The September Garden 
N ATURE doesn’t go very much by the 
calendar, but about the middle of 
September, in the northern States, we may 
begin to look out for the first “killing” 
frost, which is sometimes just severe 
enough to be a warning, blackening the 
most tender things. Sometimes it comes, 
without any foresigns, out of a clear sky 
and is a regular freeze, killing to the 
ground all but the hardier forms of vege¬ 
tation. The careful gardener seldom gets 
caught. Even with practice he may be un¬ 
able to foretell by twelve hours when Jack 
Frost will make his sudden appearance, 
but be is prepared for him, so that in a 
few hours’ time, when danger does 
threaten, he can close the gates and man 
the walls and hold his own against him. 
Here are a few of the things you should 
do before there is danger of frost — and 
there is always danger of it a week or 
more before it may be expected: 
Make ready a place to store such vege¬ 
tables as you wish to keep. A good cellar 
is the most convenient and serviceable 
place. If it contains a furnace, however, 
the space used for vegetables should be 
efficiently partitioned off — preferably with 
a double wall containing a dead air space. 
Such a partition anyone who is at all 
handy with a hammer and saw can con¬ 
struct quickly and easily out of 2 by 4 
scantlings and wall-board, a heavy compo¬ 
sition sheet-board designed to take the 
place of lath and plastering at a fraction 
of its cost. A partition so constructed 
may be moved or taken down if necessary 
in a few moments time. Wherever there 
are many vegetables used through the fall 
and winter, a store room of some sort 
should be provided as a matter of econ¬ 
omy. Staples such as potatoes, onions, 
winter squash, etc., even where they can¬ 
not be grown in quantity in the home gar¬ 
den, may always be bought more cheaply 
in the fall at harvesting time and the win¬ 
ter’s supply laid in at a considerable 
saving. 
Be sure that you have ample covering 
available at a moment’s notice to cover up 
the plants you desire to save from the first 
cold night or two. These nights are usu¬ 
ally followed by a week to three weeks of 
fine weather, when flowers such as salvia, 
cosmos, cannas, heliotrope, etc., are in 
their glory if they have been saved from 
the first skirmish with winter. For this 
purpose old sheets or blankets, or old bur¬ 
lap bags, ripped open along the seams and 
sewed together in squares of two or four, 
are handy and efficient. Even a very thin 
covering will usually prove ample protec¬ 
tion against the first light frosts. Get 
these ready and keep them under cover 
where they will be dry, but available for 
use at a moment’s warning. A few stout 
stakes should also be provided if there are 
flowers, such as cosmos and dahlias, to be 
covered which might be broken down by 
the weight of the blankets. There is no 
hard and fast rule by which a coming frost 
may be foretold, but generally, if the ther¬ 
mometer goes down below forty-two 
within an hour after sunset on a clear still 
evening, a frost may be expected. Cloudy, 
wet, windy nights are usually safe; and, 
of course, the lower the ground lies and 
the more sheltered from the wind, the 
more the danger of frost. Things that are 
lightly touched may often be saved by 
keeping them shaded from the sun in the 
morning until after they are thawed out, 
and by drenching them as soon as possible 
with very cold water. 
Watch the Seedlings in Frames 
The pansies and lettuce and other seeds 
which may have been started last month 
should be gone over carefully and thinned 
out if they are too thick. Even if the 
plants are to be transplanted into their 
winter quarters, which is by far the best 
way, they should not be allowed to suffer 
from overcrowding, even for a week or 
ten days. You should also be careful to 
supply an abundance of water, so that they 
will receive no check in growth at any 
time, and be in the best shape for trans¬ 
planting, an operation which will be de¬ 
scribed in detail in next month’s depart¬ 
ment. 
It is time now to have all your sash 
fixed up and old frames repaired or new 
ones put in. If you have never done so, 
try a few of the double-light style, of 
which there are several good makes. 1 hey 
produce quite wonderful results, and with 
them you can have such things as lettuce 
and radishes through most of the winter, 
and violets and pansies in bloom while the 
ground is covered with snow. 
It is wise to have ample covering available at a moment’s notice; even a very thin sheet will prove sufficient 
against the first light frosts 
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