Vegetable Garden.—Hoe deeply such crops as cabbage, cauliflower and celery. The earthing up of celery this month is not to be recommended, unless a little very early supply is wanted. Onions in many sections can be harvested. The proper condition is when the tops are turning yellow and falling down. They are dried best by placing them in a dry shed in thin layers. Sow spinach for fall use, but not yet for the winter crop. Red top, white globe, and yellow Aberdeen turnips should now be sown; ruta-baga turnips sown last month will need thinning, and in extreme southern states they may yet be sown.
September
Flower Garden and Greenhouse.—The flower-beds in the lawn should be at their best. If planted in “ribbon lines” or “massing,” strict attention must be given to pinching off the tops, so that the lines or masses will present an even surface. Tender plants will require to be put in the greenhouse or housed in some way towards the end of this month; but be careful to keep them as cool as possible during the day. Cuttings of bedding plants may now be made freely if wanted for next season, as young cuttings rooted in the fall make better plants for next spring’s use than old plants, in the case of such soft-wooded plants as pelargoniums, fuchsias, verbenas, heliotropes, &c.; with roses and plants of a woody nature, however, the old plants usually do best. Dutch bulbs, such as hyacinths, tulips, crocus, &c., and most of the varieties of lilies, may be planted. Violets that are wanted for winter flowering will now be growing freely, and the runners should be trimmed off. Sow seeds of sweet alyssum, candytuft, daisies, mignonette, pansies, &c. Visit the roadsides and woods for interesting plants to put in the hardy borders.
Fruit Garden.—Strawberry plants that have been layered in pots may yet be planted, or in southern districts the ordinary ground layers may be planted. The sooner in the month both are planted the better crop they will give next season; and, as these plants soon make runners, it will be necessary to trim them off. Attend to raspberries and blackberries as advised for last month, if they have not already been attended to. All fruit trees should be gone over for borers before cold weather sets in; they also should have been gone over for the same purpose in May and June.
Vegetable Garden.—If cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce are wanted to plant in cold frames, the seed should be sown from about the 10th to the 20th of this month; but judgment should be exercised, for, if sown too early, cabbage and cauliflower are apt to run to seed. The best date for latitude of New York is September 15th. The main crop of spinach or sprouts that is wanted for winter or spring use should be sown about the same date. The earth should be drawn up to celery with a hoe preparatory to earthing up with a spade. Onions that were not harvested and dried last month must now be attended to. Turnips of the early or flat sorts may yet be sown the first week of this month in the northern states, and in the south from two to four weeks later.
October
Flower Garden and Greenhouse.—In northern sections of the United States, tender plants that are still outside should be got under cover as early as possible. Delay using fire heat as long as possible, unless the nights become so cold as to chill the plants inside the house. Roses, carnations, camellias, azaleas, pelargoniums and the hardier sorts of plants will do better if placed in a cold frame or pit until the middle of November than they would in an ordinary greenhouse. Look out for insects. Fall bulbs of all kinds may be planted. Take up summer-flowering bulbs and tubers, such as dahlias, tuberoses, gladioli, cannas, caladiums, tigridias, and dry them off thoroughly, stowing them away afterwards in some place free from frost and moisture during the winter. Before winter sets in see that the lawn is freely top-dressed. Be careful not to mow the grass too short in fall.
Fruit Garden.—Strawberries that have been grown from pot-grown layers may yet be planted in southern states; keep the runners trimmed off. Fruit trees and shrubs may be set out; but, if planting is deferred to the last of the month, the ground around the roots should be mulched to the thickness of 3 or 4 in. with straw, leaves or rough manure, as a protection against frost. The fruit garden must be protected from the ravages of mice in winter. Mice will nest about the plants if there is straw or other litter around them. Before winter, all tall grass and loose litter should be taken away; if this is not done, then the first snow should be tramped heavily around the plants, in order to destroy any nesting-places.
Vegetable Garden.—Celery will now be in full growth, and will require close attention to earthing up, and during the last part of the month the first lot may be stored away in trenches for winter. All vegetable roots not designed to be left in the ground during the winter should be dug up, such as beets, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, &c. The cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce plants grown from seed sown last month should be pricked out in cold frames. If lettuce is wanted for winter use, it may now be planted in the greenhouse or cold frame, and will be ready for use about Christmas. If asparagus or rhubarb is wanted for winter use, it should be taken up and stowed away in pit, frame, shed or cellar for a month or two. It may then be taken into the greenhouse and packed closely together under the stage, and will be fit for use from January to March, according to the temperature of the house. Vegetable gardens often become infested with diseases that are carried over from year to year in the old plants and litter; this is specially true of water-melons and of some diseases of tomatoes. It is well, therefore, to burn the tops of the plants in the fall, rather than to plough them under or to throw them on the compost heap.
November