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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



July. 19 17 



transplanting them from the seed bed as 

 soon as they are large enough. If plants were 

 not started in anticipation they may be ob- 

 tained, usually at a very low price, from a 

 market gardener, or got from a neighbor. 

 Don't make the mistake, which many begin- 

 ners do, of thinking that you must have 

 a late variety because it is wanted for late use 

 — quite the contrary an early variety is better 

 because it matures sooner. For the home gar- 

 den the medium earlier, smaller sorts are 

 more satisfactory in every way. Volga, 

 All-head Early, and Danish Ballhead are 

 good sorts. They can be planted much closer 

 than the large spreading late varieties such as 

 Autumn Giant or Worldbeater, are more 

 certain to make good solid heads, and much 

 more convenient to store and to use. 



The "savoy" type, is however the finest 

 flavored of all. Put out a generous supply 

 of Brussels sprouts and kale. Both are per- 

 fectly hardy, and you can continue to use 

 them right out of your garden as long as 

 they last, even if you have to wade through 

 the snow to get them for your Christmas 

 dinner! 



When setting out your celery plants, keep 

 in mind that they are about the hungriest 

 of any plants that grow, and for good crisp 

 fat stalks, such as you will be proud to have 

 on the table for Thanksgiving, you must feed 

 them bountifully. Even if the soil where 

 they are to be put was well manured and en- 

 riched in the spring, give extra fertilizing in 

 the furrows before setting the plants, in the 

 form of bone dust and hen manure or sheep 

 manure, and a little sprinkling of nitrate of 

 soda, of course mixing these thoroughly 

 with the soil before setting the plants, which 

 should be pretty severely trimmed back before 

 planting. Flood the trench full of water and 

 let it soak away a couple of times just before 

 planting if the soil is dry; celery is one of the 

 water-loving vegetables, and can hardly 

 be given too much on a well-drained soil. Set 

 the little plants very firmly, about six inches 

 apart, being careful not to get any soil over the 

 centres or crowns, where the new leaves are 

 pushing up. If a few old boards are available 

 they may readily be placed on edge along the 

 row, at a slight angle, and supported by small 

 stakes, to shade the newly set plants for a few 

 days; this will aid materially in getting them 

 started. 



don't crowd out next year's flowers 



\X7TTILE we are all, rightly, interested in 

 * " growing as many vegetables as possible 

 this year, there is no occasion to neglect de- 

 voting the little time and space necessary 

 for starting a generous supply of flowers for 

 next year. A single frame, three by six feet, 

 or an equivalent space in some sheltered spot, 

 free from the "drip" of any building or tree, 

 but where it can be shaded from the hot sun 

 is enough to start all the seedlings any ordin- 

 ary garden is likely to require. Let the 

 soil for this little seedbed be the finest and 

 spongiest you can get. Old compost from a 

 hotbed or coldframe, carefully sifted is excel- 

 lent; or you can mix humus and a little sand, 

 and get an excellent surface soil for sowing 

 the finest of seeds, which is clean and free 

 from weed seeds and disease germs. 



Pansies, English Daisies (Bellis perennis), 

 Forget-me-not and a long list of the hardy 

 perennials, such as Columbines, Pinks, Sweet 

 Williams, Foxglove, etc., etc., are available 

 for starting now. A dollar's worth of seed 

 will give you all the plants you are likely to 

 be able to find room for — and plenty to give 



away besides! Prepare the seed bed care- 

 fully, and water it down thoroughly, so that 

 it is soaked through and through, and as soon 

 as it is dry enough plant, barely covering from 

 sight the smaller seeds. Newspapers or sphag- 

 num moss laid over the surface for a few days 

 after planting will help to keep the soil moist 

 and cool immediately about the seeds, but 

 careful watch must be kept so that the covers 

 are removed immediately on the first sign of 

 germination. To get good sturdy plants for 

 transplanting in the fall, either transplant or 

 thin out the little seedlings just as soon as 

 they are large enough; otherwise they will very 

 soon begin to crowd, and be permanently 

 weakened. 



KEEP AFTER THE BUGS AND BLIGHTS 



"^D MATTER how good a grower a gar= 

 -*- ^ dener may be, unless he is also a good 

 fighter he is likely to see much of the results 

 of his labor go for naught at this time of the 

 year as a result of the annual invasion of in- 

 sects and plant diseases. You must both be 





DO THIS MONTH 





1. 



Keep on cultivating. 





2. 



Plant root crops for winter use. 





3. 



Transplant for fall and winter. 





4. 



Make first sowing of perennials and bien- 

 nials for winter use. 





5. 



Keep after the bugs and blights. 





6. 



Prune Rambler Roses afler flowering. 





7. 



Prune early-flowering shrubs after flowering. 





8. 



Keep the lawn in condition for dry weather. 





9. 



Get ready for the new strawberry bed. 





10. 



Plant for canning,, drying and preserving. 





11. 



Undertake new improvements. 





12. 



Send on your bulb order. 





[ 13. 



Send on your order for evergreens. 





14. 



Do a little visiting 'round. 





15. 



files. 



Join your local Garden Club. 

 r^^ The southern gardener will read the spec- 





»t!r«ju£» ial article on another page. I 





on the watch for troubles of this kind, so as to 

 be able to detect them at the very earliest mo- 

 ment, and ready to act, so that you can do 

 whatever should be done to combat or pre- 

 vent them, at once. That, "in a nutshell," is 

 the secret of being able to protect your plants. 

 Elsewhere in this issue detailed information 

 about bugs, diseases, worms, sprayers, sprays, 

 and powders is given. Don't wait until the 

 trouble is upon your head; get busy now, pro- 

 vide yourself with the things you are likely to 

 need, and make yourself familiar with how to 

 use them. Get busy — now! 



PRUNE RAMBLERS AND EARLY FLOWERING 

 SHRUBS NOW 



A S SCON as the flower-clusters have gone 

 ■^* - by on the hardy Ramblers and other 

 similar late-flowering Roses is the best time to 

 prune them. The fading flower clusters are 

 no ornament; and one can see now, better than 

 at any time later, what wood it will be best 

 to cut away, and how the plant should be de- 

 veloped for another season's bloom, the 

 growth for which will be made this year. The 

 older canes, which have ceased to flower freely, 

 should be cut away back to or near the ground, 

 and removed to make room for new growth, 

 which will quickly take its place. If this is 

 done now, the plant will be as graceful and 

 symmetrical as ever for next season; but 

 if it is left until fall or spring a very un- 

 attractive looking plant is pretty sure to 

 be the result. 



The shrubs which have flowered during 

 spring and early summer are now making 

 their new growth, on which next year's flower 

 buds will be developed before winter. They 

 must be pruned now, so that any "holes" left by 



cutting out old wood may be filled up; and 

 the new growth may be guided to make an 

 even and symmetrical plant. But do not 

 go to the opposite extreme and prune and 

 head in until all the natural beauty and grace 

 of the shrub has been lost, and you have but 

 a stiff", ugly "specimen" that is about as at- 

 tractive as a rag-wound thumb at a card 

 party. As a general rule for the decorative 

 and flowering shrubs, the less pruning the 

 better, so long as old or injured wood is re- 

 moved, wandering growths are made to 

 conform to the plant's general contour, and 

 too much crowding at the centre is prevented. 



STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM GET READY NOW.' 



I V HE old saying that "all things come to 

 •*■ him who waits" surely was not meant 

 to apply to the man who waits for a straw- 

 berry bed; for if you would have berries next 

 June, you must begin to get busy now — (and 

 that will be getting them in shorter time than 

 most people do). Potted plants set out this 

 month or early next month will bear a full 

 crop of the very biggest berries they are capa- 

 ble of producing next June, if they are given 

 the proper attention. The first step is to have 

 the soil rich and in good shape (The plants 

 can be bought, if you are not growing your 

 own, as suggested in last month's reminder). 

 Avoid soil that has been in sod within a year, 

 as it is likely to be infested with white grubs — 

 the larvae of the "June bugs" — which are one 

 of the strawberry's worst enemies, frequently 

 ruining new plantings. Select a place where 

 the strawberry rows will not be in the way of 

 your other garden operations, if possible; but 

 they must have good rich soil to do well. 

 Spade it up and manure or fertilize it now, 

 even though you will not be ready to- plant 

 for a few weeks yet; this will get rid of one 

 crop of weeds, save the moisture in the soil, 

 and enable the plants to get a quicker start 

 when you do put them in. 



CONSERVATION IN THE WAR GARDEN 



T-JAVE you made provision to utilize every- 

 •*■ "*■ thing that your garden produces this sum- 

 mer and fall? If not, your war garden, no 

 matter how carefully cultivated, is not a com- 

 plete success. Down to the last ounce, all 

 the food produced should be used. Cans and 

 jars will be scarce this year, if obtainable 

 at all. Have you made yourself familiar with 

 the processes of drying or evaporating, or "de- 

 hydrating?" Many vegetables and most 

 fruits can be kept as well this way as by can- 

 ning, and with much less work. Look into 

 these things, and plan ahead, so that nothing 

 will go to waste. Not only that, see to it 

 that some organized effort is made, in your 

 town or city, to look after this same problem 

 in connection with the hundreds of new gar- 

 dens there are there. Next month The 

 Garden Magazine will have some sugges- 

 tions for the carrying out of thus work. 

 Watch for them; or if you want to get started 

 at once, write to our Readers' Service Depart- 

 ment for advance information. 



ARE YOUR BULB AND SHRUB ORDERS READY? 



OEMEMBER that the war won't last 

 •*•*■ forever. Plant evergreens this fall if 

 you had been intending to; and also bulbs 

 for spring bloom. These are among the 

 things that haven't gone up in price — in fact, 

 you are pretty sure to get better value than 

 usual, as the demand is likely to be light. 

 Profit by the "psychological condition" and 

 get in your own order in good season. 





