Book of Gardens 
113 
September THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Ninth Month 
A garden bed where 
the late crops can 
be protected is a 
good investment 
Good rutabagas 
must grow quickly. 
Nitrate of soda will 
stimulate them 
Herbaceous plants 
may be moved 
more successfully in 
fall than spring 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
TUESDAY 
WEDNESDAY 
THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
September 
blowes 
softe 
Till the 
fruite is 
in the 
lofte. 
—Old 
Proverb 
1. The last 
sowing of peas 
should be made 
the early part 
of this month, 
using only the 
hard round- 
seeded type, 
which is quick 
and vigorous 
in growth. If 
tile ground is 
dry, water the 
drills well be¬ 
fore sowing the 
seed. 
2 . Prune all 
deciduous trees 
before the 
leaves fall, as it 
is much easier 
then to deter¬ 
mine what part 
of the growth 
is to be re¬ 
moved. Cut 
the branches 
close, leaving 
no stubs, and 
paint the 
wounds im¬ 
mediately. 
3. Do not 
neglect the cane 
fruits, if they 
have not al¬ 
ready been at¬ 
tended to. Go 
over them care¬ 
fully, removing 
the old canes 
at the ground 
line and tying 
the young, vig¬ 
orous shoots 
into position to 
prevent dam¬ 
age by storms. 
4. It is not 
too late to start 
a strawberry 
bed for next 
season, if potted 
plants are used 
for planting. 
Use pistillate 
and staminate 
types. Put in 
plenty of man¬ 
ure and a fair 
amount of bone 
meal to stimu¬ 
late strong, ra¬ 
pid growth. 
5. The or¬ 
chard that is 
not growing sa¬ 
tisfactorily can 
be improved 
wonderfully by 
the sowing of 
cover crops, 
and subse¬ 
quently turn¬ 
ing them under 
as described on 
another page. 
No orchard 
should be 
grown in sod. 
6 . Evergreens 
that have been 
confined in 
growth, hedges 
and various 
other plants 
that are clipped 
frequently 
should be given 
a Anal clipping 
at this time. 
Do this before 
the foliage 
turns on the 
deciduous 
plants. 
7. Do not 
stop cutting the 
grass until all 
growth has 
ceased. Failure 
to do this will 
result in a long 
growth, which 
when carried 
over the winter 
will turn brown 
in spring and 
be hard to era¬ 
dicate when 
the lawn is put 
in order. 
8 . Melon 
frames and 
other garden 
accessories that 
will not be used 
again this sea¬ 
son should be 
repaired, paint¬ 
ed and put 
away in winter 
storage. When 
well cared foi 
they will last 
for several sea¬ 
sons of actual 
use. 
9. Vegetables 
should bo 
started in the 
greenhouse 
now for next 
winter's use. 
Cauliflower, 
lettuce and 
string beans 
should be sown 
about every 
three weeks. 
Tomatoes 
and Swiss 
chard need but 
one sowing. 
10. This is 
peony month 
in the flower 
garden. If you 
want good re¬ 
sults next year, 
it will be ne¬ 
cessary to over¬ 
haul the plants 
now, digging 
up the clumps 
that are too 
large, cutting 
them into four 
pieces and re¬ 
setting. 
11. Where 
heated frames 
are available 
for them, there 
are a number 
of crops that 
can be started 
at this time. 
Radishes, spin¬ 
ach, etc., or 
some of the 
cooler flowers 
such as violets 
and pansies, 
can be sown 
. in the frames. 
12. The flow- 
er garden 
should be given 
a final clean-up 
for the season. 
The walks 
should be prop¬ 
erly edged, all 
weed growth 
and the old 
stalks of plants 
removed and 
burned. This 
will destroy 
many insect 
larvae. 
13. Do not 
neglect to get 
cuttings of tho 
bedding plants 
before they are 
destroyed by 
frost. This ap¬ 
plies to chry¬ 
santhemums. 
Each variety 
should be kept 
separate, as 
mixed colors 
are disappoint¬ 
ing. 
14. This is 
one of the best 
periods of the 
year for seed¬ 
ing down new 
lawns, the rea¬ 
son being that 
most weed 
growth is over 
and the grass 
will get suf¬ 
ficient start to 
carry it safely 
through the 
trials of winter 
weather. 
15. Onions, 
parsnips, spin¬ 
ach and hardy 
crops of this 
character may 
be sown in the 
open with the 
idea of carrying 
them over the 
winter. This 
can be easily 
done with a 
little protec¬ 
tion, such as 
salt hay or sim¬ 
ilar material. 
16. Ever¬ 
greens that are 
being trans¬ 
planted now, 
or have been 
transplated re¬ 
cently, must be 
kept well wa¬ 
tered. Although 
top growth has 
terminated, 
these plants 
are making 
considerable 
root growth 
even now. 
17. Perman¬ 
ent pastures 
for grazing pur¬ 
poses shouldibe 
sown at this 
time. Bear in 
mind that if 
properly put 
down, a good 
pasture will 
last for many 
years. Do not 
under any cir- 
plant inferior 
seed. 
18. Attention 
should be given 
now to bulb 
planting for 
this season. If 
not already 
placed, orders 
should be sent 
inimmediately, 
as early plant¬ 
ing means bet¬ 
ter results. It 
gives the bulb 
a chance to 
form a root 
system. 
19. Carna¬ 
tions that were 
planted out 
may now be 
put in the 
greenhouse. 
The glass 
should be 
shaded slightly 
days, or until 
the roots have 
again become 
active. Over¬ 
head spraying 
is helpful. 
20. Chrysan¬ 
themums and 
other similar 
plants that are 
in bud should 
be fed freely 
with liquid 
manures of dif¬ 
ferent kinds. 
This operation, 
however, must 
bediseontinued 
as soon as the 
buds show 
color and signs 
of opening. 
21. Do not 
neglect to sow 
down with rye 
and clover the 
vacant patches 
in the garden. 
Sowings can 
also be made 
between corn, 
cabbage and 
other crops, 
with the idea 
of ^remaining 
crops have 
been gathered. 
22 . Celery 
should be 
banked with 
earth now. It 
is best if this is 
attended to fre¬ 
quently, as the 
soil should 
never be al¬ 
lowed to work 
its way into the 
heart of the 
plant. Hold the 
stalks together 
while banking 
them. 
23. Mush¬ 
room beds may 
be started in 
the cellar at 
this time. Be 
sure to get 
fresh droppings 
for this pur¬ 
pose, and by 
all means use 
new culture 
spawn, which 
is of high qual¬ 
ity and the 
most depend- 
24. Cold- 
frames that can 
be protected 
throughout the 
winter should 
be used for 
sowing hardy 
vegetables like 
cabbage and 
with the idea 
of carrying 
them over and 
planting out 
early in the 
spring. 
25. It might 
be advisable to 
build a fire in 
the greenhouse 
occasionally. 
Cold nights 
and hot days 
are productive 
of mildew. To 
overcome this 
have the pipes 
painted with a 
paste made 
from flowers of 
sulphur and 
26. Before 
the leaves 
begin to fall, 
look the garden 
and grounds 
over carefully 
with an eye to 
changes i n 
their arrange¬ 
ment. The 
reason for this, 
and how to go 
about it, are 
detailed on 
another pagein 
27. Just as 
soon as the 
foliage turns 
yellow on de¬ 
ciduous plants 
it is safe to 
planting; in 
fact, the earlier 
in the fall this 
is attended to 
the better, as 
the roots will 
take hold be¬ 
fore cold wea¬ 
ther. 
28. Wire 
grass, rye grass 
and other 
heavy growing 
grasses and 
weeds grow 
very rapid!? at 
this season of 
the year, and 
if allowed to 
overrun your 
garden they 
will be a serious 
factor to con¬ 
tend with next 
spring. 
29. A great 
deal of our so- 
called winter 
losses, especi¬ 
ally with ever¬ 
greens, is the 
result of these 
plants being al¬ 
lowed to be¬ 
come bone dry 
at this season 
when they are 
developing a 
root system 
to carry them 
over winter. 
30. It would 
not be amiss 
with late grow¬ 
ing crops such 
as celery, ruta¬ 
baga, carrots, 
parsnip and 
New Zealand 
spinach, or 
other crops still 
bearing, to ap¬ 
ply frequent 
dressings of 
manure and oc¬ 
casionally ni¬ 
trate of soda. 
O’er yon 
bare knoll 
the point¬ 
ed cedar 
shadows 
Drowse on 
the crisp, 
gray 
moss. 
—Lowell 
This Calendar of the gardener’s labors is 
aimed as a reminder for undertaking all his 
tasks in season. It is fitted to the latitude 
of the Middle States, but its service should 
be available for the whole country if it be 
remembered that for every one hundred 
miles north or south there is a difference 
of from five to seven days later or earlier 
in performing garden operations. The dates 
given are, of course, for an average season. 
O THER day a young college professor passed our farm, an’ seein’ me a-fixin’ the line fence along the 
road he stops to visit for a spell. Right nice young feller he was, an' I kinder took to him; he was 
on a walkin’ trip, he says, up toward the Canada border. Wa’l, we stood there talkin' ’bout crops an’ the 
like o’ that, an’ pretty soon he says, a-lookin’ up the slope o’ the hill pasture, “That’s a fine oak ye have 
on the hilltop yonder—big an’ rugged an' strong. I’ve often thought trees must have souls, they’re so• 
like people.” I been studyin’ over that idee ever since, an’ by jing, he’s right; an’ they’re like diff’rent 
kinds o’ people, too. I’ve seen plenty o’ gals thafs reg’lar aspen trees—flippity an’ gay an’ shimmerin’, 
but without no stren’th worth speakin’ of when a real storm come along. Spruces, too, remind me o’ sad, 
weepy people, always a droopin’ down toward the ground when they gets old. Red maples, on t’other 
hand, are solid an’ neat an’ dependable, with wholesome lookin’ leaves an’ cheery color in the fall. They’re 
mighty diff’rent from the silver maples, which’re forever reachin’ out long, scraggly arms that don’t never 
seem to do nothin’ much worth while. If ye’ll notice, too, pretty near all trees are like people in another 
way: when they’re young they’re mostly all legs, skinny an’ azvkward. Them that ain’t tliataway don’t 
affect the likeness none — they’s chunky, well formed children to match ’em. 
Old Doc Lemmon. 
Sweet peas for win¬ 
ter bloom in the 
greenhouse should be 
planted now 
Gathering rutabagas 
that have attained 
the proper size and 
best quality 
Boards held with 
stakes may be used 
in blanching the 
early celery crop 
The time is ap¬ 
proaching to plant 
hardy bulbs outdoors 
The last of the season’s clipping of the 
formal evergreens may be done during 
September 
Start this month to 
hill up the late cel¬ 
ery plants with earth 
Lettuce may be planted in the cold- 
frame to yield a post-season crop which 
will repay the effort 
