Dahlia Don'ts 
Don’t plant before ground warms up. Gladi- 
-olus bulbs may be planted very early, but 
Dahlias are much more tender. In our section 
we plant from about April 20th to middle of 
June. May best month in most places. 
Don’t plant the whole clump that you dug 
up last fall. Divide it so as to leave an eye or 
two on each tuber. The eyes are located near 
where the tubers join the base of stalk, and 
nowhere else. Not like potatoes, that have 
eyes other places than the one end. 
Don’t plant tuber in upright position. Lay 
it flat instead. Cover about 4 inches. 
Don’t break your back storing all the dirt 
that comes up with clump of dahlia tubers or 
burying them in sand or soil, unless you crave 
exercise. Is all right to store this way, but 
not hecessary. Gently tap the stalk near roots, 
after digging, and most of the soil will drop 
off. But if sticky, use hose to wash the roots 
clean. 
Don’t plant a tuber with badly bruised or 
broken neck. Many necks are ruined in taking 
up, storing and handling the clumps. The neck 
is the slim portion near the place where the 
tuber meets the base of stalk. Some tubers, 
though, are almost round and have no well- 
defined neck. 
Don’t set tuvers closer than 18 inches in 
row and rows closer than 2 feet. More room 
may be given, but dahlias will thrive as close 
as this in good soil and with care. 
Don’t get the wrong idea about the size and 
value cf a dahlia tuber. Amateurs frequently 
think that the larger the tuber the better, and 
that a small tuber will not make good. Often 
the reverse is true. For one thing, different 
varieties make different size tubers. Pompon 
dahlia tubers usually (not always) quite small. 
Don’t worry about having to stake dahlias. 
You can keep your plants bushy if you wish, 
by pinching them off after 3 or 4 sets of leaves 
have formed. Pinch or cut out the top of 
plant, leaving 2 sets of leaves, from which 
points side branches will be sent out. A second 
pinching off may be done if you wish to Keep 
the plant still lower. But good idea to stake 
anyhow. Use thick soft twine, or cloth. 
Don’t forget your dahlias after planted. 
They may need a little watering to bring them 
up..Do not need heavy irrigation at this stage, 
however. Begin hoeing or cultivating soon as 
plants are up, working soil deep at first, but 
more shallow when buds begin to form. Manv 
hair-like roots run far out from plants and 
very close to surface. Too deep cultivating 
cuts them off. 
Don’t cut dahlia blossoms during the heat 
of the day, if you can avoid it. Very early in 
morning or late in evening much _ better. 
Plunge the stems in cold water soon as. pos- 
sible. Svrayinge backs of blossoms. several 
times a day will help keep from wilting. 
Don’t be rough wiih your dahlia roots when 
take them up in fall. Handle like soft-shelled 
eges to prevent breaking or injuring the slen- 
der necks of tubers. Take up after frosts have 
killed tops. If frost delayed, take up anyhow. 
Don’t let the roots dry enough to shrivel 
them before storing. We pack them in barrels 
well lined with newspapers, then watch and if 
top tubers show signs of shriveling, we throw 
dampened newspapers or old sacks over tops 
of barrels. This is in a dry basement. You 
will have to suit your methods to your own 
storage conditions. 
Before packing away, cut off stalk 
inch or two of clump. 
Don’t think that dahlias will mix, planted 
close together. They will come true from 
divided clumps, but not from seed. 
Dahlia Seed tons rk ase 
LONG’S PROFESSIONAL MIXTURE. Seed 
Saved from the finer varieties. Pkt. $1.00. 
within 

Now you can brighten up your rooms, with darling little Pompon blooms, 
““Keep the Ball A-Rolling”’ 
The old idea with many folks was to have 
one big spring gardening spasm, followed by 
spasmodic cultivation and let it go at that. 
But now, with garden space so valuable, and 
produce from the garden so expensive, and 
also more appreciated when it is fresh, we 
are learning how to get the greatest efficiency 
from our gardens. 
Companion and succession crops are planned 
to use space to best advantage and for as long 
a portion of the season as possible. 
_Companion crops are early and late maturing 
kinds grown in alternate rows, so that when 
the early crop is off the late one may occupy 
the whole space for balance of the season. 
For instance, early radish, beets, lettuce, may 
go between rows of cabbage, tomatoes, squash 
or melons. 
Succession crops are those following each 
other. The ground used for green onions from 
sets, radish, lettuce or early peas may be used 
after these crops are off for celery, late sweet 
corn, beans or turnips. Two, three or even 
four crops of some things may be grown one 
after the other in a season. 
Finding Room for Flowers 
Maybe you can find more room by spading 
up some of the neglected corners or waste 
places. Often a few feet along both sides of 
the lawn can be used—less grass and more 
flowers. As a rule, it is better to use such 
space, stolen from the lawn, along the sides 
or lot lines, rather than to have beds in the 
body of the lawn. However, this is a matter 
of personal preference and fitting the flower 
beds to the individual yard. 
Often flowers can be worked in around the 
shrubbery. Tulips and other fall bulbs are 
especially adapted to this handling. Planting 
in borders or in groups, according to room 
and arrangement of shrubbery, will produce 
pleasing effects. 
Then, again, drastic pruning of trees will 
help wonderfully in making two flowers bloom 
where but one bloomed before. Or, maybe 
none bloomed, because of too much shade. 
How to Transplant Weeds 
This is easy. It’s a gift with some gardeners. 
Simply have the ground wet when you go forth 
to give the garden the once over. Cut the 
weeds off well under the roots, but don’t scatter 
them about. Follow the hoe with your feet, 
packing the recently loosened soil as you go. 
Then to complete the job, turn the hose on 
before the soil has had time to dry out well 
after hoeing. This treatment is practically 
sure to leave a good stand of weeds, full of 
life and pep. 
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