108 
The Garden Magazine, October, 1920 
Planting I AST November when I had mv fall plow- 
Peas in L* j n g done the soil was in such a mel- 
the Fall low condition 1 decided I’d try some fall 
planting of Peas. 1 had the man run some 
deep furrows; into these I put a thick layer of well decayed manure, 
adding some to the soil above, letting the soil in the trenches come level 
with the surface of the ground just before the ground began to freeze 
so the Peas would swell and start root growth but not show above 
ground. 1 planted the seed (an early round-seed variety) thicker than 
for spring planting. Just as freezing weather set in 1 dug furrows 
six inches deep on either side, throwing the soil on top of the rows thus 
placing the seed well below the surface and preventing excessive 
moisture on top of the plants. In the furrows dead straw manure 
was put to prevent too early thawing. In the spring as soon as the 
ground began to thaw 1 drew the top soil back into the furrows so the 
plants were about two inches below the surface. When later the plants 
were well above the ground, they were thinned. They grew finely in 
the cool moist soil, and came into bearing two weeks earlier than my 
spring planting and continued bearing quite as long; the yield was also 
heavier. The work of preparing the ground and planting was done at 
a time when regular work in the garden was practically over for the 
season. — M rs. E. L. A., Kansas City, Mo. 
^lR q RTv'IontRs ^e/nmder 
“ Come with 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 tv do each item are given in the current or the back issues of theTHE Garden Magazine— it 
is manifestly impossible to give all the details of all the work in anv one issue cf 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 special 
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 season 
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 degree of latitude, for each five degrees of 
longitude, and for each four hundred feet of altitude. 
OCTOBER— THE MONTH OF BUNDLING UP AND TUCKING IN 
VW^JHETHER plants go to sleep in the dark or not, there is no 
,'IV^ doubt about their going to sleep — hibernating indeed — in 
f the winter. And some of them undoubtedly rest better if they 
are covere d ; just as folks do, seemingly. No one enjoys a 
thorough rest if there is a dearth of blankets on a cold night, 
though he may sleep fitfully; and perhaps it is the same with flowers. 
At all events even the hardiest seem to awaken in the spring with vigor 
astonishingly renewed by a slight covering through the winter. And of 
course the things that are not hardy must have it — and it must be ready 
at hand to put in place, if not actually spread over them, now. And 
the gardener must be prepared to put it in place a little at a time after 
the ground has frozen for the hardy plants, a little at a time before 
freezing but as it threatens for the tender ones. 
General 
Keep on picking flower heads from the late blooming plants and thus 
prolong bloom to the very last minute. And do not neglect to 
destroy all the rubbish gathered to the very last minute also, thus 
making everything a finished job as you go along. 
Greenhouse and Frame 
Bring tender material into the house as rapidly as possible, but do not 
start fires until as late as safety will permit, and then keep them 
low. 
Watch ventilation carefully and watch for insects, which are likely 
to come in with the plants as well as to breed in the greenhouse. 
Allow the greenhouse vines to ripen their wood now and have their 
period of rest over the requisite number of weeks before they are 
started into growth again. Withhold water to a sufficient degree 
to accomplish this, but not enough to make them drop their foliage. 
Palms also require a resting period beginning now, and their section of 
the greenhouse should be allowed to dry considerably. Too much 
heat and water causes poor color and a generally sick look. 
Ripen up all summer bulbous plants and then store the pots on their 
sides under the benches of the coolhouse. 
Bench Mignonette, Stocks, Snapdragon and such plants for the winter 
forcing, using a rich soil. Do not give too much water as they do 
not require much until they are rooted and begin active growth. 
Sow Pansies for wintering in the coldframe and setting out in spring. 
Plant Violets in the benches early in the month, choosing a dark day 
for doing it and not giving much water afterward. Give them lime 
water occasionally to keep the soil sweet. 
Shade the Chrysanthemums, keep the house fairly dry at night and 
watch continually for the black fly. Discontinue all feeding of the 
plants save for a light application of soot to improve the color. 
Sow successions of Beans, Cauliflower, Lettuce, and Radishes, the first 
in a warm temperature, the others in the section maintaining a 
temperature of 50 ° or less at night. 
Arrange for stock Chrysanthemum plants now by selecting the most 
vigorous and storing them in a coldframe or dormant fruit house in 
a consistently low temperature. 
Watch for rust on Carnations and keep them dry at night. Pick and 
burn infected leaves and spray with copper solution. 
Give Roses light doses of liquid food, alternating each dose with an 
application of lime water to prevent the soil from souring. 
Flower Garden 
Pull up dead annuals and biennials that have finished flowering, rake 
the last of the weeds from the borders and clean up the earth’s 
surface even though you intend mulching afterward. 
After frost has killed the tops of Dahlias, Cannas and other tender 
bulbous plants, cut them off close to the ground, take the roots up 
and store them in a frost proof cellar that is dry, or under the 
greenhouse benches. 
Cut “everlastings” before frost and let them dry out somewhat in the 
sunlight out of doors before bringing them in to use as decoration. 
Disconnect the irrigating system and drain the pipes carefully. 
Plant all “Dutch” bulbs as soon as they are obtained. 
Vegetable Garden 
Gather Squash and Pumpkins before a heavy frost as this is likely to 
spot them and thus invite decay. 
Jerusalem Artichokes are ready for use as soon as they have flowered, 
and they may be brought in when the tops die and stored the same 
as Potatoes. 
Hill up the late Celery, being very careful not to injure the stems in 
doing so as this will cause them to rust. 
Pick all Tomatoes before frost as they also will spot and decay if they 
are subjected to it. 
Fruit 
Prune Grapes any time after the leaves fall. 
Clean the Strawberry bed and get ready for the winter mulch. Do not 
apply it until next month however. 
Gather stocks for grafting just as soon as the leaves fall and bury them 
in sand away from any chance of freezing until grafting in spring. 
Cut back slightly Blackberries and Raspberries and tie them to their 
trellises now, to prevent breakage of the canes by weight of snow 
during the winter. 
Brush the trunks of old trees with a wire brush to destroy insect eggs 
and cocoons and paint them with limewater. 
Do not pick winter Pears until the last thing and just belore freezing, 
and store them in a cool dark place. 
Dress the land with manure around fruit trees and always remember 
to mulch all material planted in the fall to prevent its heaving 
during the alternate thawing and freezing of winter. But do not 
apply mulch anywhere (save over tender things) until the ground 
has actually frozen. 
