September, 
1918 
55 
THE WAR GARDEN DEPARTMENT 
Mr. Hoover’s recent statement of the vast stores of food we have been able to send to our allies 
during the past year should be a source of no slight gratification to the country at large, and espe¬ 
cially to those tens of thousands who have devoted time and energy to their own vegetable gardens. 
It cannot be denied that to these “war gardeners” is due much of our success in helping to feed 
our overseas neighbors, by releasing food that would otherwise have been consumed at home. Let 
us congratulate ourselves, therefore, and. in the same breath resolve that the good work shall not 
only be kept up but vastly increased 
A LTHOUGH tlie full flush of the war garden’s 
r\ growing season will have passed by the time this 
issue of House & Garden reaches you, there 
yet remains much to be done in the way of insuring 
the maximum yield from this year’s planting, and also 
in preparatory work looking toward the season of 
1919. Successful gardening, far more than most peo¬ 
ple realize, depends upon planning and working well 
ahead of actual planting time. 
With the present and the immediate future in view, 
keep up the cultivation of all land now bearing crops. 
Because your vegetables are practically mature is no 
excuse for neglecting them. On the contrary, constant 
stirring of the soil with the wheel-hoe is as important 
now as in the spring and early summer. It will help 
the plants produce to the limit of their capacity, be¬ 
sides keeping weeds in check. This last is a most im¬ 
portant advantage, not only as it benefits the present 
crops, but also for the future good of the garden. For 
many weeds normally ripen their seeds during Sep¬ 
tember, and if these are allowed to do so the results 
next season will be unpleasant. A weed seed lives 
through the winter about as successfully as any other 
inanimate organism, and will be only glad of the op¬ 
portunity to spring joyously up with the advent of 
spring weather. Destroy the parent plants now, there¬ 
fore, before they can complete their life cycle. 
Preparing New Ground 
This is the time to begin work on new areas which 
you plan to put under cultivation next year. Espe¬ 
cially true is this of sod land which is to be plowed 
under. Some time is required for turned-under sod to 
become thoroughly incorporated with the soil and at¬ 
tain a workable condition, so get it all down before 
the fall rains come. Plowing or deep spading is all 
that is necessary at this time; the smoothing and level¬ 
ing of the soil can be left until the early spring. 
We hear more of cover crops now than ever before, 
doubtless because their value as soil improvers is be¬ 
coming better understood by home gardeners. Certain 
plants, notably the legumes, have the property of fix¬ 
ing nitrogen in the soil by means of helpful bacteria 
on their roots, thus adding materially to the produc¬ 
tiveness of the ground in which they grow. These are 
the most valuable cover crops 
from the average standpoint. 
Sown early this month and 
plowed under in the spring in 
advance of regular planting 
time, they will be found a wise 
investment. Red clover, buck¬ 
wheat, rye or rape may be 
used, the choice depending 
upon the particular conditions 
to be met. The seed should be 
put in as scon as the ground 
is cleared of its last vegetable 
crop, even though the area may 
be no more than the width of 
a single row. 
Late in the month, too, you 
may begin the planting of ap¬ 
ples, pears and bush fruit 
stock. Follow the usual meth¬ 
ods of planting, and do not 
fail to use an abundance of 
water around the roots, espe¬ 
cially since the soil is apt to 
be very dry after the summer’s 
heat. The stone fruits, such 
as peaches and plums, had bet¬ 
ter not be set out before the 
early spring. 
Canning, Preserving ."Drying 
and Pickling for 
September 
The vegetables that are most 
abundant in September are 
beets, carrots, com, celery, cu¬ 
cumbers, onions, pumpkins, 
potatoes, sweet potatoes, 
squashes, tomatoes and turnips. 
In fruits, the most plentiful 
ROBERT STELL 
Among frost protection materials are 
dead leaves held in place with corn¬ 
stalks 
during the month are crab-apples, grapes, peaches, 
pears, plums and wild grapes. 
The various canning methods by which fruits and 
vegetables may be preserved have already been dis¬ 
cussed in previous issues of House & Garden. De¬ 
hydration of garden products has been lately revived 
and has gained greatly in favor, for this process of 
preserving has many advantages that all others lack. 
By drying garden produce storage space is lessened, 
the cost of jars is eliminated, bulk is reduced, the 
product is easily handled, there is no loss of nutrients, 
and much of the labor involved in the preserving 
process is avoided. 
Dehydration Methods 
Vegetables and fruits to be dried should be fresh 
and sound. The same precautions should be exer¬ 
cised in the proper selection of garden products which 
are to be dried as if they were intended for canning. 
Eight steps are involved in the drying process: 
preparation, blanching, cold-dipping, slicing, drying, 
conditioning, packing, storing and labeling. 
Preparation means picking-over, sorting and cleaning. 
Blanching consists in immersing the substance to be 
dried in boiling hot water for a few minutes. The 
object of this is to loosen the skin of such edibles as 
need peeling, to kill some of the organisms that may 
injure the product, to set color, and to loosen the fiber. 
Cold-dipping is plunging the vegetable into cold 
water directly from its hot bath. The food to be dried 
must not be allowed to lie in cold water. The object 
of the cold plunge is to harden the pulp, to stop the 
flow of coloring matter and to cool the vegetable or 
fruit preparatory to peeling. 
Slicing is the fourth step. Uniform slices are es¬ 
sential, otherwise careful sorting will be necessary be¬ 
cause uneven slices will require varying lengths of 
time to dry. 
The next step is drying. This may be done in one 
of three ways: by the heat of the sun, which is called 
sun drying; by the aid of artificial heat; or by an air 
blast. Sun drying is the exposure of the objects to be 
dried to the rays of the sun. To employ artificial heat 
for home drying, the use of the oven is recommended, 
as is also the drying on top or over a cook stove. In 
oven drying the oven door must be left open, and the 
temperature must not rise above 140° F., preferably 
120°. In the air blast method a current of air, as from 
an electric fan, is passed over the trays upon which 
the product is spread to dry. 
Conditioning consists in 
preparing the product for 
storing. It should be carefully 
sorted two or three days in 
succession and all pieces that 
show moisture should be re¬ 
moved, otherwise they will 
cause mould. 
Dried products should be 
packed in airtight containers—• 
paraffined bags or paper boxes, 
or tin cans with tight fitting 
lids. Only enough for one meal 
should be stored away in any 
one vessel. This guards against 
great loss due to possible 
spoilage. 
All containers should b'e 
properly labeled, and all dried 
products should be stored in a 
cool, dry place, free from mice 
or insects. 
Vegetables may also be 
stored in the cellar or buried in 
the ground. Those best for the 
purpose are beets, winter ap¬ 
ples, cabbage, carrots, onions, 
parsnips, potatoes and turnips. 
Care should be taken to guard 
against frost and yet provide 
proper ventilation. 
Three other methods may be 
employed along with those al¬ 
ready discussed to utilize gar¬ 
den and orchard products, 
namely: preserving in dry salt, 
fermenting, preserving in brine 
and preserving in vinegar. 
The two latter methods are 
commonly called pickling. 
After the pumpkins are ripe they 
may be protected with their own 
dead vines 
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Straw is one of the most effective 
guards for vegetables, if it is of good 
fiber 
