56 
House & Garden 
September THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR Ninth Month 
Divide large peony 
clumps into jour 
pieces of suitable 
size to transplant 
Do not leave the 
long canes free to 
whip around. They 
should be tied 
Porch v in c s , too, 
need fastening to 
prevent damage dur¬ 
ing the winter 
SUNDAY 
1. Violets 
should now be 
moved from 
the held into 
the frames or 
greenhouse 
benches. The 
same is true of 
carnations. 
Shading the 
glass for 
several days is 
advisable i n 
order to assist 
the plants to 
establish them¬ 
selves as they 
should. 
8. After the 
potatoes are 
thoroughly 
ripe there is no 
advaniage in 
leaving them 
in the ground, 
as continued 
wet weather is 
liable to start a 
second growth. 
They should be 
dug, and after 
proper drying 
they may be 
stored in a cool 
cellar for fall 
and winter use. 
15. Bulbs 
should be 
planted when 
received. At 
best they have 
only a limited 
time to estab¬ 
lish themselves 
before cold 
weather, and 
it is only when 
well estab¬ 
lished in the 
fall that the* 
produce satis¬ 
factorily in 
their flowering 
season. 
22. All vines 
should be gone 
over, removing 
all dead leaves. 
Support them 
properly to 
protect them 
from winter 
storms, and 
while you are 
doing this ex¬ 
amine the trel¬ 
lises, etc., mak¬ 
ing repairs 
where neces¬ 
sary and put¬ 
ting every¬ 
thing in order. 
29. Make 
arrangements 
now to save 
leaves and all 
the decayed 
vegetables 
from your gar¬ 
den. A small 
pit may be dug 
in some corner 
for this pur¬ 
pose. After the 
materials are 
thoroughly 
rotted they 
will be valu¬ 
able for grow¬ 
ing plants. 
MONDAY 
2. Two sow¬ 
ings of peas 
should be 
made this 
month, using 
early varieties 
so as to assure 
maturity be¬ 
fore the arrival 
of cold 
weather. 
Radishes, spin¬ 
ach, cress and 
chervil are 
some of the 
other things 
which may be 
sown now. 
9. Roses 
should now be 
floweiing quite 
freely. They 
often suffer for 
want of water 
at this season 
of the year. A 
thorough soak¬ 
ing is advised, 
using a sharp¬ 
ened stick to 
determine 
when the water 
has penetrated 
to the proper 
d e p t. h and 
reached roots. 
16. Keep 
cutting the 
lawn just as 
long as there is 
any grass 
growth. Neg¬ 
lecting this re¬ 
sults in an un¬ 
sightly lawn 
the following 
spring, when 
the grass turns 
brown and re¬ 
quires several 
cuttings to 
give the new 
growth a 
chance. 
23. Do not 
negl tio the 
cultiva n of 
all fall crops. 
The constant 
stirring of the 
ground is just 
as important 
when the crops 
are matui ing 
as when they 
are starting; 
and every time 
you work the 
garden soil you 
improve its 
condition and 
productiveness. 
30. Covers 
for outside 
statuary and 
gaiden furni¬ 
ture that can¬ 
not be moved 
and placed un¬ 
der cover 
should be 
made ready. 
Boards, corn- 
stalks and 
other protect¬ 
ing material 
should be as¬ 
sembled ready 
for use before 
the winter. 
TUESDAY 
3. Any 
pieces of land 
that aie being 
considered for 
growing pur¬ 
poses next year 
should be 
plowed up and 
sown with a 
good cover 
crop. For 
heavy soils red 
clover or buck¬ 
wheat is best , 
for a light soil 
you may use 
either rye or 
rape. 
10. Fruit 
trees that are 
making a very 
rank growth, 
but are not 
bearing fruit, 
should be root 
pruned. Now 
is an excellent 
time to do this, 
digging a 
1 1 ench around 
the tree and 
severing the 
tap root well 
below the sur¬ 
face of the 
ground. 
17. Sow now 
in the green¬ 
house beans, 
cauliflower, 
lettuce, spin¬ 
ach, beets, car¬ 
rots and ra¬ 
dishes. With 
the exception 
of the beans, 
these are all 
cool crops and 
may be grown 
with very little 
fire heat and 
consequent 
small fuel con¬ 
sumption. 
24. Pom¬ 
pom chrysan¬ 
themums, ane¬ 
mones and 
other fall flow¬ 
ers will be im¬ 
proved in qual¬ 
ity by occa¬ 
sional feedings 
with liquid 
manures or top 
dressings o f 
concentrated 
fertilizer. At¬ 
tention to these 
matters will be 
well repaid by! 
the plants. 
WEDNESDAY 
4. AH bor¬ 
ders around 
fields, gardens 
or any ground 
that is being 
used for grow¬ 
ing purposes 
should be 
cleaned thor¬ 
oughly of all 
weed growth 
before they are 
allowed to 
seed. Letting 
weeds mature 
spells extra 
trouble for 
next yeai. 
11. Dahlias 
should be fed 
w i t h liquid 
manures. The 
plants need to 
be gone over 
frequently, re¬ 
ducing the 
lateral growth 
to a consider¬ 
able extent. If 
they are in¬ 
fested with 
black fly, spray 
them thor¬ 
oughly witn a 
tobacco pre¬ 
paration. 
18. Do not 
w a i t, until 
spring to set 
out orchard 
fruits. 
Peaches, 
plums and 
cherries are 
best planted in 
the spring, but 
apples, pears, 
gooseber. ies, 
raspbe rries, 
currants and 
blackberries 
can be planted 
now. U8 e 
plenty of water. 
25. New 
perennial 
plantings 
should be got¬ 
ten under way 
at once, as 
practically all 
of these plants 
are perfectly 
hardy and fall 
is the best time 
to distinguish 
the different 
varieties. The 
old plantings 
should be over¬ 
hauled at t.nis 
time. 
When the breath of twilight 
blows to flame the misty 
. skies. 
All its vaporous sapphire, 
violet glow and silver 
gleam, 
With their magic flood me 
through the gateway of 
the eyes; 
I am one with the twi¬ 
light’s dream. 
A. E. 
THURSDAY 
5. This is 
the proper time 
to transplant 
peonies. Any 
new plantings 
that are con- 
tem plated 
should be set 
out at this 
time. The old 
plantings that 
have ceased to 
be productive 
should be re¬ 
novated, divid¬ 
ing the clumps 
and enriching 
the soil. 
12. House 
plants should 
be overhauled, 
repotting those 
that require it. 
Be sure to use 
a good, rich, 
virgin soil for 
this purpose, 
and have plen¬ 
ty of drainage 
in the pots. 
O 1 d . d e a d 
leaves should 
be removed at 
the same time 
and the plants 
renovated. 
19. Celery 
must grow 
quickly to be 
of good flavor. 
Top dressings 
with concen¬ 
trated plant 
foods such as 
tankage and 
nitrate of soda 
are advisable. 
In case of ex¬ 
tremely dry 
weather, 
thorough 
watering of the 
ground is also 
recommended. 
26. Pansies 
may now be 
planted out in 
bed formation 
with the idea 
of protecting 
them for the 
winter, for ear¬ 
ly spring bed¬ 
ding purposes. 
It is advisable 
for the bed to 
b e slightly 
mounded up so 
as to turn 
water readily 
during the bad 
weather. 
FRIDAY 
6. Do not 
postpone any 
longer the 
gathering of all 
cuttings from 
outside plants 
such as gerani¬ 
ums, verbenas, 
heliotrope and 
ageratum. A 
destructive 
frost is possible 
at any time 
now, and may 
catch you un¬ 
awares and in¬ 
jure or kill the 
old plants. 
13. Ever¬ 
greens that 
have been re¬ 
cently moved 
should be thor¬ 
oughly sup¬ 
ported before 
fall storms 
sway them and 
put a heavy 
strain upon the 
roots. Sticks 
may be used 
for the smaller 
plants, but the 
larger ones re¬ 
quire guy wires 
and stakes. 
20. In prop¬ 
erly construct¬ 
ed frames it is 
possible to do 
c onsiderable 
winter garden¬ 
ing, with close 
attention t. o 
protecting ma- 
teiials during 
severe weathei. 
Lettuce, cauli¬ 
flower, parsley, 
spinach a»nd 
radishes aie all 
possible vege¬ 
tables to grow 
in this way. 
27. Decidu¬ 
ous trees and 
shrubs intend¬ 
ed for planting 
should be at¬ 
tended to im¬ 
mediately. I f 
they are al¬ 
lowed to lie 
a i o u n d ex¬ 
posed to the 
sun and wind, 
the small, 
fiberous roots 
will be quickly 
destroyed and 
the stock in¬ 
jured. 
SATURDAY 
7. Endive 
should be 
i e a d y for 
bleaching. 
Boards may be 
placed over the 
plants for this 
purpose, or the 
plants may be 
tied up when 
perfectly dry. 
This is one of 
our best fall 
salad plants 
and should be 
more generally 
known and 
used. 
14. The 
asparagus bed 
should be thor¬ 
oughly cleaned 
of all weed 
growth a n d 
given a heavy 
application of 
salt. This will 
help to in¬ 
crease the 
crowns of the 
plants, which 
of course are 
the determin¬ 
ing factor of 
your next 
year’s crop. 
21. Pears 
should never 
be allowed to 
ripen on the 
tree, as they 
become soft in 
the center be¬ 
fore falling of 
their own ac¬ 
cord. The 
fruit should be 
picked before 
this stage is 
reached and 
placed in a 
dark room to 
lipen slowly 
and evenly. 
28. Arrange¬ 
ments should 
now be made 
so that all dec¬ 
orative plants 
may be placed 
under cover at 
the first in¬ 
dication of 
frost; or pro¬ 
tecting ma¬ 
terial may be 
prepared and 
placed handy 
where it may 
be quickly ap¬ 
plied when the 
time comes. 
This Calendar of the gardener’s labors it, 
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. 
Folks have been talking now for mighty nigh two years about hozv we ought to plant every last inch 
of land in food crops. I reckon I'm about as good an American as any, but 1 never did believe that 
idea should be followed absolutely by everybody. You see, there's lots of odd corners around most 
every place where a man couldnt grow enough vegetables to make one good bite, but which would 
b J,i per t? ctly goo fi J° r lowers. Besides, our stomachs ain't the only parts of us to be fed, arc they? 
Why, doggone it, a zooman—or a man, either—ain’t acting right to sacrifice every bit of her love of 
flowers to the war garden idea. If eve got to do something for our minds, raise something beautiful, 
just to kind of offset the ugly effect of the war. Raise all the vegetables von sensibly can—sure; but 
don t forget a rose bush here and there, or a little bed of pansies. 
—Old Doc Lemmon. 
Tying up the celery 
plants is a prelimi¬ 
nary to blanching 
the stalks 
There is no advan¬ 
tage in leaving root 
crops in the ground 
after they are grown 
Pears should be 
picked before they 
become so ripe that 
they fall 
Quinces, like pears, ought to be hand picked when ripe. If 
left until they fall they lose some of their flavor and quality 
for preserving. Besides this, the fallen fruit will be generally 
bruised 
Early autumn is the 
time for lifting and 
transplanting bulbs of 
various kinds 
The perennial border, rightly arranged, is one of the best ways 
to face down shrubbery plantings. Plans for it should be 
completed at once, as much of the planting is best done 
in the fall 
