plant out more fruit of 



Gathering Strength for a New Start 



1. Plan well ahead. Prepare for some 

 sort of winter garden, whether it be a well 

 equipped greenhouse, a cool conservatory 

 on the south side of the house or garage, or 

 merely as many indoor window boxes as 

 you can accommodate and take good care 

 of. 



2. Read over again all the planting re- 

 minder notes for March and April. They 

 are all applicable to the fall planting season 

 that begins about the middle of September 

 and continues until frost. 



3. Continue to care for everything that 

 is still growing. Just because the season is 

 waning, don't waste crops that need a 

 few weeks more to become fully usable. 



4. Keep the garden cleaned up at all 

 times. Rubbish that can be disposed of 

 day by day without effort will accumulate 

 and present real difficulties by late fall. 



all sorts — except strawberries and, in 

 cold sections, peaches and apricots. 

 You can keep up this work until the 

 ground freezes. 



Keep the newly planted strawberry 

 bed cultivated and all runners cut out 

 from between the rows. This is a 

 good time to rake in some fertilizer 

 between the rows. 



If any of the blackberry or raspberry 

 bushes are getting old and poor, better 

 pull them out and burn them promptly. 

 As noted above this is a splendid time 

 to replace them with new stock. You 

 can make cuttings, too, if you want to 

 propagate any plants that you think 

 particularly well of. Currant cuttings 

 can also be taken; and similarly new 

 plants can be set. 



Fruits will keep well and for a sur- 

 prisingly long time if conditions are 

 right. Are they, in your cellar, pit, or 

 other storage place? 



Keeping Up the Supply of Flowers 



If you are really interested in getting better results 

 yourself, attend all the flower shows you can and study 

 what other folks are doing or have done. Then try 

 to find out how they achieved their success. An- 

 other way to learn invaluable facts — and one of the 

 best — is through the experience gained by exhibiting 

 a little yourself. You don't have to win a prize or even recognition 

 in order to gain a lot from the personal contact with other flower 

 lovers. 



Get together all the old burlap and other cloth, or mulchlike ma- 

 terial of any sort, that you can, and put it in a convenient place 

 so that you can cover your tender plants the evening of the night 

 that the first frost strikes. It is likely to be a light one of brief 

 duration, so the plants saved from its sting should be good for sev- 

 eral weeks more without further coddling. 



Later on, of course, you will want a permanent winter mulch for 

 the perennial beds, etc. — and, come to think of it, now is a good time 

 to look about for and store up this material too. 



If you ran short of permanent beds — that is beds for permanent, 

 hardy flowers, this past summer, now is a good time to make more 

 in preparation for next season's needs. In doing this (as advised 

 in early spring), dig deep, put in ample drainage material, add plenty 

 of well-rotted manure, and mix thoroughly; then leave unplanted 

 to settle for a few weeks. You might even sow a cover crop to be 

 dug under next spring, just as is done in the vegetable garden with 

 such good results. This is especially true if the soil is very light or 

 very heavy, or otherwise in need of humus. 



Grder bulbs if not already in hand, and also shrubs that will be 

 wanted for fall planting. Any bulbs that you now have can be set 



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