Septembek, 191 (i 
THE GARDEN M A G AZIN E 
59 
have next May and because you will get better results the first 
season. 
Sow early vegetables and flower seeds for stock for this winter in the 
srreenhouse or in coldframes. Tomatoes started now will do for winter 
forcing. A little lettuce should be sown every two or three weeks; just a 
pinch or so in a flower-pot saucer or small seed pan, as you will prob- 
ably not want more than two or three dozen plants at a time. 
Have you yet tried the double glass sash ? Lettuce and other similar 
plants will grow much more rapidly and to a larger size with these than 
with the ordinary single glass sash. Even in cold climates they will 
carry you through until after Christmas without any additional cov'er- 
ing over the glass. By all means try a two or three sash frame. 
BEFORE THE END 9F THE MONTH 
' i 'HE ground which the various crops have occupied should either be 
seeded down with a cover crop or prepared for winter by trench- 
ing. If any manure is available spade it in and in the spring the ground 
will be in the best condition for giving the plants a quick start. A 
, mixture of rye and vetch for Northern sections, or a mixture 
Down’’ vetch and crimson clover where the winters are not too 
severe for the latter, will give a good sod of vegetable mat- 
ter to spade under in the spring. Rye and vetch can be sown until the 
time snow flies but, of course, the earlier they are put in the better, 
should the ground be wanted again early in the spring. 
1^0 YOU capture some of the blue ribbons at your local exhibits, or 
are you one of the kind who neglect to show anything and then 
talk about what you have at home when the premium cards are being 
distributed? Begin to get exhibits ready now; mark the best speci- 
mens of the vegetables to be saved for the exhibition 
Prize Wini^r? ^^d clean and trim up any plants you may want 
to show. Old pots may be made like new with a mix- 
ture of sand, water, and elbow grease. A little judicious disbudding 
will give larger and finer flowers. Careful preparation goes a long way 
toward getting decisions where the quality of the vegetables may be 
nearly the same. 
tpYEN the smallest space should have some glass for use during the 
' fall months, at least. If you already have frames look them over 
carefully and do any necessary repairing. Bank them up on the outside 
with soil or, better still, coal ashes. In choosing a situation for new 
frames remember that drainage is just as important as 
“Glass” R^d shelter. A few inches of cinders under the soil in the 
^ frame will give good drainage even on low land. The 
bed for the frame may be built up a foot if necessary. Old frames may 
be made tight for several years by covering on the outside, or both in- 
side and outside, with a good grade of roofing paper, the amount re- 
quired being very little. If your sashes are old and loose, but not bad 
enough to require reglazing, they may be made sufficiently tight for 
several years by going over the old putty after thoroughly cleaning with 
liquid putty. Remember the life of the sash and frames will depend 
very largely upon your keeping them protected by paint from moisture. 
W hy not give them a coating of “outside white” now to prepare them 
for winter use? 
CWEET PEAS, onion sets, perennial onions and a number of hardy 
^ vegetables, such as cabbage, turnips, onions and spinach may fre- 
quently be planted late in the fall for spring growth. The idea is to get 
the seed in so late that it will not germinate this fall. If you wish to 
attempt this method of planting be sure to select a well-drained spot; 
prepare it as you would for planting in the spring and plant just before 
freezing weather is to be expected. 
'LJ’.'WE you provided plenty of bulbs for inside blooms this winter? 
I his method of winter gardening has the great advantage that 
practically all the work can be done at one time. Provide a rich, 
friable soil; see that pots or bulb-pans are well crocked; and place the 
Bulbs f r bulbs firmly in the soil, so that they are barely covered. 
Indoors Label each kind carefully and store in a dark, cool cellar 
or in a well-drained trench outside, to make root-growth. 
The great secret in bulb forcing is to get a strong growth before the 
plant is brought to light and heat where the tops will start, whether they 
are placed in the greenhouse, a deep frame, or the living-room. If the 
bulbs are to be kept, after planting, in a trench or pit they can be cov- 
ered with two feet or so of soil and fine cinders, mixed in the proportion 
of about one to two. See the articles on pages 44-47. 
I 
F YOU are attempting to grow strawberries by the hill system, as 
suggested in last month’s Reminder, be sure to keep them well 
cultivated, and all runners pinched off, if you want a full crop next 
season. If they are making a rank growth now a good dressing of 
u i. wood ashes worked into the soil should be given. 
emem er t e Pansies or other half-hardv biennials or per- 
Strawberry Patch ■, , j-r' iuL ^ 
ennials to be started m rrames should be trans- 
planted to their winter quarters to get well established before severe 
freezing. I he sooner they are transplanted after they are large enough 
the better. 
A S WE have suggested before — and more than likely will suggest a 
good many times again — clean and burn up every bit of garden 
rubbish — plant tops and trimmings, old plant supports, etc. — which 
could possibly make a nesting place for eggs or hibernating insects. 
Mow off or burn any weedy spots which have been neglected in the 
vicinity of your garden. 
ODDS AND ENDS 
FROM EVERYWHERE 
Platycodons and the Winter 
A BOUT five years ago I planted a Platy- 
codon in my garden. Since that time it 
has had no winter protection whatever and 
during the last winter a portion of the roots 
were exposed to the open air, yet this summer 
this plant is larger and healthier than ever. 
After this experience I think I may say that 
Platycodons do not “winter kill”, at least not 
in this latitude. 
Norristown, Pa. J. B. G. 
A “Pastel” Flower Bed 
TN G.ARDEN beds, one usually has different 
colors — or different plants in different beds 
— but different circumstances require different 
treatments. At a cottage we rented for the 
summer there was one large circular bed four- 
teen feet in diameter, in a somewhat small 
yard, with one long narrow bed against the 
fence. 
In this long, narrow bed, to our great delight, 
we found a row of old-fashioned garden Lilies 
coming up, but how to get flowers in different 
kinds and colors for our dining-table all summer 
with only one bed — big though it was — seemed 
a poser. I had brought some seeds with me 
of various annuals, but not enough of any one 
kind to fill the big bed. I therefore emptied 
all my seeds into one cup, mixed them thor- 
oughly and sowed them all in the big round 
bed! There were red, pink, and white large 
single Poppies, double white snowball Poppies, 
Cornflowers and Calliopsis; and I planted a 
row of Nasturtiums along the fence back of the 
Lilies. 
d here are times in our career when “the 
Gods in their courses fight for us,’’ and a 
“blind pig does sometimes find an acorn,” to 
use an inelegant but expressive phrase. Never 
was there such a wonderful French picture as 
we had when these flowers came into bloom! 
They all bloomed together, except the Nas- 
turtiums, which made a pretty green back- 
ground. The reds and pinks, yellows and 
blues all Intermingled, being softened by the 
white Poppies in the bed; and this riot of 
lovely, vivid colors, against the stately row of 
garden Lilies (with their delicious fragrance) 
and surrounded by the green grassy walks, 
made a garden that everybody stopped to see. 
Later on, when the Lilies were all off, the 
Nasturtiums hid the fence and bloomed all 
summer. We took the Poppies and Corn- 
flowers out of the round bed and left the 
Calliopsis, which blooms indefinitely if kept 
