64 
House & Garden 
September THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Ninth Month 
Tender outdoor 
flowers shoidd be 
given protection 
when frost threatens 
Tomatoes picked 
green and wrapped 
and stored in a dry 
place will ripen 
Lime is a standard 
remedy for sick soil. 
It can be put on in 
the autumn 
SUNDAY 
MONDAY 
1 
TUESDAY 
WEDNESDAY 
THURSDAY 
FRIDAY 
SATURDAY 
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. 
1. Prune all 
deciduous trees 
before the 
leaves fall, as it 
is much easier 
tnen 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. 
2. 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 
the ground is 
dry. water the 
drills well be¬ 
fore sowing the 
seed. 
3. 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 Jma- 
nure and a fair 
amount of bone 
meal to stimu¬ 
late strong, 
rapid growth. 
4. 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. 
5. Evergreens 
that have been 
confined in 
growth, hedges 
a'id various 
other plants 
that are clipped 
frequently 
s lould be given 
a final clipping 
at this time. 
Do this before 
the foliage 
turns on the 
deciduous 
plants. 
6. 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 
in the custom¬ 
ary manner. 
No orchard 
should be 
grown in sod. 
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 
eradicate when 
the lawn is put 
in order. 
8. Vegetables 
should be 
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. 
9. 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 for 
they will last 
for several sea¬ 
sons of actual 
use. 
10. 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. 
11. 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. 
12. Do not 
neglect to get 
cuttings of the 
bedding plants 
before they are 
destroyed by 
frost. This ap¬ 
plies to chry¬ 
santhemums, 
coleus, etc. 
Each variety 
should be kept 
separate, as 
mixed colors 
are disappoint¬ 
ing. 
13. Theflow- 
er garden 
shouldbe 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. 
14. 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. 
15. 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. 
16. Perma¬ 
nent pastures 
for grazing pur¬ 
poses should be 
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- 
cumstances 
plant inferior 
seed. 
17. Ever¬ 
greens that are 
being trans¬ 
planted now, 
or have been 
transplanted 
recently, must 
be kept well 
watered. Al- 
t hough top 
growth has ter¬ 
minated, these 
plants are mak¬ 
ing consider- 
a b1e root 
growth. 
18."Attention 
shouldbe given 
now to bulb 
planting for 
this season. If 
not already 
placed, orders 
should be sent 
immediately 
as early plant¬ 
ing means bet¬ 
ter results. It 
gives the bulb 
a chance to 
form a root 
system. 
19. 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 
be discontinued 
as soon as the 
buds show 
color and signs 
of opening. 
20. Carna¬ 
tions that were 
planted out 
may now be 
put in the 
greenhouse. 
The glass 
should be 
shaded slightly 
for several 
days, or until 
the roots have 
again become 
active. Over¬ 
head spraying 
is helpful. 
21. 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 intothe 
heart of the 
plant.Hold the| 
stalks together 
while banking 
them. 
22. 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 
after these 
crops have 
been gathered. 
23. Cold- 
frames that can 
be protected 
throughout the 
winter should 
be used for 
sowing hardy 
vegetables like 
cabbage and 
cauliflower 
with the idea 
o f carrying 
them over and 
planting out 
early in the 
spring. 
24. 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¬ 
able. 
25. Before 
the leaves 
begin to fall, 
look the garden 
and grounds 
over carefully 
with an eye to 
changes in 
their arrange- 
m e n t. The 
reason for this 
is obvious—you 
can tell now 
just where mis¬ 
takes in the 
scheme exist. 
26. 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 
water. 
27. Just as 
soon as the 
foliage turns 
yellow on de¬ 
ciduous plants 
it is safe to 
start trans¬ 
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. 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. 
29. 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 
occasi o n a 11 y 
nitrate of soda. 
30. Wire 
grass, rye grass 
and other 
heavy growing 
grasses and 
weeds grow 
very rapidly 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. 
A shadowy tumult stirs the 
dusky air; 
Sparkle the delicate dews, the 
distant snows; 
The great deep thrills — for 
through it everywhere 
The breath of Beauty blows. 
"A. E.” 
r HEY, ain't been no frost yet, but I can’t help noticin’ how many red leaves there be on the trees, 
’specially the pepperidges an’ swamp maples. I used to think it was the frost as made leaves turn 
red an’ ycllcr in the Fall, but I reckon it can’t be that. Mus’ be a change in the way the sap works — 
the tree kinder pulls it back from the leaves to store it fer the winter, an’ it seems reasonable to think 
that this empties, the veins an’ art’ries in the leaves so’s they change color. The ycller part is easy to 
understan’, fer it’s nothin’ but a beginnin’ o’ the brown that all leaves gits when they die. Mebbe the 
sap turns, too, gittin’ red ’stead o’ green. The queer part of it all is the way a whole branch full o’ 
leaves ■ will git bright afore any o’ the others on the tree change at all. I reckon it’s because that 
partic’lar branch ain’t got as good circulation as the others, an’ its leaves give in quicker. 
—Old Doc Lemmon. 
Surplus from the 
fruit trees and vege¬ 
table garden should 
be preserved 
Clean the perennial 
and other borders as 
soon as the plant 
stalks are dead 
Vine crops such as 
squash and pump¬ 
kins should be gath¬ 
ered when fully ripe 
Onions, beets, carrots, parsnips and other root 
crops for winter use should have their tops 
twisted off before storing away in the cellar 
or pit 
Good melons are the result of 
selected seed, proper soil, and an 
early start. Let them mature fully 
before picking 
The cover crop is coming more and more 
into its own as a soil enricher. It shoidd be 
plowed under in the fall, so as to rot over the 
winter 
