E ven if you may have all your 
preparations for fall planting 
made in advance, it may be 
impossible for you to plant every- 
thing immediately. Unpack goods at once, 
checking each item with the copy of your 
order. In case of shortage or 
mistakes, the nursery or seed 
THE MONTH' 
REMINDER 
OCTOBER, 1916 
Fall 
an mg house should be notified at once. 
Even at this time of the year exposure to the 
wind or sun even for only a short time may 
result in loss after planting. Keep the 
plants in a shaded place, and if they must be kept for any length of 
time undo the bundle so that they are not left crowded together and 
water the moss or bagging about the roots often enough to keep it 
moist at all times. 
riRM planting is doubly important in the fall because loose planting 
^ at this season not only delays the plant in getting established but 
leaves it liable to loosening by fall winds and the action of alternate 
freezing and thawing that it may succumb to “winter killing” although 
PI tWth hardyenoughto stand the climate if properly planted. 
Fira Hajid ^ ^ small wooden tamper, such as can be conveniently 
used in one hand will be of great help in setting out 
shrubs and the like. You can make one in a few minutes from a piece 
of board two or three inches wide and 
a couple of feet long, or a round piece 
of wood 2 inches or so in diameter, 
whittling it down to a handle at one 
end. 
For reckoning dates, the latitude of New York City is generally 
taken as a standard. In applying the directions to other 
localities, allow six days’ difference for every 
hundred miles of latitude 
S chance, however, as cold weather often 
comes on so suddenly that you may 
have them frozen in before you are 
aware of it. 
t)E SURE to have all old vines, corn 
^ stalks, cabbage stumps, and tomato or 
bean poles pulled up before freezing weather 
sets in. They can and should be cleaned up, 
n gathered in piles and burned after 
the ground is frozen. 
TN SETTING out trees, shrubs and 
other plants that have come direct 
from the nursery, go over the roots 
very carefully and cut back to sound 
„ . — , tissue any ofthe 
Manicure Before ^ U 
Planting that may 
have been 
broken or bruised, or are so long as to 
be unwieldy. Minute roots will start 
quickly from around these fresh cuts 
just as they do at the base of a cut- 
ting, so do not hesitate to use your 
knife. In setting out all trees and 
shrubs, a generous and reasonable 
“heading” or trimming back at the 
time of transplanting is advisable. 
If In Doubt, 
Water! 
TF THERE are any flowers you are planning to take in and to keep 
do not wait until the last night before a killing frost. The more 
gradual the shift from out-doors to inside may be made the better. 
Pot them up at once if you have not already done so. Keep them in a 
Are All Your shady place, either on the veranda or elsewhere 
Flowers Safe? ^ week or so, keeping them somewhat dry at 
first after potting them. 
\^^E OFTEN get a week or so of fine weather after the first hard 
’ frost, and flowers in beds, boxes and vases which have been 
protected for one or two nights will continue their cheer for a consider- 
able time longer. The first killing frost, however, comes only too 
frequently with very little warning, and you should have your ma- 
terial for protection 
Prntortnrc ready in advance. 
Blankets and sheets 
may be used at a pinch. Secure a 
few old burlap bags; rip down on one 
side and on the bottom and sew 
several together with an upholsterer’s 
needle. A light weight, such as a 
small block of wood, may be fastened 
to each corner by a short piece of 
cord, to hold them in position when 
Plant this Month 
TF THE beds, borders or holes to 
receive your plants have been pre- 
pared in advance of the time of plant- 
ing, you will very likely find the soil 
agreeably moist 
when you come to 
set out your plants. 
If it is at all dry, however, the judi- 
cious use of water will help very ma- 
terially in giving them a good start. 
If in doubt — water! But don’t water wrong-end to, as so many be- 
ginners do. Reverse the procedure by watering first and planting 
afterward. Dig out the hole into which you are ready to set the plant 
and pour into it enough water to fill it about half full. Use a pail 
instead of watering can for convenience. After this has soaked away, 
put the plant in position, throw in the soil until the hole is about one 
half or two thirds full, and then give it another generous application of 
water, allowing this to soak down through the soil before completing 
the job. 
TN FILLING in the soil about the roots, use your fingers to work 
'it in well about the bottom to make sure there are no dead air spaces 
and that the dirt is in close contact with every root. When you have the 
plant held in position by the soil, use your tamper; or better, in addition 
to that, your foot with your whole weight upon it to make 
the soil as firm as you can get it. When you have finished 
the plant should be in the soil just as firmly as if it had been 
growing there for some time. Leave a loose dirt mulch on the surface 
just after you have completed the work, in order to check the rapid 
evaporation which otherwise would take place through the firmly 
packed soil. 
EARLY THIS MONTH 
TJI AVE you finished harvesting? A number of the hardier vegetables 
such as the root crops and cabbage, can be left out until quite late, 
as they are not injured by the early frosts. Do not take too much of a 
^Vegetables, inside: Lettuce, radish, beans, tomatoes, 
cucumbers, cauliflower, spinach. 
Outside: Just before hard frost try “dormant” plant- 
ing, for growth in spring, of such hardy things as 
smooth peas, onions, turnips, beets, etc. (See text). 
^Flowers, inside, for winter bloom: Antirrhinum, 
Clarkia, Cosmos, Gypsophila, Nasturtium, Petunia, 
Salpiglossis, Schizanthus, Stevia, Stocks, Sweet Peas, 
Verbena, etc. 
Outside, for beds, borders, and groups: Hardy per- 
ennials and herbaceous ornamentals, such as Peonies, 
Phlox, hardy Chrysanthemums, Irises, Mallow, etc. 
^Shrubs: Hardy deciduous shrubs and hedge plants, 
such as Althea, Barberry, Deutzia, Evonymus, For- 
sythia. Lilacs, etc. Small evergreens in window 
boxes, tubs, etc., for winter decoration. 
^Bulbs, inside: Spring flowering bulbs and Lilies for forc- 
ing: Gladiolus, Spanish Iris, Freesia, tuberous 
Begonias, Cyclamen, Gloxinias, Amarylis, Callas, 
and fancy-leaved Caladiums, are all started directly 
in heat, without preliminary root growth. 
Outside: spring blooming bulbs, such as Tulips, Nar- 
cissus, Hyacinths, bulbous Irises, Crocus, etc., and 
late delivered hardy Lilies. 
IfTrccs; Small and medium size deciduous ornamental 
trees; Shade trees of all kinds, etc. 
OYE and vetch may still be sown 
on the sections of your garden 
cleared of crops late, and if your rota- 
tion is so planned that corn, melons 
Not Too Late and other late ten- 
For Humus ‘^er crops will oc- 
cupy these parts of 
your garden next year, by planting 
rye and vetch now, a goodly quantity 
of green manure will be ready for you 
to fork under when this ground is 
needed next spring. Parts of the gar- 
den cleared too late to be sown may be 
spaded or forked up into rough ridges 
so that the alternating freezing and 
thawing will have a chance to pulver- 
ize the soil thoroughly before it dries 
out next spring. 
BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH 
'\X/'HERE soil and drainage conditions are favorable, you can get 
’ ’ your garden started extra early by planting seed late this fall to 
germinate next spring. Prepare the bed in the same way you would 
for spring sowing except that raised beds may be used to advantage. 
The same method may be used to secure 
extra early Sweet Peas. The idea is to 
plant these early seeds so late that they 
will lie “dormant” all winter. Sow thickly. 
Have You Tried 
“Dormant” Planting? 
Make 
Firm 
A S SOON as your other work is caught up, go over your cane fruits, 
gooseberries and currants, in search of borers. The infected parts 
should be cut off and carefully burned. Now is the last call for 
tiling or draining, and efficient draining for even a large family garden 
will not be expensive and will make a tremendous 
difference in the success of your garden next 
year. 
Get After the 
Borers Early 
GET THE FRAMES BUSY! 
TAO NOT leave your frames empty and neglected this fall; you can 
use to advantage the things you can grow in them. Furthermore, 
if they are prepared now, even if you use them only for a few weeks, 
the work which shall have been accomplished] in getting them ready, 
will save just that much time in the spring, when time will be at a good 
deal more of a premium than it is at the present. 
If put into service at once, the frame can be utilized for blanching 
101 
