The first frosts of autumn mark the opening of one of the most interesting seasons in the garden. It is time to begin planting trees and shrubs. The sooner this can be done, the better, for new roots will begin to form.
Almost any tree or shrub can be planted now except possibly the magnolia, walnut, cherry, and plum which have roots that are very easily injured. These trees will not produce roots rapidly; this fact plus the adverse winter conditions to which the trees would be subjected make fall planting hardly profitable.
The Vegetable Garden
There is still time to sow a cover crop of winter rye in the vegetable garden. It will grow during the winter thaws, and in the spring can be turned under to increase the fertility of the soil. Don’t sow rye where early spring crops such as peas, turnips, or spinach will be sown.
Double dig or trench the portions of the garden where the early crops will go. Though double digging is hard work, it is profitable. First, at one end of the garden dig out a trench, a spade deep or as deep as the topsoil, placing the soil in a wheelbarrow; take this soil to the far end of the garden (the last area you plan to dig).
Then break up the soil in the bottom of the trench and fork in weeds, manure, or other organic matter. Now make a second trench as deep as the first and place the soil over the layer of weeds in the first trench. This procedure is followed to the end of the garden where the soil from the original trench was placed.
That soil will go into the last trench you dig. Double digging thus improves the soil by incorporating organic matter with the subsoil. This practice should be followed each year. digging deeper each time. If this is done, the garden soil will become mellower, more tillable, and more fertile.
Hardy Chrysanthemums
This is the month that chrysanthemums are at their best. Don’t forget that these hardy perennials can be moved, even when in full bloom; flowering will go on as usual. Wherever there’s a hare spot in the garden, fill it with a chrysanthemum already in bloom. Chrysanthemums also do well in window boxes and tubs.
Visit the nurseries and examine good chrysanthemum collections. (See page 24 for a list of gardens to visit.) Make notes for future orders, or if you see a variety that you particularly like, buy it now, even though it is in bloom, and move it into your garden. With light protection during the winter, it will survive.
44659 by R. Milton Carleton