56 
House & Garden 
October THE GARDENER’S KALENDAR Tenth Month 
2. It is advisable to 
keep the soil banked up 
around the celery. In 
doing this, select 
weather when the plants 
are perfectly dry and 
don’t let any soil get 
down into the heart of 
the plant. 
3. When the foliage 
turns yellow on decid¬ 
uous trees and shrubs, 
they can be moved. 
Transplanting and new 
plantings should be at¬ 
tended to at the earliest 
possible moment. Do 
not wait till hard frost. 
4. Just as soon as 
chrysanthemums show 
color, arrangements 
should be made to 
shade the roof slightly. 
This lengthens the pet¬ 
als considerably and 
gives a much better 
developed flower. 
5. Bulb planting 
should be attended to 
now, with the excep¬ 
tion of hardy lilies. 
The earlier these bulbs 
are in the ground the 
better results you will 
have. Tulips, narcis¬ 
si and scillas are a few. 
6. It is good prac¬ 
tice to use lime water 
in the greenhouse and 
frames at this season of 
the year. It prevents 
the soil from souring. 
Use a saturated solution 
of lime for this pur¬ 
pose. 
9. Arrangements 
should be made for put¬ 
ting away hydrangeas, 
aucubas and bay trees. 
A garage or other build¬ 
ing where the temper¬ 
ature can be kept just 
above freezing point is 
the ideal place. 
10. Just as soon as 
the tops are frozen, it 
is advisable to cut down 
all the perennials. If 
these are left over the 
winter they look very 
unsightly and get 
broken down and mat¬ 
ted with snow. 
11. Perennial gar¬ 
dens should be attended 
to now. If you have 
not overhauled yours 
for a number of years, 
this is the time to do 
it. Divide all perenni¬ 
als and provide them 
with some manure. 
12. Fire heat in the 
greenhouse is apt to 
breed green fly, red 
spider and other pests. 
Frequent damping down 
with water and. occa¬ 
sional spraying with 
mild insecticides must 
be resorted to. 
Sir Henry Irving died, 
1905. 
13. Parsley, sage, 
thyme, sweet marjoram 
and other herbs and 
flavorings of this type 
should now be cut and 
hung up to dry in the 
garage or attic. 
16. Potatoes should 
be dug now and stored 
for winter. Pick out a 
clear day and let the 
potatoes be dry when 
they are put away in 
a cool, dark, dry cel¬ 
lar. Remove any 
caked earth before they 
are stored. 
17. After the frost 
has cut down your 
dahlias, the tops can be 
removed with a sharp 
knife or sickle, and the 
roots can be dug up 
and stored for the win¬ 
ter. Label the roots 
carefully. 
18. Fall is the prop¬ 
er time to prune grapes. 
If this is left until 
spring, the canes will 
bleed. Grapes will 
stand heavy pruning; 
in fact, they need it. 
So don’t be afraid of 
cutting them quite hard. 
19. The asparagus 
bed should receive some 
attention immediately 
after the tops turn yel¬ 
low. Cut them off with 
a scythe and thoroughly 
mulch the bed with 
manure or seaweed in 
preparation for winter. 
20. Roses in the 
greenhouse should be 
growing rapidly and 
will stand light appli¬ 
cations of liquid plant 
food. Keep the plants 
well sprayed to check 
the spiders; pick off 
diseased leaves. 
23. All pot plants in 
the frames, such as 
primula, cyclamen, cin¬ 
eraria and calceolaria 
should now be brought 
inside. These plants 
are liable to be bothered 
with insect pests, so use 
a preventive spray. 
Daniel Webster died, 
1852. 
24. Plantings of all 
kinds will improve by 
mulching them with 
manure every winter. 
This should be practiced 
always in the case of 
specimen plants. 
Balaclaz'a Charge, 1854. 
25. Tender ever¬ 
greens should be pro¬ 
tected for the winter. 
Use straw evergreen 
boughs, or burlap. Sym¬ 
metrical trees such as 
junipers can be tied to¬ 
gether for protection. 
26. Lime is valuable 
in the soil as it releases 
nitrogen and makes it 
available for the plants. 
It is a good practice to 
use lime in sour ground 
in the fall, letting it 
lie there all winter. It 
may be applied now. 
Theodore Roosevelt 
born, 1858. 
2.7. Don’t neglect to 
put away such vegeta¬ 
bles as pumpkins and 
squash. They can be 
stored in any kind of a 
cool and dry place that 
is convenient. 
30. Don’t neglect to 
get your eanna roots 
and other tender bulbs 
stored. Cannas, mon- 
bretias, gladiolus and 
other bulbs of this 
class are best if lifted 
out of the ground and 
stored in a dry cellar. 
Hallowe’en. 
31. In very exposed 
places, the cold weather 
is apt to root-kill rasp¬ 
berries and blackber¬ 
ries. They had better 
be _ laid down and 
buried. This is also an 
excellent way to pre¬ 
serve hydrangeas. 
This Kalendar 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 re¬ 
membered 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 op¬ 
erations. The dates 
given are, of course, 
for an average season. 
Approximately '20 per 
cent of each potato 
pared by ordinary 
household methods is 
lost. Potatoes that are 
boiled or baked in their 
skins lose practically 
none of their food 
value. 
A few cro- 
c u s e s , 
planted 
71 o w O 71 
the lawn , 
will be 
attrac- 
tive next 
spring 
When the 
herbs are 
cut, tie 
the 77i in 
b u 7 i dies 
atid hang 
them in¬ 
doors to 
dry 
The tops 
of all per- 
e n n i a l s 
should be 
cut and 
burned 
after the 
bloo tiling 
season 
1. After the frost 
has struck your toma¬ 
toes, it is a good plan 
to remove all the fruit, 
wrapping it in paper 
and putting away in 
boxes in the cellar. See 
to it that each tomato 
is sound. 
8. All palms and 
other greenhouse plants 
should be watered more 
sparingly now. These 
plants have finished 
their current season’s 
growth and the ripening 
process is now in or¬ 
der, so avoid forcing. 
15. Beans and other 
tender vegetables in the 
garden can be saved 
for weeks by proper 
protection. Old pieces 
of burlap or even tar 
paper may be used. 
Lettuce may be cov¬ 
ered with salt hay. 
22. You must mulch 
your strawberries if you 
want good fruit. Take 
care that the manure 
does not come in con¬ 
tact with the crown of 
the plant. A slight cov¬ 
ering of salt hay is also 
advisable. 
ers, such as helichry- 
sum, should now be 
gathered and hung up 
to dry for several days, 
after which they can 
be used in the house. 
Do not use any water 
in their vases. 
This is the time to 
dig u p and store 
tender bulbous 
plants like cannas 
and gladioli 
A few bags or pieces 
of burlap will save 
a row of beans from 
frost injury 
Deciduous trees and 
shrubs cati be moved 
as soon as their foli¬ 
age turns yellow 
There’s a whisper down 
the held 
Where the year has 
shot her yield 
And the ricks stand gray 
to the sun; 
Singing "Over then, 
come over, 
For the bee has quit the 
clover 
And your English 
summer’s done.” 
—Kipling 
Edgar Allen Poe died, 
1849. 
7. Sweet potatoes 
should be ready now. 
There is no way of 
judging except by the 
size of the tuber. This 
you can determine by 
scratching around it 
carefully with the fin¬ 
gers, disturbing it no 
more than necessary. 
14. What about pro¬ 
tection for your dahlias 
and other tender flow¬ 
ers? Sometimes we 
have weeks of fine 
weather after the first 
killing frost. A few 
old sheets or like ma¬ 
terial will save many 
plants for bloom during 
this period. 
21. Small fruits such 
as raspberries, black- 
jerries, gooseberries and 
currants are shallow 
rooters and the ground 
surrounding them 
should be thoroughly 
mulched to protect 
them for the winter. 
Any of the customary 
mulching materials may 
be used for this. 
28. Jerusalem arti¬ 
choke can be dug now 
and stored for winter 
use. This is a very 
prolific vegetable and is 
delicious when properly 
prepared. It is quite 
distinct from the ordi¬ 
nary globe type, and 
certainly deserves to be 
more popular and bet¬ 
ter known. 
If you are con- 
sidering 
changes in the 
perennial gar¬ 
den, label the 
plants now so 
that there can 
be no mistake 
in placing them 
Don’t forget to 
start in frames 
the winter 
crops like let¬ 
tuce, parsley 
and radish 
If you cover 
the lettuce with 
salt hay it 
should .keep in 
condition until 
Christmas 
