Manual of Gardening Part 72

_Lettuce_ seed does not germinate well in hot weather. Sow in a moist, shaded position for a succession.

_Lima beans._--Hoe them frequently, and give a.s.sistance to get on the poles.

_Melons._--Watch for bugs, and apply tobacco dust freely around the plants. Keep them well cultivated. A light application of bone meal will pay.

_Peaches, pears, and plums_ should be thinned to secure fine fruit and to help sustain the vigor of the tree. Ripening the seed is what draws on the tree's vitality, and if the number of seeds can be reduced one-half or two-thirds, part of the strength required to ripen them will go into perfecting the fruit and seeds left, and add greatly to the fine appearance, flavor, and quality of the edible portion.

_Radishes._--Sow the early kinds for a succession, and toward the end of the month the winter sorts may be put in.

_Raspberries._--Pinch back the canes to 2-1/2 ft., the same way as given for blackberries.

_Squashes._--Keep the ground well stirred, and use tobacco dust freely for bugs and beetles. Cover the joints with fresh soil, to guard against injury by the vine-borer.

AUGUST

_Beets._--A last sowing of the early table sorts may be made for a succession.

_Cabbage._--Harvest the early crop, and give good cultivation to the main crop. Keep down the bugs and worms.

_Celery._--The latest crop may yet be set. Earlier set plants should be handled as they attain sufficient size. Common drain tiles are excellent for blanching if one has them, and must be put on when the plants are about half grown. Hoe frequently to keep the plants growing.

_Onions._--Harvest as soon as the bulbs are well formed. Let them lie on the ground until cured, then draw to the barn floor or some other airy place and spread thinly. Market when you can get a good price, and the sooner the better.

_Tomatoes_ may be hastened in coloring by being picked just as they begin to color and placed in single layers in a coldframe or hotbed, where they can be covered with sash.

SEPTEMBER

In many parts of the North it is not too late to sow rye, or peas, or corn, to afford winter protection for orchards. As a rule, very late fall plowing for orchards is not advisable. Now is a good time to trim up the fence-rows and to burn the brush piles, in order to destroy the breeding places of rabbits, insects, and weeds. Cuttings of gooseberries and currants may be taken. Use only the wood of the current year's growth, making the cuttings about a foot long. Strip off the leaves, if they have not already fallen, tie the cuttings in large bundles, and bury them in a cold cellar, or in a sandy, well-drained knoll; or if the cutting-bed is well prepared and well drained, they may be planted immediately, the bed being well mulched upon the approach of winter.

September and October are good months in which to set orchards, provided the ground is well prepared and well drained, and is not too much exposed to sweeping winds. Wet lands should never be set in the fall; and such lands, however, are not fit for orchards. Strawberries may still be set; also bush fruits.

Seeds of various flowers may now be sown for winter bloom, if one has a conservatory or good window. Petunias, phloxes, and many annuals make good window plants. Quicker results are secured, however, if border plants of petunias and some other things are dug up just before frost and placed in pots or boxes. Keep them cool and shaded for a couple of weeks, cut down the tops, and they will send up a vigorous and floriferous growth. Winter roses should now be in place in the beds or in pots.

There will be odd days when one can go to the woods and fields and collect roots of wild herbs and shrubs for planting in the yard or along the unused borders of the garden.

OCTOBER

_Asparagus._--Old plantations should now be cleaned off, and the tops removed at once. This is a good time to apply manure to the beds. For young plantations, which may be started now as well as in spring, select a warm soil and sunny exposure, and give each plant plenty of room. We like to set them in rows 5 ft. apart and at least 2 ft. apart in the rows.

_Cabbages._--The heads that will winter best are those just fully formed, not the over-ripe ones. For family use, bury an empty barrel in a well-drained spot, and fill it with good heads. Place a lot of dry leaves on top, and cover the barrel so that it will shed rain. Or, pile some cabbages in a corner of the barn floor and cover them with enough straw to prevent solid freezing. Pages 159, 470.

_Cabbage-plants,_ started from seed last month, should be p.r.i.c.ked out in cold-frames, putting about 600 to the ordinary sash and setting them quite deep.

_Chicory._--Dig what is wanted for salad, and store it in sand in a dry cellar.

_Endive._--Blanch by gathering up the leaves and tying them lightly at the tips.

_General garden management._--The only planting that can be done in open ground at this time is restricted to rhubarb, asparagus, and perhaps onion-sets. Begin to think about next year's planting, and to make arrangements for the manure that will be needed. Often you can purchase it now to good advantage, and haul it while the roads are yet good.

Clean up and plow the ground when the crops are harvested.

_Lettuce._--Plants to be wintered over should be set in frames like cabbage-plants.

_Onions._--Plant sets of Extra Early Pearl, or some other hardy kind, in the same fas.h.i.+on as in early spring. They are likely to winter well, and will give an early crop of fine bunching onions. For the North, fall sowing of onion-seed cannot be recommended.

_Parsley._--Lift some plants and set them in a coldframe 4 or 5 in.

apart, or in a box filled with good soil, and place in a light cellar or under a shed.

_Pears._--Pick the winter sorts just before there is danger from freezing. Put them in a cool, dark place, where they will neither mold nor shrivel. To hasten ripening, they may be brought into a warm room as wanted.

_Rhubarb._--If plants are to be set or replanted this fall, enrich the ground with a superabundance of fine old stable-manure, and give each plant a few feet of s.p.a.ce each way. In order to have fresh pie-plant in winter, dig up some of the roots and plant them in good soil in a barrel placed in the cellar.

_Sweet-potatoes._--Dig them when ripe after the first frost. Cut off the vines, and turn the potatoes out with a potato-fork or plow. Handle them carefully to prevent bruising. Only sound, well-ripened roots are in proper condition to be wintered over.

NOVEMBER

_Asparagus._--Manure before winter sets in.

_Beets._--They keep best in pits. Some may be kept in the cellar for use during winter, but cover them with sand or sods to prevent shriveling.

_Blackberries._--Cut away the old wood and mulch the roots. Tender sorts should be laid down and lightly covered with soil at the tips.

_Carrots._--Treat as advised for beets.

_Celery._--Dig up the stalks, leaving the roots on, and stand them close together in a narrow trench, tops just even with the ground-level.

Gradually cover them with boards, earth, and manure. Another way is to set them upright upon the floor of a damp cellar or root-house, keeping the roots moist and the tops dry. Celery can stand some frost, but not exposure to less than 22 F. The stalks intended for use before Christmas may in most localities be left outdoors, to be used as wanted.

Should cold weather set in early, they will need covering in some way. Page 475.

_Orchard management._--Young trees should have a mound of earth raised around the stem as a support and protection against mice, etc. Small and lately planted trees may have stakes set beside them, and be tied to the stakes with a broad band. Apple and pear trees may yet be planted. Trim superfluous or unhealthy wood out of the old orchards.

_Spinach._--Cover the beds lightly with leaves or litter before winter sets in.

_Strawberries._--Soon it will be time to mulch the beds. Provide marsh hay, or other coa.r.s.e litter, free from weed-seeds, and when the ground has frozen an inch or so, spread it all over the surface thinly and evenly.

DECEMBER

_Cabbages._--Plants in coldframes should be aired freely and kept cool.

Heads intended for winter and spring use, if not yet taken in or protected from severe freezing, must now be cared for. Do not cover them too deeply, nor store them in too warm a place.

_Carrots._--Store them in cellars or pits. If in cellars, keep the roots covered with sand or sod, to prevent wilting.

_General garden management._--Begin now to make your plans for next season's work. Carefully study up the matter of rotation, also that of feeding your crops in the most effective and economical manner. Repair frames, sashes, and tools. Clear up the garden and premises. Underdrain where needed. Beds for early vegetables should be thrown up in high, narrow ridges, with deep furrows between. This will enable you to plant them several days or weeks earlier than otherwise.

_Kale._--In very exposed or northern locations cover it lightly with coa.r.s.e litter.

_Onions._--For winter storage select only well-ripened, perfectly dry bulbs. Store them in a dry, airy place, not in the cellar. They may be spread out thinly on the floor, away from the walls, allowed to freeze solid, and then covered several feet deep with hay or straw.

_Parsnips._--Take up some roots for winter use and store them in sand in the cellar.

_Strawberry-beds_ should be given their winter covering of marsh hay, etc., as soon as the ground is frozen solid.